ABC - Airborne Cigar -
transmitter aboard aircraft which jammed German fighter
control frequencies
AC Plonk - an Aircraftman
Abbeville Kids - a particularly
aggressive bunch of Luftwaffe fighter units based at
Abbeville
Adj - Adjutant, the administrative assistant to
the Squadron CO
Admiral - officer i/c boats in the Air
Sea Rescue Service
Acc (Trolley Acc) - Accumulator
(battery) - for starting engines on ground
ace - pilot credited with bringing down
five or more enemy aircraft, established in WWI
ack - earlier phonetic alphabet for 'A'
e.g. morning time a.m. was ack emma
ack-ack - Anti Aircraft fire (these
days, 'Triple A' - anti aircraft artillery)
aiming point - during a bombing run the
aircraft had to fly level and steady for aiming purpose
before bomb release and for a short period afterwards to
enable the camera on board to take a series of pictures
(at night a photo flash flare was dropped) to provide
evidence of where the bombs had been aimed - getting a
photo showing the planned aiming point was highly
regarded
Air Commode - Air Commodore
Air House - The Air Ministry
aircrew - anyone who had a winged brevet, e.g.
pilot, navigator, air gunner etc.
airmaids - crew of an Air Sea Rescue
boat
airscrew - three or four propeller
blades on a hub and with a spinner
Album Leaf - improved kind of Oboe
ammo - ball, Dewilde incendiary, tracer,
armour piercing
anchor - one who waits too long to drop
by parachute
angels - altitude in units of 1000 feet
e.g. Angels 20 over Dover = 20,000 feet over Dover: see
also grand
APHRODITE - Use of aged aircraft as
radio-controlled bombers
apron - hangar tarmac
Are you happy in/at your work? -
facetious/ironic comment to someone doing some
heavy/disagreeable/unsuitable task
armourer - ground crew responsible for
bombs, defensive ammunition, flares etc.
arrival - clumsy or otherwise defective
landing
arse end charlie - the man who weaves
backwards and forwards above and behind the fighter
squadron to protect them from attack from the rear (not
to be confused with tail-end Charlie)
artic - see Queen Mary
ASH - Narrow beam radar used for
low-level operations
arsy-tarsy - Aircrew Reception Centre
Aspirin - jammer to counter the German
Knickebein navigational aid
attaboy - member of the Air Transport
Auxiliary (ATA) many of whom were Americans
aviate - showing off when flying a plane
bag - collect/secure,
possibly illegally
bag - parachute
bags of - a lot of as in "bags of
swank"
bags of swank - pride in a job
bail out (or bale out) - to leave an
aircraft by parachute: those doing so to save their lives
qualified for a Caterpillar Club membership and
badge: usually in forced circumstances as distinct from a
practice drop
Balbo - large formation of aircraft
balloonatic - member of Balloon Command
banana-boat - aircraft carrier
bandit - enemy aircraft
bandstand - cruet in Officers' Mess
bang on - to be right on target -
absolutely correct
bar - second or more the award of the
same decoration, also shown by an asterisk e.g. DFC* =
DFC and bar
base wallah - someone on HQ staff
basher - man, chap, fellow in a
particular trade e.g. stores basher
battle dress blues - woollen working
uniform
beam (on the) - be right, understand
(opposite of off (the) beam)
beat up - to fly very low over those who
are watching in celebration or to show off, sometimes
with disciplinary action resulting or tragic consequences
- also to attack
Beau - Bristol Beaufighter aircraft
Beer-Barrel - Brewster Buffalo aircraft
beef - bore by talking very dry 'shop'
beehive - very close formation of
bombers (hive) with fighter escort (bees)
beer-lever - joystick
beetle-juice - Betelgeux, bright red star which
with Sirius and Procyon form an equilateral triangle
Belinda - frequent nickname of barrage ballons
bell (rang the) - got good results
BELLICOSE - first 'shuttle' bombing raid
by Bomber Command June 20/21 1943, aircraft landed at
Algiers and bombed Spezia on return to UK
belly - underpart of aircraft fuselage
belly landing/belly-flop - to land with
the undercarriage retracted
belt (to) - travel at a high speed or to
hit target heavily
belt up - be quiet
best blues - parade uniform
