Inner Sphere Designation for Clan BattleMechs

When the Inner Sphere first encountered Clan OmniMechs (and later second-line BattleMechs) they were not privy to the designations each machine was known by among the Clans. They assigned reporting names, often based on the appearance or perceived capabilities, in order to define the units encountered. The practice of assigning reporting names was occasionally continued beyond the initial Clan Invasion.

Soldiers stationed along the Clan Occupation Zones started the tradition of using the Clan names when they were piloted by Clan MechWarriors, and the reporting name when piloted by Inner Sphere MechWarriors. For example, Chuck Brennan of the Kell Hounds piloted a Mad Cat that was brought down by two Kit Fox and a Nova.

Even a century later, after the Inner Sphere had long since learned the proper name for these units, the initial designations remain in common use. Certain Inner Sphere designations were even adopted by the Clans; for example, Clan Diamond Shark would use the Mad Cat designation for their Inner Sphere-marketed Mad Cat Mk II and Mad Cat III 'Mechs, while Clan Ghost Bear would develop the Ryoken II. In some cases, as with the Cauldron-Born, Grendel or Roadrunner, the Clan designation would be abandoned entirely in favor of the Inner Sphere code name.

Designation	Reporting name	Naming Origin
Emerald Harrier	Roadrunner	N/A
Howler	Baboon	N/A
Ion Sparrow	Butcherbird	N/A
Fire Moth	Dasher	Was encountered by Inner Sphere forces who recognized the Fire Moth due to its very fast speed.
Mist Lynx	Koshi	It was encountered by DCMS forces who noted it for its light armament, calling it Koshi or "small death" in Japanese.
Arctic Cheetah	Hankyu	Encountered by the DCMS who nicknamed it Hankyu, or "shortbow" in Japanese due to its long range firepower.
Kit Fox	Uller	Nicknamed after Ull, the Norse God of Archery, by Inner Sphere forces who encountered the design due to its long-range firepower.
Incubus	Vixen	N/A
Horned Owl	Peregrine	N/A
Adder	Puma	N/A
Viper	Dragonfly	Nicknamed after the Viper's speed, agility, jumpjets and appearance; all of which resembled a Dragonfly.
Ice Ferret	Fenris	N/A
Mongrel	Grendel	N/A
Nova	Black Hawk	N/A
Conjurer	Hellhound	N/A
Huntsman	Nobori-nin	Nicknamed by DCMS forces who encounter the design. It was nicknamed Nobori-Nin or "banner-bearer" in Japanese, due to the banner-like fin on its back.
Vapor Eagle	Goshawk	Nickname given by Inner Sphere forces due to its bird-like appearance.
Stormcrow	Ryoken	DCMS gave the Stormcrow the nickname, "Ryoken" (Japanese for hunting dog) due to its speed and firepower.
Skinwalker	Ryoken III	To keep in line of their successor's codenamed linage
Glass Spider	Galahad	The Glass Spider was a direct descendant of the Star League Galahad, hence the nickname by Comstar.
Mad Dog	Vulture Hagetaka	Nicknamed Vulture or Hagetaka (bird in Japanese) due to the Mad Dog's legs and protruding shoulders that give it a bird-like appearance.
Mad Dog Mk III	Vulture Mk III Hagetaka Mk III	To keep in line with it's predecessor's codename.
Mad Dog Mk IV	Vulture Mk IV Hagetaka Mk IV	To keep in line with it's predecessor's codename.
Ebon Jaguar	Cauldron-Born	Nicknamed after the unstoppable zombies of Irish mythology due to the Ebon Jaguar's strong armor.
Hellbringer	Loki	Named after Loki, the Norse God of Mischief. It was codenamed by Galen Cox because of the Hellbringer's primary configuration being described as "utterly mad".
Hel	Loki Mk II	Nicknamed after Loki's daughter Hel to keep in line with the similar Norse linage of its predecessor's codename.
Summoner	Thor	Encountered and nicknamed by Victor Steiner-Davion after Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. He codenamed the Summoner, Thor due to the primary configuration's PPC and LB-X Autocannon, which represented thunder and the hammer, Mjolnir respectively.
Grand Summoner	Thor II	To keep in line of their predecessor's codenamed linage.
Timber Wolf	Mad Cat	When Phelan Kell first encountered the Timber Wolf, his targeting computer could not tell if the chassis was either identified as a Marauder or Catapult. As a result, his targeting computer frequently switched between the two names, thus settling on the name "Mad Cat" among the Inner Sphere.
Savage Wolf	Mad Cat Mk IV	To keep in line of their predecessor's codenamed linage.
Black Python	Viper	N/A
Gargoyle	Man O' War	Nicknamed after the 16th century warship on Terra, due to its effectiveness, by Inner Sphere forces.
Warhawk	Masakari	Nicknamed after a Japanese battle axe from ancient Terra by the DCMS due to Warhawk's effectiveness in combat.
Executioner	Gladiator	N/A
Stone Rhino	Behemoth	N/A
Dire Wolf	Daishi	Because of how effective the Dire Wolf was in both firepower and armor, DCMS forces respectfully referred to it as the Daishi ("great death" in Japanese).
Bane	Kraken	N/A

Notes

• The original idea to give Inner Sphere reporting names to the new, unknown 'Mechs (whose Clan designation would obviously not be known to the Inner Sphere) was formulated by Sam Lewis. His Army background taught him the NATO reporting names for Warsaw Pact equipment.