Type (designation)
Encyclopedia
The word Type followed by a number is a common way to name a weapon or product in a production series, similar in meaning to "Mark
Mark (designation)
The word Mark, followed by number, is a method of specifically designating a standardized, integrated, assumed to be functional and unique version of a mechanical and/or electrical hardware product that has completed the design process and has been approved to be put into final production, as well...

". "Type" was used extensively by the Japanese military beginning in the 1920s, and is currently in use by the Chinese military. The United Kingdom uses a type number system for much of their military equipment. Many other nations use the word "Type" to designate products in a series.

Japan

The Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 (IJN) began using the Type-Number System in 1921 to designate aircraft accepted for production. The numbers used after the word "Type" were based on the number of years that the Emperor Taishō
Emperor Taishō
The was the 123rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 30 July 1912, until his death in 1926.The Emperor’s personal name was . According to Japanese customs, the emperor has no name during his reign and is only called the Emperor...

 had reigned. Since his reign began in 1912, an aircraft ordered into production in 1921 would have been called "Type 10", the tenth year of the emperor's reign. At the end of 1926, the emperor died, leaving his son Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...

 as the Emperor Shōwa, and the numbering system was reset to mark the new emperor's reign.

In 1929, the government of Japan adopted a new system based on the imperial year. Aircraft ordered for production from 1929 onward were assigned the last two digits of the year marking the continuity of Japanese emperors. 1929 was the 2589th imperial year, so aircraft ordered that year were designated "Type 89". 1940 was the 2600th year, and the IJN numbering system was reset to single digits. New aircraft were designated 0 (zero)
0 (number)
0 is both a numberand the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals.It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems...

. The well-known Mitsubishi A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...

 was ordered into production in 1940 as the IJN "Type 0 Carrier Fighter" (Rei shiki Kanjō sentōki, 零式艦上戦闘機), and was popularly called the "Zero" because of its type.

In 1943, the designation system was abandoned by the IJN as it was considered too revealing about the nature of the aircraft. In its place, the aircraft were named with popular terms such as Kyōfū (強風 "Strong Wind") for the Kawanishi N1K introduced in 1943.

The Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 (IJA) began using the Type designation system in 1927, for all weapons, vehicles, military equipment, subassemblies and subsystems such as engines and gunmounts. In 1940, instead of resetting to zero, the IJA assigned "Type 100" to equipment put into production that year. In 1941, the IJA reset to "Type 1". Unlike the IJN, the IJA continued to use the system through 1945 with the production of the Kawasaki Ki-100
Kawasaki Ki-100
The Kawasaki Ki-100 was a fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The Japanese Army designation was "Type 5 Fighter"...

 Army Type 5 Fighter.

After 1945, Japan's military changed to a numbering system based on the Japanese fiscal year which begins on April 1 in the same manner as the British fiscal year. As an example, "Type 63" was the designation for equipment such as the Type 63 AT mine
Type 63 AT mine
The Type 63 AT mine is a large circular Japanese minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The mine does not float and is waterproof, enabling it to be used in shallow water. The mine uses a standard mechanical pressure fuze, with three ball bearings retaining a spring-loaded striker over a detonator...

 accepted in 1963.

The kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

 character shiki (しき) is what the Japanese use to designate products in a series. The English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 translation of shiki has been variously given as "model" or "type". Some manuals and texts have translated shiki as both "model" and "type" within the same publication, confusing the matter. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

-era military dictionaries do not give shiki as the Japanese word for "model"—instead, the kanji character kata is given. In turn, kata (型 or 形) is translated as "form", "type", "pattern", "mark", or "model". The only Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 translation given for the English word "type" is shiki.

China

Chinese weapons and military vehicles are often, but not always, designated according to the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

, the one used by most nations. Two digits are used to designate the year. The two digits appear first, followed by the character shi, meaning "type". As examples, in 1956, the Type 56 assault rifle
Type 56 Assault Rifle
The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, which has been manufactured since 1956. It was produced by State Factory 66 from 1956-73, then by Norinco from 1973 onwards.-Service history:...

 was put into production, and the Type 64 pistol
Type 64 pistol
The Type 64 pistol is a semi-automatic pistol, formerly in service with the People's Liberation Army but has since been replaced by several other firearms, although it still remains in service with some Chinese police forces...

 was designed and approved in 1964.

United Kingdom

The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 uses a type number system where blocks of numbers are reserved for specific purposes. For instance, the block 900–999 was given to naval radar sets beginning in 1945 and continuing for roughly 20 years. Numbers are not always sequential, as the Type 992 target indication radar was developed long before the Type 967 target designation radar. When a reserved block has been fully utilized, another is assigned.

See also

  • British military aircraft designation systems
    British military aircraft designation systems
    British military aircraft designations are used to refer to aircraft types and variants operated by the armed forces of the United Kingdom.Since the end of the First World War, aircraft types in British military service have generally been known by a name British military aircraft designations are...

  • Japanese military aircraft designation systems
    Japanese military aircraft designation systems
    The Japanese military aircraft designation systems for the Imperial period are rather difficult to keep track of, primarily because multiple designation systems were in use by each armed service...

  • Joint Electronics Type Designation System
    Joint Electronics Type Designation System
    The Joint Electronics Type Designation System , which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Department during World War II for assigning an unclassified designator to...

    , U.S. military system
  • Mark (designation)
    Mark (designation)
    The word Mark, followed by number, is a method of specifically designating a standardized, integrated, assumed to be functional and unique version of a mechanical and/or electrical hardware product that has completed the design process and has been approved to be put into final production, as well...

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