Rockets - MARK Series
Copyright © 2025 Andreas Parsch
From World War 2 to around 1960, the Navy allocated Mark numbers for all-up rocket rounds. Each rocket caliber (diameter of the warhead) had its own numerical series. From the 1960s onwards, no new designations for complete rockets were issued. The likely reason is that an ever larger variety of warheads could be used with the available motors, and the all-up rounds were only assembled immediately before the mission.
A link in the designation column leads to a page in the Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles about either the rocket itself or a related one. The linked page includes more information about the rocket, like one or more photos and reference to the major differences between the variants.
Common Abbreviations
- AP: Armor Piercing
- FF: Folding-Fin
- GP: Geneal Purpose
- HE: High Explosive
- HEAT: High Explosive Anti-Tank
- SS: Spin-Stabilized
- WP: White Phosphorus
2.25-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | Subcaliber Practice Aircraft Rocket; practice rocket for 3.5" FFAR |
| MARK 2 | Subcaliber Practice Aircraft Rocket; practice rocket for 5.0" FFAR |
| MARK 3 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket; practice round for 5.0" HVAR |
| MARK 4 | Subcaliber Practice Aircraft Rocket; practice rocket for 5.0" HVAR |
| MARK 5 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket; practice round for 5.0" HVAR |
| MARK 6 | Subcaliber Practice Aircraft Rocket; practice rocket for 5.0" HVAR |
2.5-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | Subcaliber Practice Surface Rocket; practice rocket for ship-launched 7.2" Mousetrap ASW munition |
| MARK 2 | Subcaliber Practice Aircraft Rocket; practice rocket for air-launched 7.2" Retrorocket ASW munition |
| MARK 3 | Subcaliber Practice Aircraft Rocket; practice rocket for air-launched 7.2" Retrorocket ASW munition |
2.75-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | FF Practice Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 2 | FF HE Aircraft Rocket Mighty Mouse |
| MARK 3 | FF HEAT Aircraft Rocket Mighty Mouse |
| MARK 4 | FF HE Aircraft Rocket Mighty Mouse |
| MARK 5 | FF HEAT Aircraft Rocket Mighty Mouse |
| MARK 6 | FF HE Aircraft Rocket Mighty Mouse |
| MARK 7 | FF HEAT Aircraft Rocket Mighty Mouse |
| MARK 8 | FF Practice Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 9 | FF Practice Aircraft Rocket |
3.25-Inch Series
3.5-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | AP Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 2 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 3 | Smoke Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 4 | Chaff Surface Rocket |
| MARK 5 | SS HE Surface Rocket |
| MARK 6 | Flare Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 7 | Flare Surface Rocket |
| MARK 8 | GP Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 9 | AP Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 10 | WP Smoke Aircraft Rocket |
4.5-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | HE Surface Rocket (Beach Barrage Rocket Old Faithful) |
| MARK 2 | Practice Surface Rocket |
| MARK 3 | Dummy Surface Rocket |
| MARK 4 | Smoke Surface Rocket (Beach Barrage Rocket Old Faithful) |
| MARK 5 | Incendiary Surface Rocket (Beach Barrage Rocket Old Faithful) |
5.0-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | GP Aircraft Rocket (FFAR, Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 2 | Practice Aircraft Rocket (FFAR, Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 3 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket (FFAR, Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 4 | GP Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 5 | Practice Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 6 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 7 | SS HE Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 8 | SS Practice Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 9 | SS Dummy Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 10 | SS HE Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 11 | SS Practice Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 12 | SS Dummy Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 13 | SS HE Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 14 | SS Practice Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 15 | SS Dummy Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 16 | SS HE Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 17 | SS Practice Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 18 | SS Dummy Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 19 | SS Smoke Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 20 | Smoke Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 21 | SS Flare Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 22 | SS Flare Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 23 | AP Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 24 | SS AP Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 25 | SS Dummy Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 26 | GP Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 27 | SS Target Smoke Surface Rocket (HVSR, High-Velocity Surface Rocket) |
| MARK 28 | GP Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 29 | Practice Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 30 | SS HE Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 31 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 32 | HEAT Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 33 | Practice Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 34 | AP/ASW Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 35 | AP Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 36 | WP Smoke Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 37 | GP Aircraft Rocket (FFAR, Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 38 | Flare Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 39 | Practice Aircraft Rocket (HVAR, High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket) |
| MARK 40 | FF HE Aircraft Rocket Zuni |
| MARK 41 | FF Anti-Tank/Anti-Personnel Aircraft Rocket Zuni |
6.5-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | HEAT Aircraft Rocket Ram |
7.2-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | Shipboard HE Surface Rocket |
| MARK 2 | Practice Surface Rocket |
| MARK 3 | Dummy Surface Rocket |
| MARK 4 | Retro HE Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 5 | Practice Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 6 | Dummy Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 7 | Retro HE Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 8 | Practice Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 9 | Dummy Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 10 | Retro HE Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 11 | Practice Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 12 | Retro HE Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 13 | Practice Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 14 | Dummy Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 15 | Dummy Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 16 | Dummy Retro Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 17 | Shipboard Practice Surface Rocket |
| MARK 18 | Smoke Surface Rocket |
| MARK 19 | HE Surface Rocket |
11.75-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 2 | Dummy Aircraft Rocket |
| MARK 3 | GP Aircraft Rocket Tiny Tim |
| MARK 4 | Practice Aircraft Rocket |
12.75-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | Anti-Submarine Underwater Rocket Weapon Alfa |
| MARK 2 | Anti-Submarine Underwater Rocket Weapon Alfa |
30.5-Inch Series
| Mark Number | Description |
|---|---|
| MARK 1 | Bombardment Aircraft Rocket (BOAR) |
Navy Nomenclature System
Back to U.S. Military Aviation Designation Systems
Last Updated: 7 December 2025