Thai Military Aircraft Designations
Copyright © 2001-2005 Andreas Parsch
2 Thai Aircraft Designation System
4 Sources
1 The Thai Alphabet
The Thai language does not use the latin alphabet. In this document, the Thai letters are replaced by the latin transcription. Some Thai letters are normally represented by more than one latin letter, resulting in apparent two-letter codes (e.g. Kh, Ph, Th). It must be remembered that these are actually single letters in Thai. Another problem in the transcription is ambiguity, because several Thai letters share the same transcription (e.g. Kh, Th, T). This is especially problematic for the designations' suffix letters (see below).
Note: A version of this document, which shows both the original Thai letters and the latin transcriptions is available here.
2 Thai Aircraft Designation System
Thailand's air arm was formed (as Army Air Corps) in 1914, and became a separate service (the Royal Thai Air Force RTAF) in 1937. Almost from the beginning, an alpha-numerical aircraft designation system was used, which has continued to this day. The system is similar in concept to that used by the USA and other countries. Mission/type letter(s) designate the primary mission or type of the aircraft, and are followed by a sequential number and an optional series letter. The designation system is used only by the RTAF, and not by the Navy and Army air arms.
| Examples: | B. | Kh | . | 18 | C | |
| B. | J | F | . | 13 | ||
| H | . | 6 | B | |||
| (1) | (4) | (2) | (3) | (5) |
(1) Each designation is prefixed by "B.", which is an abbreviation for the Thai word "bin" for "aeroplane". In helicopter designations, the "B." is frequently omitted.
The basic designation consists of a mission/type code (2) and a sequence number (3). As in the U.S. system, a separate numerical sequence is used for each mission/type letter. A dot "." is used instead of a dash "-" to separate mission/type code and sequence number. The following mission/type codes are defined:
- Kh - Fighter
- KhF - Fighter-Trainer
- J - Attack
- ThO - ???
- T - Observation and Reconnaissance
- Th - Bomber
- ThO - manufactured in Thailand
- T - Utility
- PhTh - Aerial Mapping
- F - Trainer
- Ph - Civil
- R - Glider
- L - Transport
- W - UAV
- S - Liaison
- H - Helicopter
- H.PhT - Mapping Helicopter
The optional letter (4) is the equivalent of the U.S. system's "modified mission symbol", e.g. an attack (J) version of a trainer (F) is designated as "JF". The letters are the same as those in the above mission letter listing.
The suffix letter (5) is optional and indicates a modification. The letters are assigned alphabetically. The first version
uses no suffix, and the first modification gets suffix "K" (first letter in the Thai alphabet), etc.
Note: The first letters of the Thai alphabet are transcribed as K, Kh, Kh, Kh, Ng, J, ... .
Because of the similarity of the initial letters and the inability to distinguish between the second, third and fourth letters
in latin transcription, I use the suffix letters A, B, C, ... in the designation transcriptions.
