Glossary / Ranks / Abbreviations / Terms / Medals
-A-
ABC – Airborne Cigar, the jamming of German fighter VHF radio communications
Abigail – bombing campaign against selected German towns, autumn 1940
Aldis lamp – British signal lamp manufactured by the Aldis Company
Amatol – highly explosive material, a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate, mixture ratios range from 80 percent ammonium nitrate/20 percent TNT, down to 50/50.
Apron – paved area surrounding a hanger
Argument – concentrated attack by RAF and USAAF on German aircraft production, Feb 1944
-B-
Barbarossa – German attack on the USSR, June 1941
Benito – German night fighter control system
Berlin – Airborne Intercept radar
Berlin Method – policy of dropping both skymarkers and groundmarkers regardless of cloud conditions over the target
Big City – Berlin
Blood Wagon or Meat Wagon – Ambulance
Boozer – warning device to bomber Command crews of enemy radar tracking them. A yellow light illuminated if the bomber was being held in an AI beam and a red light if it was being held by a Wurzburg radar
Briar – device to disrupt Egon
Bumerang – German device used to detect Oboe transmissions
Bowser - a fuel truck
-C-
Carpet – device used to jam Wurzburg GCI radar
Caterpillar Club – membership required an emergency parachute descent from an imperiled aircraft
Chastise – air attack on German dams. May 1943
Chop Rate – RAF slang for loss rate of aircraft on operations
Clarion – American operations to disrupt German communications and morale by wide spread bombing and fighter attacks, Feb 1945
Collect a Gong – be awarded a decoration
Commission - promotion to the rank of an Officer
Coned - when a master searchlight, often radar controlled, frequently described as having a bluish beam, picked up an aircraft, other searchlights in the area would swing onto the aircraft, thus coning it - then flak would be poured into the cone
Cookie - a barrel shaped 2000 or 4000 lb high capacity blast bomb
Corkscrew - evasive maneuver when attacked by night fighter - sharp diving turn to port followed by sharp climbing turn to starboard: one of the gunners, watching the attack, would order the pilot ”Corkscrew Go”
Corona – counterfeit orders or commands transmitted by radio to German night fighters
Creepback – bomb impact drift back along the line of approach to the target
Crossbow - operational code name for Allied attacks on V-1 launch sites
-D-
Darky – RAF radio frequency for emergency calls from returning aircraft
Dartboard – jamming measure used against German fighter communications
D-Day – 6 June 1944, beginning of Operation Overlord
Dickey Flight - a training flight where a pilot not experienced on operations or a senior officer returning to operations would go on an op with an experienced crew as a ”second dickey”
Dispersal - a frying pan shaped concrete or asphalt pad where bombers, were parked, armed and fueled.
Ditching – forced landing of an aircraft over water
Donnerkell – device for detecting Oboe-equipped aircraft
Dragoon – invasion of southern France, summer 1944
Drem Lighting – system of outer markers and approach lights at many British airfields early war
Drumstick – jamming of German fighter radio control channels
Dudelsack (Bagpipes) – device for jamming British radio and wireless transmissions
Duppel – strips of metallic foil air-dropped to confuse enemy radar, Window to Allied forces
-E-
Eclipse – contingency plans for early German surrender. Not executed
Egon – German radio navigation aid for night fighters
Elsan - a chemical toilet on board the aircraft
Erk - slang referred to ground crews
Exodus – repatriation operation by air of Allied ex-POW’s
-F-
FIDO – Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation. Fog dispersal for runways by using a double row of gasoline-fed burners
Fishpond – airborne radar for warning Bomber Command crews of nearby enemy aircraft
Flak – German fleigerabwehrkanonen, or anti-aircraft artillery
Feldgrau - "Field Grey" - term used to describe the ordinary German soldier - from the colour of his tunic.
