Hi fellow Luftwaffe enthusiasts

I feel a little like Don Quijote by explaining this again and again and again and again and ... you get the picture

P L E A S E read this and please use it ... I know typos happen -- often in my case -- but this is a basic error .,.. there is NO such thing as a ME-262 or DO 335 and even Me 109 is (kind of) wrong.

The manufacturer is abbreviated by 2 letters the first being a capital the second not

e.g.
Bayrische Flugzeugwerke = Bf (a/c designed until 1938 which includes the whole Bf 109 and Bf 110 range, though most of the subversions were designed after that date)
Messerschmitt AG = Me
Dornier = Do
Arado = Ar
Heinkel = He
...

The aircraft type number was issued by the RLM and only once (with a few exceptions, e.g. Bf 162 and He 162). It was written after the manufacturer with or without a space, but definitely without dash

After that number the main versions were attached with a capital letter again with or without space. then there is a dash and the subversion number added

so we have now: Fw 190 A-8

I will leave out Rüstsätze and Umbausätze as this is a difficult topic. I like to add them with a slash. (note: in most cases --- especially afield --- not all installed Rüstsätze were properly added to the aircraft designation).

Also there were additions of letters for radio equipment (y or z), modifications (e.g. Bf 109 E-4/b (bomb carrying device) or the N for the upgraded DB 601N) and totally different engines (e.g. Me 262 A-1a -- Jumo 004 and Me 262 A-1b --BMW 003 ...) I am not totally sure about the standards in these cases, so I'll leave that open for discussion.

If someone has remarks, corrections or questions ... just post a response

best wishes

Steffen