Benjamin - jammer to counter the German
Y-Gerät bombing aid
Bernhard - German ground-to-air
communication system
billed - briefed/detailed in Orders
bind (in a) - people who obstruct or are
a nuisance, as in "he's in a bind about my
leave"
bind (to) - complain excessively, be
officious
binder - someone who complains unduly
binders - brakes of an aircraft
binding - whingeing about conditions
Bishop - Padre
black (a) - something reprehensible,
e.g. "he's put up a black with the CO about the mess
he made of the march-past"
black box - instrument that enables bomb
aimer to see through clouds or in the dark - see also gen
box
black-outs - WAAF knickers, navy-blue
winter-weights
Blenburgher - Bristol Blenheim aircraft
Blighty - the UK
blister - an enclosure/housing for a
machine gun or cannon; a bulge in a perspex canopy to
enable a better view
blitz (A solid lump of) - large
formation of close flying enemy aircraft
blitz - the cleaning of barracks or
buttons
blitz buggy - an ambulance or very fast
vehicle
blitz time - time briefed for all
aircraft to pass over target
blonde job - young woman with fair hair
especially a WAAF
blood chit - ransom note carried by
early fliers pre-war
blood-wagon - ambulance
bloody - at the time a fairly heavy duty
profanity - often made milder as "ruddy"
blotto - drunk as in "he was
completely blotto"
blower - aircraft supercharger;
telephone
blue (RAAF) - anything red
Blue (The) - the desert
bluebird - WAAF
bobbing - currying of favour with a
superior
bods - squadron personnel
body-snatcher - stretcher bearer
boffins - scientific or technical types
who worked on new aircraft or equipment developments
bog - latrine - also "biffy"
bogey - unidentified aircraft
bogus - sham, spurious
bolshie - a crewman who took a dim view
of service bull
bomber-boy - member of bomber aircrew
bomb up - to load the bombs on to an
aircraft
bomphleteers - airmen engaged on the
early pamphlet raids (later called Nickels)
Bondu - expanse of land that we yomped
across (RAF Regt)
boob (to) - to make a mistake (boob)
boomerang - returning early from an
uncompleted operation because of alleged technical
problems - see also DNCO
boost - the amount of supercharging
given to an engine to increase power (eg: +5 lb)
Boozer - Radar receiver fitted to RAF
bombers
borrow - take, appropriate, purloin
bought it (buy a packet) - be shot down,
with connotations of carelessness or recklessness
bounce - surprise attack
bound rigid - see bind
bowser - tanker truck or lorry used to
refuel aircraft down the flights
box clever - use of intelligence to
avoid or wangle one's way out of a situation or duty
Brains Trust - Central Trades Test
Board, which examined candidates for a higher
classification
brass (the) or brasshats - Senior
officers at the Wing or Group level - so called because
of the amount of gold braid ("brass") found on
their hats
brassed off - some say this is less
severe than "cheesed off" which in turn is less
severe than "browned off" - unhappy
break van - NAAFI or tea van
brew up - prepare pot of tea
Bricks/Bricks and Mortar - Air Ministry
Works Department or Directorate (AMWD) -see Works and
Bricks
bride - chap's girl friend, not
necessarily sexually intimate
briefing - a meeting of all crews before
they set out on an operation, to receive instructions for
the op: some might have further specialist briefings e.g.
navigators
Brock's benefit - very intense display
of flares, searchlights and AA fire (after the firework
manufacturer who also supplied many of the flares used)
brolly - parachute
Bromide - jammer to counter the German
X-Gerät bombing aid
brown jobs - the Army - also
"pongos" and "squaddies"
brown (one's knees) - to have spent time
in a posting with a hot climate - because of the heat the
wearing of uniform KD shorts was necessary - "get
your knees brown, sonny" putting (uppity) newcomers
in their place
brown - less severe error than a black
browned off - fed up/angry: see brassed
off
bubble dancing - washing one's irons or
plates
buggers (play silly) - fool around, not
take job seriously
bull - formalities of the service
(square bashing, saluting the King's Commission etc.)