Flamme – German device for homing on IFF and Mandrel transmissions
Flensburg – (FuG 227) German electronic device to direct night fighters to Monica, Mandrel and Piperrack transmissions
Flight Louie – RAF slang for the rank of flight lieutenant
Flimsy – list of “friendly” airfields in the war theatre with names, locations, signal letters and secret radio call signs changed every day. Written on rice paper , to be eaten by the navigator rather then fall into enemy hands.
Flip – a short flight in an aircraft
Freya – German early warning radar
Freya-Halbe – device to negate the effect of Mandrel on Freya
Fuselage - the body of an aircraft that houses the crew
-G-
Gardening - RAF code word for sea/coastal mine laying by aircraft
GEE - RAF navigational aid that could provide the navigator with a fix from pulses transmitted by three ground stations. Range approximately 300 miles.
George – automatic pilot. “Let George do it”
Gerhard – German device for detecting Monica transmissions
Geschwader – Luftwaffe organizational formation, roughly equivalent to an RAF group, usually composed of three Gruppen, or wings, usually made up of three Staffen or squadrons.
Gone for a Burton – slang referred to a missing airman or crew
GP – General Purpose bombs, manufactured in 250, 500, 1000, 4000 pound sizes
G-H – Allied blind bombing device. Oboe in reverse
Giant Wurzburg – German early warning radar permitting fighter controllers to track night fighters and their targets.
Gisella – German attack on Bomber Command airfields, March 1945
Gomorrah – concentrated incendiary operations against Hamburg, July-August 1943
Goodwood – attack by second British Army southeast of Caen, July 1944
Grand Slam - A 22000lb high explosive bomb
Grocer – another RAF device for jamming German AI radars
Gruppe - [plural: Gruppen]: Group
-H-
H2S - RAF bombing aid which produced a radar 'picture' of the terrain over which the aircraft was passing
H2X – American version of H2S
Halibag – s lang for Handley Page Halifax bomber
Happy Valley – slang for the Ruhr Valley, much bombed and very heavily defended
HC – High Capacity blast effect bombs, manufactured in 2000, 4000, 8000, and 12,000 pound sizes
Heinrich – German device for jamming Gee transmissions
Helle Nachtjagd – German air defense system of searchlights to highlight enemy bombers for flak and night fighters
Himmelbett – “Bedspring in the Heavens” German air defense system extending from Denmark to middle of France. It used radio communications to integrate early warning and interception radar facilities, searchlight and flak batteries, fighter control stations and fighter squadrons. Also known as the Kammhuber Line, after its founder.
Husky - Allied invasion of Sicily, July 1943
Hydra – Bomber Command attack on Peenemunde, August 1943
-I-
IFF – Identification Friend or Foe. Allied electronic target discrimination device
Incendiary – bomb designed to start and sustain fires. Manufactured by Allies in 4 pound size (MK. IV Thermite; Type E and Type X) and 30 pound size (Jet J and phosphorous)
-J-
Jagdschloss – another German early warning radar
Jostle – device to jam german radar transmissions, particularly AA barrage fire
Jubilee – amphibious raid on Dieppe, 19 august 1942
-K-
Kiel – German infra-red detection device
Knickebein – German navigation and bombing aid
Korfu – radar homing device used against H2S
Kriegsmarine - The German Navy
-L-
Lanc – s lang for Avro Lancaster bomber
Laubfrosch – German device for detecting H2S emissions
Lichenstein – German Airborne Intercept radar
Lorrie - a heavy truck used on base
Luftwaffe - German Air Force
-M-
Mae West – life-saving waistcoat for sea survival, named after famous American actress
Main Spar - a structural element of an aircraft’s wing that runs through the fuselage
Mammut – German early warning radar
Mandrel - airborne radar jamming device operating in the 85-135 MHz wave band to counter the Freya early warning system, Airborne radio swamping of the German early warning system
Manna – air operation to supply starving Dutch, April-May 1945
MC – Medium-Capacity blast effect bomb. Manufactured in 250, 500, 1000, 4000, 12,0000 and 22,000 pound sizes
Met – weather report – meteorological conditions
Millennium – first 1,000 bomber raid, conducted against Cologne, May 1942
Monica - radar fitted in rear of Bomber Command aircraft to provide some early warning of night fighters; in July 1944 it was found that Monica was being detected as a homing signal for the Luftwaffe
Musical – prefix added top marking techniques when Oboe Mosquitoes did primary marking
-N-
NAAFI - Navy, Army, Air Force Institute, a support organization that provided comforts to commonwealth troops
Naxburg – German ground based radar used for tracking H2S emissions
Naxos – German airborne radar for tracking H2S
Neptun – another German AI radar, used later in the airwar
Newhaven – technique for ground marking targets with flares or target markers, blind-dropped by H2S or Oboe, and confirmed by visual identification of target. Termed “H2S Newhaven” or Musical Newhaven” depending on target-finding aid used.
