MIL-W-16878 Wire Quick Reference

MIL-W-16878 Wire Quick ReferenceExplore construction, part numbers, dimensions and electrical data from the supplied catalog

Starway Technology builds high-reliability wire harnesses and cable assemblies for aerospace, defense and industrial applications, with custom manufacturing and quality verification.

At a glance

Two insulationsPTFE or FEP with thin, medium and heavy wall options.

Voltage classes250, 600 or 1,000 V, depending on the slant sheet.

Temperature and platingThe summary lists 200°C silver and 260°C nickel; the tin-plated commercial FEP equivalents are rated 150°C.

How to use

Choose a slant sheet, AWG and stranding, then enter an insulation color code. The part number updates immediately. Dimensions, weight and resistance appear only for rows listed in the supplied catalog.

Data coverage

Thermax catalog pages 26–32: /4, /5 and /6 contain M16878 part-number rows; /11, /12 and /13 contain tin-plated FEP commercial “equivalent” tables. Other slant sheets appear in the summary only, without dimension tables.

Part number lookup

MIL-W-16878/5 B C B 903: material, AWG, stranding and color code

Slant sheetConductor materialConductor size / AWGStrandingInsulation color codeFirst digit is the base color, followed by up to two stripe digits, e.g. 903.

Current part number

Lookup result

Imperial dimensions come from the supplied catalog; metric values in parentheses are calculated from the imperial columns and rounded. Weight: lb/1,000 ft (kg/km). Resistance: Ω/1,000 ft (Ω/km) at 20°C.

Construction overview

Slant sheet	Type	Insulation	Nominal wall	Voltage	Conductor plating	Max. temperature
/4	E	PTFE (extruded)	0.010 in	600 V	silver	200°C
/5	EE	PTFE (extruded)	0.015 in	1,000 V	silver	200°C
/6	ET	PTFE (extruded)	0.006 in	250 V	silver	200°C
/11	K	FEP (extruded)	0.010 in	600 V	silver	200°C
/12	KK	FEP (extruded)	0.015 in	1,000 V	silver	200°C
/13	KT	FEP (extruded)	0.006 in	250 V	silver	200°C
/20	—	PTFE (tape)	0.006 in	250 V	silver	200°C
/21	—	PTFE (tape)	0.010 in	600 V	silver	200°C
/22	—	PTFE (tape)	0.015 in	1,000 V	silver	200°C
/23	ET	PTFE (extruded)	0.006 in	250 V	nickel	260°C
/24	—	PTFE (tape)	0.006 in	250 V	nickel	260°C
/25	E	PTFE (extruded)	0.010 in	600 V	nickel	260°C
/26	—	PTFE (tape)	0.010 in	600 V	nickel	260°C
/27	EE	PTFE (extruded)	0.015 in	1,000 V	nickel	260°C
/28	—	PTFE (tape)	0.015 in	1,000 V	nickel	260°C

Frequently asked questions

Why is no complete M16878 number built for /11–/13?

The catalog labels these pages “equivalent wire.” Their dimensions and Thermax numbers refer to tin-plated commercial products. Confirm availability of a silver-plated MIL-spec version with the supplier; do not treat the commercial rows as MIL part numbers.

What does (REF) mean?

The catalog uses (REF) for alternate constructions that conform to the specification but are not specifically included in MIL-W-16878. Their dimensions can be viewed without inventing a MIL part number.

Source: user-supplied Thermax MIL-W-16878 wire catalog, pp. 26–32. Confirm current specifications, ordering and compliance with the supplier.