THE A B C’S  ( AND E’S ) OF MIL SPEC WIRE

MIL-W-16878

Hook-Up Wire

What are all those letters used for? 

MIL-W-16878 wire correlates to a former call out for hook-up wire that used the ABC’s as designations.  Because these alphabetical call outs make sense, or just because many people  were accustomed to using them, the letters have hung on and are used still as short hand for the military specs.  Here’s how they work:

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		Insulation Type	Thickness	Conductor
Type A	What happened to this one?
Type B	MIL-W-16878/1	PVC	.010”	TC    [Also known as Type BU]
Type C	MIL-W-16878/2	PVC	.015”	TC    [Also known as Type CU]
Type D	MIL-W-16878/3	PVC	.031”	TC    [Also known as Type DU]
Type E	MIL-W-16878/4	TFE	.010”	SPC
Type EE	MIL-W-16878/5	TFE	.015”	SPC
Type ET	MIL-W-16878/6	TFE	.006”	SPC
Type F	MIL-W-16878/7	Silicone	.015”	SPC
Type FF	MIL-W-16878/8	Silicone	.031”	SPC
Type J	MIL-W-16878/10	Polyethylene	.031”	TC
Type K	MIL-W-16878/11	FEP	.010”	SPC or TC
Type KK	MIL-W-16878/12	FEP	.015”	SPC or TC
Type KT	MIL-W-16878/13	FEP	.006”	SPC or TC
	MIL-W-16878/14	XLPE		TC
	MIL-W-16878/15	XLPE		TC
	MIL-W-16878/16	XLPE		TC
Type BN	MIL-W-16878/17	PVC/NYLON	.010/.003	TC    [Type B with Nylon over-jacket]
Type CN	MIL-W-16878/18	PVC/NYLON	.015/.003	TC    [Type C with Nylon over-jacket]
Type DN	MIL-W-16878/19	PVC/NYLON	.031/.003	TC    [Type D with Nylon over-jacket]
	MIL-W-16878/20	TFE Wrapped	.006”	SPC
	MIL-W-16878/21	TFE Wrapped	.010”	SPC
	MIL-W-16878/22	TFE Wrapped	.015”	SPC
	MIL-W-16878/23	TFE	.006”	NPC
	MIL-W-16878/24	TFE Wrapped	.006”	NPC
	MIL-W-16878/25	TFE	.010”	NPC
	MIL-W-16878/26	TFE Wrapped	.010”	NPC
	MIL-W-16878/27	TFE	.015”	NPC
	MIL-W-16878/28	TFE Wrapped	.015”	NPC
	MIL-W-16878/29	Silicone Rubber	.015”	TC
	MIL-W-16878/30	Silicone Rubber	.031”	TC
	MIL-W-16878/31	Silicone/Fiber Glass		TC    [Type FF with F/G over-braid]
	MIL-W-16878/32	Silicone/Fiber Glass		SPC  [Type FF with F/G over-braid]
	MIL-W-16878/33	Polyethylene/Nylon		TC    [Type J with Nylon over-jacket]
	MIL-W-16878/34	Double TFE Wrapped		SPC
	MIL-W-16878/35	Double TFE Wrapped		NPC
	MIL-W-16878/36	XLPO		TC
	MIL-W-16878/37	EPDM		TC
	MIL-W-16878/38	EPDM		TC

Quality Information