Nickeling – propaganda leaflet raids
Noball – code name for V1/V2 site
-O-
Oboe - ground-controlled radar system of blind bombing in which one station indicated track to be followed and another the bomb release point, used by Pathfinders for target marking
Obviate – Lancaster operation against the Tripitz, Oct 1944
Occult – system of beacons positioned along the British coast, with a secondary belt further inland, that flashed Morse code signals to approaching aircraft to help them fix their location.
OKL – Oberkommando der Luftwaffe – Luftwaffe headquarters
OKW – Oberkommando der Wehrmacht – Armed Forces Headquarters
Operational – RAF slang for anything that works
Ops – combat operations or missions
-P-
Pancake – slang for crash-landing aircraft with landing gear retracted
Parametta – technique for ground marking targets with coloured Target Indicators (Tis) blind-dropped by H2S or Oboe. Called “H2S Parametta” or “Musical Parametta”, depending on target–finding aid used
Perfectos – British electronic device that triggered German IFF equipment
PFF - Pathfinder Force - Small group of aircraft which, after finding the target, put down flares to guide the following bombers. No. 8 Group Bomber Command
Photoflash – 19 pound or 40 pound 4.5 inch bomb produced a photographic flash when a bomb was released, so camera on aircraft could photograph bomb release point
Pickwick – code name for instruction to Main Force from Pathfinders to bomb upwind edge of target smoke
Pink Pansy – 2700 pound red target marker
Piperack – British airborne device for jamming German AI radars
Plunder – British 21st Army Group crossing of Rhine R., March 1945
Pointblank – bombing directive by Joint Chiefs of Staff for bombing priorities of Combined Bomber offensive, June 1943
Port - left side of a/c
Prang – slang for crash, destroy or damage an aircraft severely
Pundit – technique to identify friendly airfields to aircrews by flashing Morse signals
-Q-
-R-
Ramrod/Circuses – code names for 1941 Fighter Command effort to lure Luftwaffe into battle by selective bombing of ground targets with a few heavily-escorted bombers
Red Blob – 250 pound red target marker
Reichstag - The German Parliament
-S-
Sagebock – German electronic device for detecting IFF emissions from Allied aircraft
Scarecrow – mythical German pyrotechnics designed to simulate destruction of a bomber in flight. In fact, all alleged Scarecrows were genuine mid-air explosions
Schrage Musik – “Hot or Slanted jazz music” German term for upward firing 20mm cannons used in German night fighters
Scrubbed – RAF slang for operation cancelled
Second Dickey – RAF slang for a pilot or a new aircraft captain flying with an operationally-seasoned crew to gain experience prior to taking his own assigned crew out on their first operation
Serrate - RAF airborne radar used to home on the German night fighters' Liechtenstein bomber detection equipment
Serrate sortie - operation to locate and destroy enemy night fighters and combined with night bomber raids. Made use of airborne radar
Shaker – 1942 target identification technique employing incendiary bombs dropped by Gee-equipped marking aircraft
Shiver – jamming device used against Wurzburg GCI radars
Shooting a line – slang for exaggerating one’s accomplishments. In the RAF, “Shooting a line” was considered bad form
Sledgehammer – plan (instigated by Americans) for limited invasion of France 1942
Smoke Puff – sky marker for day/night blind bombing, filled with red, green, blue, or yellow pigment, that left a persistent smoke stain in target area
