Aircraft
by Nation
United States
Army/Air Force (1924 - 1963)
Missile: Prior to 1955,
the U.S. Air Force used regular aircraft designations for missiles
("B" for pilotless bomber and "F" for pilotless
fighter). From 1955 to 1963, the designations were changed to:
 | GAM: Guided Air-launched Missile (air-to-air) |
| GAR: Guided Air-launched Rocket
(air-to-ground) |
| IM: Interceptor Missile (ground-to-air) |
| SM: Strategic Missile (long range
ground-to-ground) |
| TM: Tactical Missile (short range
ground-to-ground) |
Existing missiles kept their sequence number. For
example the B-61 Matador became the TM-61 Matador.
From 1948 - 1955, the U.S. Army used its
own designation system for missiles. The first two letters indicated
the launch and target environments. Using this designation system,
missile with a SAM designation was a surface-to-air missile.
Return to U.S.
Army/Air Force (1924 - 1962)
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page
updated 02 June 2006
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