e.g. "he's full of bull"
bullshit - longer version of bull
Bully Beef - a canned meat product,
consisting largely of fat - so called because of the Bull
on the front of the Hereford Brand of corned beef
bumf - useless paperwork, apparently
bumph is not the correct version of this according to
Partridge
bumps - see circuits and bumps
Bundoo (The) - the boondocks (see Blue)
- somewhere far from civilisation
bunk - small Corporals' Barrack Room with three bunks
Burton - "Gone for a Burton" -
killed in action - some say it comes from from old beer
commercial for Burton Ale, but there are other
explanations
bus - an aircraft
bus driver - bomber pilot
Buster - as fast as possible.
buttoned up - job properly completed,
all sorted out
buy (to) - as in "to buy it"
(see Burton) - "to buy the farm"; be killed or
lost
buzz - rumour
cabbage - bomb
Calvert Bar landing light system - A system of
bars and intervening lights leading to the runway
threshold
Camp Comedian - Camp Commandant
canteen cowboy - ladies' man
Cas (the) - CAS, Chief of Air Staff
Cat - Consolidated Catalina aircraft
cat's eyes - particularly keen eyed
pilot (esp. John Cunningham)
Caterpillar Club - a club for those who
had survived by using their parachutes - the pin was a
small caterpillar (representing the insect that made
silk) and was given by Irvin, the maker of parachutes
Carpet operation - Supply dropping
sortie to Resistance forces
Chain Gang - aircrafthands, General
Duties
Chain Home - British early warning radar sytem
chair-borne division - RAF personnel
working in offices
champagne glass - Handley Page Hampden
aircraft
Chance light - powerful light at end of
runway which could be requested by a pilot in difficulty
CHANNEL STOP - Attempt to close the
English Channel to the passage of enemy shipping
char - tea, from Hindustani borrowing
from Chinese, tchai: "char and a wad"
CHASTISE - attack on the Ruhr Dams by
617 Sqn, May 16/17 1943
cheesed off - see brassed off
Chiefy - Flight Sergeant
chin food - a binder's talk
chippy - carpenter
chocks away - let's make a start
chop, to get the - see Burton
chuffed - happy, pleased
chum - equivalent to the American
"buddy"
chute - a parachute
Cigar - see ABC
circuits and bumps - repeated touch and
go landings in training
a pilot training exercise in landing an aircraft and
immediately taking off again
Circus operations - Fighter-escorted
daylight bombing attacks against short-range targets with
the aim of bringing the enemy air force to battle
civvies - civilian clothing
civvy - a civilian
civvy kip - bed in civilian life
civvy street - the non military world outside
the RAF
clapped out - an aircraft or person
nearing the end of its useful life - worn out, tired
CLARION - American plan to disrupt
German communications and morale by widespread bombing
attacks
clobber - flying gear it was necessary
to wear in a wartime bomber
close the hangar doors - stop talking
shop (stop talking about RAF matters)
clot - a person whose intelligence should be
questioned
club - propeller
clueless - be ignorant of something
cockup - a situation that has become extremely
disorganized (from the term "cocked hat")
collect a gong - receive a medal
comb out - make an extensive ground
target sweep with gunfire
come up! - put some service in (those
with less service are at the bottom of time-based
promotion lists)
coming to town - enemy aircraft
approaching
coming and going - applied to an
aircraft fitted with a wireless set
completely cheesed (off) - utterly fed
up
con course - conversion course e.g. when
switching from one trade to another
coned - when a master searchlight, often
radar controlled, frequently described as having a
blueish 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
conservatory - cabin of a plane (from
the perspex on three sides)
Cookie - 4,000lb High Capacity blast
bomb, usually dropped with incendiaries; also called a
blockbuster (demolish a block of houses)
cooler - guardroom
cope - accomplish, deal with
corker (a) - mine, also very attractive
woman
corkscrew - evasive manoeuvre 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 to German