SN 2 – German AI radar
Sky Marker Floater – 250 pound cluster projectile with 27 coloured parachute flares
Sortie - one aircraft doing one trip to target and back
Spanner – early German infra-red airborne target detection device
Spoof – subsidiary attack to draw enemy night fighters away from the Main Force
Sprog – slang for inexperienced crew, or newcomers to operations
Spot Fire – 250 pound red, green or yellow target marker
Starboard - the right side of the a/c as seen from pilot's seat
Steinbock – German air attacks on London, 1940
-T-
Tail End Charlie - slang for a tail/rear gunner in a bomber, or pilot of rear aircraft in formation
Take to the silk – slang for bail out an aircraft
Tallboy – 12,000 pound high-velocity deep penetration bomb
Thunderclap – originally planned as a massive air attack on Berlin to hasten German surrender. First proposed August 1944 for spring 1945, but not executed in its planned form
TI – Target Indicator. A 250 pound bomb case packed with 60 9-inch green, red or yellow candles, or a 1000 pound bomb case packed with 200 candles
Tiger Force – RAF (and Dominion) component tasked to assist Americans in strategic bombing of Japan
Tinsel – jamming of German fighter radio communication and control channels
Torch – Allied invasion of northwest Africa, November 1942
Totalize – First Canadian Army attack toward Falaise, August 1944
Tractable – follow-up First Canadian Army attack to close Falaise gap, August 1944
Trailing Aerial - a cable like radio aerial that was extended and retracted during flight
-U-
Ultra – signals intelligence derived from penetration of German Enigma cipher machines
Undercarriage - Landing gear
-V-
V1 - The first of the operational German weapons of reprisal or "Vergeltungswaffen" - the V-1 was a pilotless flying bomb powered by a pulse-jet engine and carried a 850kg (1875lb) high-explosive warhead, and had a range of up to 200km
V2 - Also known as the successor to the V-1 was a long range rocket powered by liquid oxygen and alcohol, it had a 975kg (2150lb) high-explosive warhead and a range of 320km
V3 - Long-range smooth-bore gun designed to fire shells with up to 10kg (22lb) high-explosive warhead and a range of 93km - never very successful as most installations were destroyed by bombing before they could be used
VE-Day - Victory in Europe Day - 8th May 1945
Vegetable – air-dropped sea mine
Veritable – First Canadian Army attack on Rhineland, February- March 1945
Very Pistol - a flare gun used for signal
Village Inn – British tail-mounted, rear-looking warning radar
VJ Day - Victory over Japan Day - 15th August 1945
-W-
Waffen SS - The branch of the S.S. which formed military fighting divisions
Wanganui – sky-marking targets with coloured flares markers blind-dropped by H2S or Oboe
Wasserman – German early-warning radar
Wehrmacht - German armed forces
Whitebait – code name for summer 1943 Bomber Command raids on Berlin
Wilde Sau – “Wild Boar” German “Freelance” night fighter
Wimpy – slang for Vickers Wellington bomber
Window - strips of metallic foil precisely cut to wavelength of enemy radar, air-dropped in bundles to confuse those radars with a saturation of false echoes. Also called “Chaff”
Wingco – slang for wing commander rank
Wizard – slang for first class, or deserving highest praise
Wurzburg – German ground controlled interception radar
-X-
-Y-
“Y” Aircraft – Bomber Command aircraft equipped with H2S
Ypsilon – German night fighter control system
-Z-
