This is probably an old subject but I can’t find it anywhere.
NATO has named Eastern Bloc mainly what was once Soviet Union, aircraft some rather unbecoming names. Frogfoot, Hind, Backfire, Farmer are some that come quickly to mind. The F,H,B etc. is obvious on these but the names are sometimes humorous. So…
Does anyone know what names, if any that have been affixed to NATO aircraft by the “other side” ? Perhaps number designations only? Thanks for any answers.
60
There was no need for the Soviets to invent a naming system for aircraft of the free world. All they had to do was read their copy of Aviation Week and Space Technology to know as much about our aircraft as they ever needed to know.
Since they were not kind enough to furnish us with such a publication, a naming system had to be made up. MiG-15 Fagot? Yeah, there may have been some bias in the naming.
Remember, too, that fagot is a European term for cigarette. The Mig-15 did sort of look like one.
-R
I think in this case it refers to a bundle of sticks. A Hind is a deer. Fixed wing props: one syllable, jets two. No such rule for helos, just “H”.
So what was the B-25 in use by Russia after the war named?
You are correct!
John, I always thought the proper name for that publication was “Aviation Leak.”
[:-,]
Faggot (that’s double g) is a stick used for firewood or a large meat ball made from minced offal, a popular dish in the Black Country - faggots and gravy. Fag is a slang term for a cigarette as well as a small boy used as a servent by olde pupils in an English Public School. Traditionally subjected to abuse. Hind is a female red deer, hart (not heart) is a male red deer over five years old. White Hart is a common name for an inn or pub. The Golden Hind was Drake’s ship.
Fagot or faggot, both spellings are acceptable. Fagot is olde Frenche, and is a corruption of the vulger Latin word facus (properly fasces) meaning bundle of sticks. In ancient Roman times the Lictors (guards of the Magistrate) carried a bundle of wooden rods with an axe handle protruding as a symbol of their power. The rods symbolized their power to enact a whipping, and the axe handle symbolized their power to perform executions. When they felt the magistrate was threatened they would affix the axe head to the handle as a further reminder. The fasces was used by Mussolini as a symbol of his power and gave rise to the term fascist.
It is still used as a symbol of power and the right to dispense justice, and the image of fasces can often be found used in courthouses. The clutch of arrows used in the image of the American Eagle of the official symbo of the POTUS is also considered a fasces.
13th century. Via Old French from Italian faggotto, ultimately from Greek phakelos ‘bundle’.
The bundle was also a reminder of the strength of unity of the Roman people. One rod was easily broken, but the bundle could not be.
Faggotto seems like it would be a backwards journey from the French. Faggotto sounds like modern Italian, which is relatively new. Phakelos would certainly pre-date Latin, and since the Romans loved just about everything Greek (except for their predilection for pre-pubescent boys) makes sense.
Ross, your correct about the unity bit. The bundle was much stronger than a single stick. Which is why it’s also used on things like this US $5 coin:
Yeah, that it was commonly called.
Hi 60,
Cold War Ruskies kept it simple. Western aircraft were,
Better than ours Mk.1 Better than ours Mk.2
Better than ours Mk.3
Better than ours Mk.4 etc.etc.
[:D] taca taca taca [:D]
Regards
Mick C.