3 Designation Listing
B.Kh - Fighter
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.Kh.1 | Nieuport | Type 13 |
| B.Kh.2 | Nieuport | Type 15 |
| B.Kh.3 | SPAD | Type 7, Type 13 |
| B.Kh.4 | Nieuport-Delage | NiD 29C-1 |
| B.Kh.5 | ASW | Prachadhipok (ex B.ThO.1) |
| B.Kh.6 | Bristol | Bulldog II |
| B.Kh.7 | Boeing | Model 100 (P-12E) |
| B.Kh.8 | Heinkel | He 43D |
| B.Kh.9 | Curtiss | Hawk II |
| B.Kh.10 | Curtiss | Hawk III |
| B.Kh.11 | Curtiss | Hawk 75N |
| B.Kh.12 | Nakajima | Ki-27 Otsu |
| B.Kh.13 | Nakajima | Ki-43-II Hayabusa |
| B.Kh.14 | Supermarine | Spitfire FR.14/PR.19 |
| B.Kh.15 | Grumman | F8F-1 Bearcat |
| B.Kh.16 | Republic | F-84G Thunderjet |
| B.Kh.17 | North American | F-86 Sabre; variants include B.Kh.17 (F-86F) and B.Kh.17A (F-86L) |
| B.Kh.18 | Northrop | F-5; variants include B.Kh.18 (F-5A), B.TKh.18 (RF-5A), B.Kh.18A (F-5B), B.Kh.18B (F-5E) and B.Kh.18C (F-5F) |
| B.Kh.19 | General Dynamics | F-16 Fighting Falcon; variants include B.Kh.19 (F-16A) and B.Kh.19A (F-16B) |
B.KhF - Fighter-Trainer
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.KhF.1 | Aero | L-39ZA/ART Albatros |
B.J - Attack
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.J.1 | Vought | V-93S Corsair |
| B.J.2 | Mitsubishi | Ki-30 M103 |
| B.J.3 | Curtiss | SB2C-5 Helldiver |
| B.J.4 | Fairey | Firefly FR.1/T.2 |
| B.J.5 | Rockwell | OV-10C Bronco |
| B.J.6 | Cessna | A-37B Dragonfly |
| B.J.7 | Dassault-Bréguet/Dornier | Alpha Jet A |
B.ThO - ???
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.ThO.1 | Pazmany | PL-2 |
B.T - Observation and Reconnaissance
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.T.1 | Hunting Percival | P.54 Pembroke |
| B.T.2 | Cessna | O-1A/E/G Bird Dog |
B.Th - Bomber
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.Th.1 | Breguet | Bre.14A/14B |
| B.Th.2 | ASW | Boripatra (ex B.ThO.1) |
| B.Th.3 | Martin | Model 139WSM |
| B.Th.4 | Nakajima | Ki-21-I |
B.ThO - manufactured in Thailand
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.ThO.1 | ASW | Boripatra (became B.Th.2) and Prachadhipok (became B.Kh.5) |
| B.ThO.2 | RTAF | RTAF-2; copy of Beech Bonanza |
| B.ThO.3 | - | Cancelled project |
| B.ThO.4 | RTAF | RTAF-4 Chantra (became B.F.17) |
| B.ThO.5 | RTAF | RTAF-5; one prototype only |
B.T - Utility
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.T.1 | Helio | U-10B Courier |
| B.JT.2 | Fairchild | AU-23A Peacemaker |
B.PhTh - Aerial Mapping
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.PhTh.1 | Cessna | Model 411A |
| B.PhTh.2 | Beechcraft | Queen Air; variants include B.PhTh.2 (Queen Air B80) and B.PhTh.2A (Queen Air A80) |
| B.PhTh.3 | Beechcraft | King Air A90 |
| B.PhTh.4 | Rockwell | Aero Commander 690A |
| B.PhTh.5 | Beechcraft | King Air B200 |
B.F - Trainer
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.F.1 | Nieuport | Type 23 |
| B.F.2 | Nieuport | Type 18 |
| B.F.3 | Piper | PT-1 |
| B.F.4 | Avro | 504N |
| B.F.5 | Vought | V-93S Corsair |
| B.F.6 | Tachikawa | Ki-36 |
| B.F.7 | Miles | Magister Mk.I |
| B.F.8 | North American | AT-6/T-6 Texan |
| B.F.9 | DeHavilland Canada | DHC-1 Chipmunk |
| B.F.10 | DeHavilland | D.H.82A Tiger Moth Mk.II |
| B.F.11 | Lockheed | T-33; variants include B.F.11 (T-33A) and B.TF.11 (RT-33A) |