fighters
court a cat - take a girlfriend out
COSSAC - collective title for
Anglo-American staff groups which planned OVERLORD before
General Eisenhower's appointment as Supreme Commander
crab - Avro 504 training aircraft
crabbing along - flying near the ground
or water
crack ( ) down - (it) when applied to an
aircraft, to shoot it down: to crack down on the deck (in
the drink) - to crash land on the ground (on the sea)
crack-up - as a verb, to be showing
signs of operational stress; otherwise an accident
involving repairable damage
crate - aircraft, particularly one which
is obsolescent
crib - verb, to complain about
cricket - German night fighter plane
CROSSBOW - attack on V-weapon launching
sites
crown (get your) - be promoted to Flight
Sergeant, who wore a crown badge above the sergeant's
three stripes
curtains - killed
Crump Dump - the Ruhr
crump hole - bomb crater
cu - cumulus cloud
cu nim - cumulo nimbus cloud
Daffy - Boulton Paul
Defiant aircraft
daisy cutter - faultless landing
Dalton Computer - early mechanical hand held
computer used in air navigation
Darkie - system of homing at night on
radio bearings provided by base when requested
Day Ranger - Operation to engage air and
ground targets within a wide but specified area, by day
dead stick - engine failed - e.g. dead
stick landing is a landing without engine power
debriefing - interrogation over mugs of
tea with the Intelligence staff to elicit what happened
on the op
deck - the ground : "crack down on
the deck" - to "pancake" an aircraft
desert lily - urinal made from tin can
dicey do - a particularly hair-raising
operation
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"
dicky seat - the seat originally
designed for a second pilot
dim view (take a) - view with scepticism
or disapproval
Distil operation - Fighter operation to
shoot down enemy aircraft minesweeping, usually off
Denmark
ditch - to force land on water
dobhi - one's laundry
DODGE - ferrying troops home from Italy
dog-fight - aerial scrap
doggo (lie) - remain quiet/hidden
Domino - Jammer to counter the German
X-Gerät bombing aid
dope - nitrocelluloid liquid, similiar
to nail polish, used to tighten and harden fabric (linen)
airframe covering
down the flights - the area on an
airfield where the aircraft were serviced between ops
DRAGOON - ultimate code name for the
invasion of Southern France in August 1944 (previously
named ANVIL)
Drem lighting - System of outer markers and
approach lights installed at many airfields in the early
years of the war
drill (the right) - correct way
drink (in the) - to come down in the sea
driver, airframe - pilot (play on RAF
Quater Master labelling of items)
drome - (aerodrome) - an airfield
dud - weather: when not fit to fly -
bombs/ammunition: didn't go off
duff - see u/s - also "not
accurate/wrong" as in "duff gen" - the
opposite of "pukka gen"
Düppel - German name for metal foil
dropped to confuse radar
dustbin - ventral gunner's position in
aircraft
dust-up - heated
action/fight/altercation
egg - a bomb or mine
(lay eggs - lay mines)
egg-whisk - an autogyro
Elsan - chemical toilet carried on some aircraft
(Elsan gen - unreliable information)
embark leave - embarkation leave given
when about to go overseas
Engines - Engineering Officer
Erb - any airman
erk - junior ground crew - from the
Cockney pronunciation of aircraftman
Eureka - ground radio transmitter for
guiding bombers to their target
everything under control - all is well
EXODUS - Ferrying troops and displaced
persons to and from Europe
Eyetie - an Italian (plane)
Faithful Annie - Avro
Anson
fan - propeller
Fighter Night patrol - Fighter patrol
over area where anti-aircraft gunners were ordered not to
fire, sometimes restricted to certain altitudes
finger (to remove one's) - hurry up
and/or pay attention
fishheads - Navy
fitter - ground crew responsible for
engines and related controls
Firebash sorties - sorties by Mosquitoes
of 100 Group with the aircraft delivering incendiary or
napalm loads on German airfields
fireproof - invulnerable
fireworks - heavy anti aircraft fire
Fizzer - (disciplinary) charge