Zahme Sau – “Tame Boar,” German controlled night fighter
Zephyrs – average winds aloft provided by selected crews and broadcast to all participating bombers on a raid
Ranks
Non Commissioned
AC2 – Aircrafts man 2nd class
AC1 – Aircrafts man 1st class
LAC - Leading Aircrafts man
Cpl - Corporal
Sgt - Sergeant
F/Sgt - Flight Sergeant
W/O2 - Warrant Officer 2nd class (RCAF only)
W/O1 - Warrant Officer 1st class (RCAF only)
W/O - Warrant Officer
Commissioned Ranks
P/O - Pilot Officer
F/O - Flying Officer
F/Lt - Flight Lieutenant
S/L - Squadron Leader
Senior Commissioned Ranks
W/C - Wing Commander
G/C - Group Captain
A/C - Air Commodore
AM - Air Marshall
ACM - Air Chief Marshall
AVM - Air Vice Marshall
Allied Abbreviations (*Glossary)
AASF – Advanced Air Striking Force
ABC – Airborne Cigar*
AEF - Air Experience Flight
AFDU – Air Fighting Development Unit
AFTS – Advanced Flying Training School
AFS – Advanced Flying School
AFU - Advanced Flying Unit
AGLT – Automatic Gun-Laying Turret
AGS - Air Gunnery School
AI – Airborne Intercept
ANS - Air Navigation School
AOC – Air Officer Commanding
AOC-in-C- Air Officer Commanding in Chief
AOS - Air Observsers School
AP - Aiming Point
API – Air Position Indicator
ASI - Air Speed Indicator
BCATP – British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
BCDU – Bomber Command Development Unit
B&GS - Bombing & Gunnery School
CAS – Chief of the Air Staff
CB – Companion of the Order of the Bath
CBE – Companion of the Order of the British Empire
CBO – Combined Bomber Offensive
CFS - Central flying school
C/O: Commanding Officer
EFTS - Elementary Flying Training School
ETO - European Theatre of Operations
F/E - Flight Engineer
FIDO – Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation*
FIS - Flying Instructors School
FTR – Failed To Return
GP – General Purpose*
HC – High Capacity *
HCU - Heavy Conversion Unit
HE – High Explosive bomb
HF – High Frequency radio
HF/DF – High Frequency Direction Finding
IAS - Indicated Air Speed
IFF – Identification Friend or Foe*
LMF – Lack of Morale Fiber
M - Magnitude
M of C - Master Bomber (Master of Ceremonies)
MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire
MC – Medium Capacity*
MEW – Ministry of Economic Warfare
NAAFI - Navy, Army, Air Force Institute*
N/CO - Non-Commissioned Officer
OBE – Officer of the British Empire
OCU – Operational Conversion Unit
ORB – Operational Record Book
ORS – Operational Research Section
OTU - Operational Training Unit
P/A - Primary Area
PFF - Path Finder Force*
POW – Prisoner Of War
PPI – Planned Position Indicator
RAAF - Royal Australian Air Force
RNZAF - Royal New Zealand Air Force
SASO – Senior Air Staff Officer
SFTS - Secondary Flight Training School
SHAEF – Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
SOE – Special Operations Executive
SOSO – Senior Operations Staff Officer
TA - Target Area
TI - Target Indicator*
USAAF – United States America Air Force
VCAS – Vice-Chief of the Air Staff
VHF – Very High Frequency (radio)
WAAF - Women Auxiliary Air Force
WS - Wireless School
Medals
VC - Victoria Cross
GC – George Cross
OB - Order of Bath
DSO - Distinguished Service Order
DSC - Distinguished Service Cross
MC – Military Cross
DFC - Distinguished Flying Cross
AFC – Air Force Cross
RRC – Royal Red Cross
CGM – Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
GM – George Medal
DFM - Distinguished Flying Medal
AFM – Air Force Medal
BEM – British Empire Medal
OBE – Order of the British Empire
DFC – Distinguished Flying Cross
DFM – Distinguished Flying Medal
MiD – Mention in Despatches