Quoted:
And I always thought the "V" meant it was a Carrier based/capable squadron, as V in CV (Carrier) or CVN (Carrier-Nuclear).
Ain't ar15.com wonderful!
View Quote
No, the V simply ment aviation, and specificly Heavier than Air aviation when it was introduced. Zepplens and blimps and their squadrons began with Z. When helicopters were introduced they got H. They didn't get to use A because A was already used.
Aircraft Carriers became CV instead of CA because CA was already the abbreviation for "Cruiser, Armored". And they could not be AC because "A" in the first position of a designation stood for "auxiliary" and was for non-combatant Naval ships like transports, tankers, coaliers and the like. AC may have in fact stood been the abbreviation for a coalier, have to check. There weren't many since we stopped using coal in ships about the same time we adopted this alpha-numeric numbering system.
At last word the Osprey was considered a VTOL aircraft and not a helicopter, so when they actually do enter service the squadrons will become VMM. But right now there is only one such squadron VMMT-204, as there are only 7 Ospreys at the moment, but 11 more are on the way.