Flak - Fliegerabwehrkanonen -
anti-aircraft gun: in reports heavy/light flak referred
to to the calibre observed not the intensity -
"getting some flak" - being criticised
flame float - small floating incendiary
device thrown down the flare chute so that the rear
gunner could center the "pip" on his reflector
sight on the point of light and then read off the degree
of deviation from a scale on his turret ring - thus
providing the navigator with the degree of wind drift
blowing the a/c off track
flamer - aircraft shot down in flames
flaming - mild, all purpose expletive
flaming onions - anti aircraft tracer
flannel - to avoid the truth, bluffing
flap - ("there's a flap on") -
rush to get something done - somewhat panicky activity
e.g. resulting from the unexpected arrival of a very
senior officer
flare path - a row of lights (either
kerosene gooseneck flares or permanent base electric
lights) marking the boundary of the runway for taking off
and landing
flat out for (be) - support, be in
favour of ("I'm flat out for his move")
flicks - searchlights or cinema.
flight - a bomber squadron was in one or
more Flights - e.g. A and B each consisting of 6-8
aircraft and crews: each Flight was commanded by a
Squadron Leader or Flight Lieutenant - A Flight aircraft
were lettered A-N and B Flight from M-Z
Flight - Flight Sergeant (Flight Louie -
Flight Lieutenant: flight magician - flight mechanic)
fling (or throw) one up - salute
flip - short flight, especially when as
a favour to a friend
flying brevet - cloth insignia worn on
all uniforms including battle dress to indicate aircrew
trade - pilots' brevets were two winged - all other crew
wore a single wing with their trade marked inside a
circular area at the base of the wing: in the early part
of the war a trade which later disappeared was Observer
(Navigator/Bomb Aimer), they wore a winged O, which was
fondly known as the flying arsehole
flying log - every aircrew member was
required to keep a flying logbook of every flight taken -
including air tests, transport, training and operational
flying - this was signed by the Flight Commander each
month and by the CO. At the end of a tour the C/O and the
Trade Leader would sign (eg: a Bomb Aimer's log would be
signed by the Bombing Leader, The Gunner's by the Gunnery
Leader etc.)
Flying Pencil - Dornier bomber
Flying Suitcase (Tadpole) - Handley Page
Hampden
Flying Tin-Opener - Hurricane in tank
busting role
fold up (to) - suddenly crash
football feet - make excessive use of
rudder
fore-and-aft - RAF field service cap
(now known as a 'chip bag') as distinct from dress
service cap
foreigner - article made of RAF material
Form 78 - RAF form also called Aircraft
Movement Card which followed the aircraft from the
manufacturer to its final resting place
Form 540 - pages of this form make up
the Operations Record Books (ORB): the column headings
are date, aircraft type and number, crew, duty, Time up,
Time down, Details of sortie or flight, References
Form 541 - pages of this form were used for the
Appendices to the ORB
Form 700 - form setting out the serviceability
status of an aircraft, signed by the captain to signify
taking over responsilbility for it from the ground crew:
the Form had to list any defects
Fort - Boeing B-17 Heavy Daylight Bomber
fox (to) - to do something clever or
rather cunning, bamboozle
Freeman, Hardy & Willis - or Pip,
Squeak and Wilfred - 1914-15 Star, Overseas Service
and Victory medals of the 1914-18 war (FHW was a chain of
shoe shops, Pip etc. were comic strip characters). If the
1914-15 Star was missing the other two were nicknamed Mutt
and Jeff from two early cinema cartoon characters
Freya - German early warning radar
frozen on the stick - paralysed with
fear
fruit salad - ribbons from medals
("gongs") wrapped around a thin bar and sewn
together were worn under the flying brevet - the various
colours of the ribbons would resemble fruit salad -
applied to someone who had a large collection of awards;
sometimes to Americans, who seemingly had more
opportunities for awards than the RAF
FULLER - counter measures agains the