| B.F.12 | Cessna | T-37B/C |
| B.F.13 | North American | T-28 Trojan; variants include B.F.13 (T-28D) and B.JF.13 (AT-28D) |
| B.F.14 | Cessna | T-41D Mescalero |
| B.F.15 | SIAI-Marchetti | SF.260MT |
| B.F.16 | NZAI | CT-4 Airtrainer; variants include B.F.16 (CT-4A/B) and B.F.16A (CT-4E) |
| B.F.17 | RTAF | RTAF-4 Chantra (ex B.ThO.4) |
| B.F.18 | RFB | Fantrainer; variants include B.F.18 (Fantrainer 400) and B.F.18A (Fantrainer 600) |
| B.F.19 | Pilatus | PC-9 |
B.Ph - Civil
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.Ph.1 | Cessna | Model 150H |
B.R - Glider
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.R.1 | Hoffman | H-36 Dimona |
| B.R.2 | Grob | G.109 |
B.L - Transport
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.L.1 | Beechcraft | C-45B/F |
| B.L.2 | Douglas | C-47 Skytrain; variants include B.L.2 (C-47), B.JL.2 (AC-47) and B.TL.2 (RC-47) |
| B.L.3 | Douglas | C-54 Skymaster |
| B.L.4 | Fairchild | C-123 Provider; variants include B.L.4 (C-123B) and B.L.4A (C-123K) |
| B.L.5 | BAe (Hawker-Siddeley) | HS.748-208 |
| B.L.6 | Swearingen | Merlin; variants include B.L.6 (Merlin III/IV A) and B.TL.6 (Merlin IV C) |
| B.TL.7 | IAI | M201TH Arava EW |
| B.L.8 | Lockheed | C-130 Hercules; variants include B.L.8 (C-130H) and B.L.8A (C-130H-30) |
| B.L.9 | GAF | N22B Nomad; variants include B.L.9 and B.TL.9 |
| B.L.10 | Douglas | DC-8-62AF |
| B.L.11 | Boeing | Model 737; variants include B.L.11 (737-2Z6), B.L.11A (737-3Z6) and B.L.11B (737-4Z6) |
| B.TL.12 | Lear | Learjet M35A |
| B.L.13 | Airbus | A310-324 |
| B.L.14 | Alenia | G.222 |
| B.L.15 | Airbus | A319-115CJ |
B.W - UAV
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.W.1 | Developmental Sciences | R4E-30 SkyEye |
B.S - Liaison
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| B.S.1 | Fairchild | F24J/K Forwarder |
| B.S.2 | Rearwin | M9000KRT Sportster Deluxe |
| B.S.3 | Piper | Cub; variants include B.S.3 (L-4H/J) and B.S.3A (PA-11 Cub Special) |
| B.S.4 | Stinson | L-5/L-5B |
| B.S.5 | Beechcraft | M35 Bonanza |
| B.S.6 | Grumman | JRF-5 Widgeon |
| B.S.7 | Cessna | Model 170B |
H - Helicopter
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| H.1 | Sikorsky/Westland | S-51; variants include H.1 (Westland S-51 Dragonfly) and H.1A (Sikorsky YH-5A) |
| H.2 | Hiller | Model 360 (UH-12); variants include H.2 (UH-12) and H.2A (UH-12B) |
| H.3 | Sikorsky | S-55 (H-19 Chickasaw) |
| H.4 | Sikorsky | S-58; variants include H.4 (H-34B) and H.4A (S-58T) |
| H.5 | Kaman | HH-43B Huskie |
| H.6 | Bell | UH-1 Huey; variants include H.6 (UH-1H), H.6A (UH-1N), H.6B (Bell 412), H.6C (Bell 412(HP)SP) and H.6E (Bell 412EP) |
| H.7 | Bell | Model 47G (OH-13H Sioux) |
| H.8 | Bell | Model 206B-3 |
| H.9 | Eurocopter | AS332L-2 Super Puma |
H.PhT - Mapping Helicopter
| Designation | Manufacturer | Model; Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| H.PhT.1 | Bell | Model 206P Jet Ranger II |
| H.PhT.2 | Kawasaki-Bell | Model 47G-3B-114 |
4 Sources
[1] Chris Thornburg: World Air Forces
[2] Steven Drake: www.thai-aviation.net
[3] Frank Noort: Scramble on the Web
Comments and corrections to: Andreas Parsch
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Last Updated: 20 April 2005