WW2 Japanese Names for naval fighter and bomber

[jonas]

Hi everybody

I have recently built a "what-if" japanese naval interceptor and a two engine torpedo-bomber. Both can operate from aircraft carriers.
I need some help to choose the Japanese name for them. Could you please give me some ideas?

Thanks!

[jcf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_military_aircraft_designation_systems#Imperial_Japanese_Navy_Air_Service

[Glenn]

The easy way out is, Fighters..boys names/Bombers, Flyingboats ...girls names.
Glenn

[pyro-manic]

Ah, but that's Allied reporting names, not Japanese names.

[PantherG]

So...from japanese names for planes just now I know only Shiden - Violet cloud (or Violet thunder?) and Ki-45 Toryu (Killer of Dragons)...... If if I remember correctly

[rickshaw]

Japanese, like Chinese tends to need a native speaker to really understand the meaning of the words, which is you often get different transliterations for the same word.   They tend to be prosaic as well, as you've shown with the Shiden and the Toryu.  I'd suggest picking something like a general meteorological or mythical term and running it through one of the translation websites to get a semi-Japanese word for it.  Something like "Meteor" or "Lightning" or "Thunderbolt" or "Dragon" or "Salamander".  Even choose a famous name from legend or mythology.

[RussC]

Japanese, like Chinese tends to need a native speaker to really understand the meaning of the words, which is you often get different transliterations for the same word.   They tend to be prosaic as well, as you've shown with the Shiden and the Toryu.  I'd suggest picking something like a general meteorological or mythical term and running it through one of the translation websites to get a semi-Japanese word for it.  Something like "Meteor" or "Lightning" or "Thunderbolt" or "Dragon" or "Salamander".  Even choose a famous name from legend or mythology.

Some early war craft had no "names" just kitai numbers (Army) and type numbers (navy)

Kate, Mavis, and Val had no names, but zero was sometimes called reisen'. Oscar was not named

Ki-61 = Hien (swallow) some other bird names used.

Thunderbolt is taken = Raiden, and Shiden and Shinden used

Meteor is the D4y1 Naval Dive Bomber "Judy"

Yes, weather phenomina,

mythic creatures.....hiryu, toryu, Donryu and other dragons are taken already (Ryu or ryuu)

names of mountains (zan) renzan, shinzan and Tenzan are taken

Astronomy terms - Aurora is taken (kyokko)

thunder (rai) shinrai is taken, as is tenrai

There is a good cross language translator here- http://www.englishjapaneseonlinedictionary.com/index.htm

[Geoff]

Or add "....kaze" = "wind", to make a compound word eg. Yukikaze for Snow wind which was the name of a destroyer (DD/DE)

Yamakaze        mountain wind

Just a thought

[rickshaw]

While many names might be taken in the Real World by existing aircraft, remember this is Whiff-world where those real aircraft might not have been adopted and so the name can be applied to a different aircraft.  Should send the JMNs crazy!   

[Spey_Phantom]

i couldnt get the hang of those Japanese names either, thats why i prefer the US/Allied designations (Boys names for fighters, Girls names for Bombers and transports)