escape of the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau
from Brest
full bore - flat out, at top speed
Gardening -
sea/coastal mine-laying by aircraft
gate (through the) - apply maximum power
Gee - Medium-range radio aid to navigation
equipment employing ground transmitters and airborne
receiver
Giant Würzburg - German fighter control
radar
Grand Slam - 22,000lb penetrating
(earthquake) bomb
groundcrew - RAF trade not wearing a
flying brevet
gen - a person on squadron who knew what
he was doing - as in "a gen bod"
gen - information (either good - see
"pukka" or bad see "duff"): gen up -
to swot for exams
gen box - see black box
George - automatic pilot
Gerry or Jerry - German
get cracking - get on with it, get going
get some in - advice given to sprog
crews who inadvisedly gave old lags on their opinion of
operational flying (from "get some time in") -
often paired with "chum" as in "Get some
in chum, before you tell your grandmother how to suck
eggs"
gharry - originally a horse drawn cart -
came to mean any form of wheeled transport
get some flying hours in - get some
sleep
gippy tummy - "the screaming (h)ab
dabs", dysentry, "the trots", at worst,
gastroenteritis, associated with Egypt
glasshouse - held in detention on camp
goggled goblin - night fighter pilot
going (around again) - repeating the
bomb run to get a better result
golden eagle sits on Friday/lays its eggs
- next Friday is pay parade
GOMORRAH - firestorm raid on Hamburg
1943
gone for six - dead
goner - fatally hit (aircraft or person)
- killed/missing: see also Burton as in "gone for a
Burton"
gong - a medal, specifically a
decoration, but now used to describe all service medals
good show - excellent performance, well
done
goof - ladies man
goolie chit - a scrap of paper or piece
of cloth that when shown to the natives of a country over
which you might be shot down offered a reward if they
would return you alive and entire to the nearest
Allied unit: arose from NW frontier and Iraq where the
ladies of some tribes played nasty games with sharp
knives
goolies - a vital body part for aircrew
- "I almost got my goolies shot off, last op"
goon - fool, very stupind person: POW -
German guards
Gossage - barrage balloon (after AOC
Balloon Command Sir Leslie Gossage)
grab for altitude - try to gain altitude
in flight: become very angry
grand - unit of altitude, 1000 feet -
see also the more often quoted angels
gravel bashing - see square bashing
gravel basher - Drill or Physical
Training Instructor
Gravy (the) - Atlantic: gravy - fuel
green (in the) - all engine control
gauges operating correctly - a needle which swung into
the "red" indicated a malfunction
green (to get the) - to receive
permission to take off (expanded to get permission for
anything) - the airfield control officer would signal
with a morse code Aldis Lamp with a green lens to give an
aircraft permission to take off - usually the message was
the letter of the aircraft (eg: P for Peter - .. -)
greenhouse - cockpit windows
greens (when referring to undercarriage
instrumentation) green lights referring to the
retractable undercarriage legs, red lights indicate legs
moving between up/locked and down/locked. When all up and
locked there are no lights showing (makes bulbs last
longer, most old indicators had two sets of green lamps
switchable to cater for a blown bulb)
gremlin - a mythical creature that lived
on certain aircraft and caused it to go u/s at the most
inconvenient times and then could not be located as the
source of the problem when checks were made
grief (to come to) - be destroyed or to
get into trouble
GR Navvy - general reconnaissance
navigator
grocer - Equipment Officer
groceries - bombs see also cabbage,
cookie, egg
grope - ground operational exercise
grounded - not permitted to fly: someone
newly married (can't fly by night)
ground wallah - an officer who did not
fly
ground-strafe - low flying attack
Group - a formation of Wings
Groupie - Group Captain - usual rank of
officer who commanded a Wing or and RAF Station
gubbins - equipment or needed material
(eg: "has that kite got the gubbins for dropping a
cookie?")
