F-35 Unofficial nickname

alloycowboy · by **alloycowboy** » 23 May 2018, 02:42

If the F-35A is being called the Panther and the F-35C the Reaper, what are they calling the F-35B?

https://www.popularmechanics.com/milita ... s-panther/

steve2267 · by **steve2267** » 23 May 2018, 03:00

alloycowboy wrote:If the F-35A is being called the Panther and the F-35C the Reaper, what are they calling the F-35B?

https://www.popularmechanics.com/milita ... s-panther/

That article got a few things wrong:

According to Gums, Viper did not come from Battlestar Galactica (as I always thought), but because the pilots thought it looked like a snake getting ready to strike (hope I got that right Gums)
The article claims nobody likes a name re-tread which is why the Lighting II is hated... BUT Panther, as others have noted, was the name for the Grumman F9F... so shouldn't it be "Panther II"? If Panther is OK, but LIghtning II is not, they should have just named it the F-35 Lightning.

The P-47 was the pre-eminent fighter bomber / attack aircraft of the USAAF in Europe in WW2, so why not refer to the F-35 as Jug as a nod to the Thunderbold of yor, which also evokes lightning given that where there is thunder, there is lightning (somewhere). Or just Bolt. A play on words would be Volt. Of all these, Jug most connotes the stubbiness Gums is so fond of.

If Battlestar Galactica really did have an influence on Viper... then I'll put in a plug again for X-wing since Star Wars seems to have done in BG. Of course, I doubt that is going anywhere fast as a suggestion.

I just hope the community picks something cool. Panther is pretty cool.

I like just plain Killer Bee for the STOVL model. It's unique, hasn't been used, and evokes a certain Transformers quality. Maybe the -A could then be Optimus or just Prime. :drool:

Gums · by **Gums** » 04 Jun 2018, 13:43

Salute!

Yeah, although Galactica was in some minds, that wasn't the final reason for the name.

From certain angles headon and low, the thing resembled a cobra to some extent. In fact, first day OTW to the 16th TFTS, one was going around and i was passing centerline of the rwy. That image was the first reaction I had - a cobra or another viper about to strike.

Northrop had selected Cobra for one of their LWF predecessors the P-53, and it morphed into the YF-17.

Nobody liked "Fighting" Falcon and we would have been happy with just "Falcon". USAF didn't care to name the jet after a reptile, just as they didn't wanna call the A-10 Warthog or the F-111 Aardvark. Then there's the "B-one", a perfect nickname - "Bone", and that thin does resembler a large leg bone when viewed from the side. But "Lancer"? Who calls it that?

I flew the "Corsair II , but we all called it SLUF, like the Superfortress is called the BUFF.

Users just don't like to be a "second" anything. After all, in combat there's no such thing as "second place".

Gums opines...

elvis1 · by **elvis1** » 05 Jun 2018, 01:59

I was thinking of something that hunted silently, in packs, and in broad daylight. How about the Lioness? They take down much larger prey than themselves by hunting in packs.

The pack theme made me think of a wolf at first, which morphed into the airwolf. . . . but that has been used with a helicopter. So I came back to the Lioness.

steve2267 · by **steve2267** » 05 Jun 2018, 03:24

The F-35 is said to make a particular howling sound in certain parts of its flight regime.

Wolves howl.

You might try howler.

Gums has been there, done that. He's fond of stubby. I don't care for stubby. But I never flew a miljet. So my opinion doesn't really count.

Panther or stubby seem to be the front runners.

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 05 Jun 2018, 03:53

Howler/Howlie Hawaiian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haole "without breath" STELFY?

THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO YOUBOOB TO SEE THE VIDEO BELOW - worth effort - WOT CANNOT BE SEEN HERE Ffsake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XBsea6kDHM

SnakeHandler · by **SnakeHandler** » 05 Jun 2018, 15:59

Definition of banshee
: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die We heard someone screaming like a banshee.

wrightwing · by **wrightwing** » 05 Jun 2018, 17:07

I still think Wraith, would be a good nickname.

Gums · by **Gums** » 05 Jun 2018, 23:56

Salute!

I would jump on some glamorous name, a mythological creature, a whim.

I would follow the tradition of the Century series jets nd the next generation.

- We didn't call the F-100 Super Sabre. It was the Hun
- We didn't call the F-102 the Dagger. It was the Deuce.
- We called the F-104 the Zipper
- We called the F-106 the "6" or "One Oh Six" and not the Dart
- We called the F-105 the Thud

The USN was able to use the official nicknames lot easier than USAF, for some reason. Maybe it was a better name to begin with, huh?
++++++

I would call the F-35B the "Bee". If USN and USMC already have a Hornet, why not a "Bee"?

Gums opines....

lbk000 · by **lbk000** » 17 Jun 2018, 00:41

I think it's actually a little unbecoming to try too hard with the names.

You don't have to bark too loud when you know you got a lot of bite.

steve2267 · by **steve2267** » 17 Jun 2018, 02:55

lbk000 wrote:I think it's actually a little unbecoming to try too hard with the names.

You don't have to bark too loud when you know you got a lot of bite.

Bark Too Loud...

BTL?
B2L?

Beetle?
:devil:

popcorn · by **popcorn** » 17 Jun 2018, 02:58

Owl = Hooter

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 17 Jun 2018, 04:47

HOWLER is a publishing term for "a glaring blunder, typically an amusing one" so in the spirit of BEETLE here is the BOMB!

elvis1 · by **elvis1** » 18 Jun 2018, 02:12

popcorn wrote:Owl = Hooter

Would it be possible with enough upgrades, growth, etc. a jet could be called a Super Duper Hooter?

steve2267 · by **steve2267** » 18 Jun 2018, 16:41

Only if Boing buys out LM.