Guinea Pig Club - after an incident
where aircrew were extremely badly burned they would be
sent to East Grinstead Hospital in the U.K. where some of
the foremost plastic surgeons of the day performed
"cutting edge" surgery - the term was made up
by the patients themselves - many today proudly wear the
maroon tie of the club
Gussie - officer (from Augustus,
a then typical 'tony' or posh name)
hack (station) - a/c
on squadron used for general communications duties or as
the CO's private mount
HADDOCK - code name for a force of
Wellingtons sent to the South of France in 1940 to bomb
Italy
half-pint hero - a boaster
half-section - mate, companion, even
wife
Halibag - Handley Page Halifax four
engine bomber
Ham-Bone - Handley Page Hampden
Hangar doors closed! - see close the
hangar doors
Happy Valley - the Ruhr, much bombed and
very heavily defended
heavy - heavy bomb or bomber
hedge-hopping - flying so low that the
aircraft appears to hop over the hedges
Herc - Bristol Hercules sleeve valve air
cooled radial engine
High Tea
Himmelbett - German system of controlled night
fighting
hip-flask - revolver
hit the deck - to land
hockey stick - bomb loading jack or
hoist
hoick off - take off: move quickly to
some place
hold everything - stop what you are
doing and wait for new instructions
hoosh - land at great speed
homework - sweetheart or girlfriend
Hoover - fighter sweep
hop the twig - crash fatally (Canadian)
hot - right (bang) up to date: fast
(USA)
hours - on 24 hour clock - time - 2345
hours would be 12:45 p.m. ,also could be the amount of
time in the air as calculated in your log book: night
hours were usually written in red
huffy - WAAF disdainful of approaches
hulk - a severely damaged aircraft
humdinger - very fast plane
Hun - German
Hurryback - Hurricane fighter
Hurrybuster - see Flying Tin Opener
illuminator - a crew
tasked with dropping flares on a night target so that the
following a/c could aim accurately
intell - intelligence officer (I/O) or
intelligence report
intercom - the system by which the
various crew members communicated with each other by
voice in the aircraft
iron lung - Nissen Hut
Irvin Jacket - Standard RAF leather
flying jacket lined with fleece
jankers - to be put
"on a charge" for a violation of service
discipline
Jerry - German (plane)
Jerrycan - excellent German heavy duty
portable can for holding water, fuel or other liquid -
quickly replaced the leaky tins used by the RAF, was
manufactured in England to the German pattern
jink away - sharp manoeuvre, sudden
evasive action of aircraft
juice - aviation fuel (as in "we
are low on juice") - also "gravy" - AVGAS
was 100 Octane petrol
K site - airfields
with dummy aircraft for deception by day
keen - eager or reliable - "keen as
mustard "- pun on Kean's mustard powder
khamsin - a desert dust storm
king - NCO in charge of, e.g. bowser
king
Kipper Kite - Coastal Command aircraft which
protected fishing fleets in the North and Irish Seas
kit - ones belongings, both issue and
personal - (hence kitbag) - also used to mean equipment
as in "Does that erk have the kit to repair the hole
in the starboard wing?"
kite - an aircraft (in the USAAF also
called a "ship)
Knickebein - German navigational aid
knot - measure of air or ground speed -
one nautical mile per hour (1.150 statute miles per hour)
Ladybird - WAAF
Officer
Lagoon - Shipping reconnaissance operation off
the Dutch coast
laid on (have) - provided, organised for
you
Lanc - Avro Lancaster bomber
let down - descend through cloud
let up - ease up on throttle
Lib - Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Lichtenstein - German night fighter
radar
Lindholme gear - equipment dropped from
air-sea rescue aircraft to crews ditched in the sea,
developed at RAF Lindholme
line book - book kept in the Mess in
which two or more officers could record a 'line shoot' by
someone
line shoot - shooting a line -
exaggerating one's accomplishments - usually responded to
by the line "there I was upside down, nothing on the
clock but the makers name...."
lose your wool - lose composure
Lorenz system - Blind beam approach
system
low down (the) - inside information
Mae West - inflatable
life vest worn over flying suit (when inflated resembled
the pigeon breasted movie star)
Mahmoud sortie - night fighter sortie to
specific point over enemy territory to engage his night
fighters in that area
mahogany Spitfire - desk -
"flown" by penguins and ground wallahs
main bit - major section of an aircraft
Mandrel - Airborne radio swamping of the
German early warning system, device used by 100 Group
MANNA - delivery of food and supplies to
Holland by air in 1945
Meacon - stations set up to broadcast
signals aimed at 'bending' or altering German navigation
transmissions
Meatbox - early versions of the Gloster
Meteor, implied reference to coffin
meat wagon - ambulance
mepacrine - standard anti-malarial drug
of the day
mess - place assigned for other ranks,
or (separately) NCOs and Officers to eat or relax - there
was a protocol as to who could enter who's mess
Met - Meteorology Officer or weather
report
Mickey Mouse - bomb-dropping controls -
the bombing panel consisted of a clockwork distributor
and selection switches (hence like a mickey mouse watch)
MILLENNIUM - first 1000 bomber raid, on
Cologne May30/31 1943
milling around - aircraft forming
defensive circle
mixed death - various types of
ammunition combined in a belt
mob - Royal Air Force
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
muscle in (on) - to take advantage of
something
Mossie - De Haviland Mosquito aircraft
Musical Paramatta - method of ground
marking a target by coloured target indicators dropped
blindly on Oboe
Musical Wanganui - method of sky marking
a target by parachute borne coloured markers dropped
blindly on Oboe
Naxos - German radar
device enabling fighters to home on H2S transmissions of
bombers
Newhaven - Method of ground marking a
target by flares or target indicators dropped blindly on
HS followed by visual identification
Nickel - Leaflet dropping operation
Nickels - propaganda leaflets
Night Ranger - Operation to engage air
and ground targets within a wide but specified area, by
night
no joy - no enemy contact
Nobby - all purpose nickname for anyone
called Clark or Clarke. Originally clarks (which we now
almost all spell "clerks", but in the UK still
pronounced in the original fashion) wore top hats as a
sign of their trade. The gentry, or "nobs" also
wore top hats and thus the clarks came by the name
"nobby" because of their "posh" hats
Oasthouse
Oboe - Ground-controlled radar system of blind
bombing in which one station indicated track to be
followed and another the bomb release point
OCTAGON - second Quebec Conference,
September 1944
odd bod - crew member who had lost his
crew or who had fallen behind the rest of his crew in
number of operational trips, or whose crew could not fly
because of illness etc., and who flew as a
"spare" with another crew, "spare
bod"
office - cockpit of aircraft
old lag - experienced airman - often
Regular Airforce
Old Man (the) - Squadron CO
on the beam - some stations were
equipped with a landing beam which told the pilot he was
on the correct glide slope for landing - if he flew too
high he would hear a series of morse dots and if too low
a series of morse dashes - the idea was to keep a steady
tone in one's earphones - also showed up in some aircraft
as a set of lights showing that one was on the correct
beam or too high or low - also used for flying on a
navigation beam such as Gee or Oboe - generally
translated to being on the right course of action about
anything as in "I think the Wingco's on the beam
about not flying over the Alps again."
Oggin -sea, ocean
op (operation) - an attack on the enemy
(USAAF term - "mission")
opsum - Operational Summary - prepared
by the Intelligence Officer from debriefing notes
recording the results of an operation
oranges - Vitamin C tablets
organize - to "win" a wanted
article
other ranks - "ORs" - those
below officer level
overload tanks - extra fuel tanks
required when for example a Wellington was operated at
its extreme range - two could be fitted in the bomb bays
and one could be fitted on the rest cot in the fuselage
OVERLORD - Allied invasion of northern
France in June 1944
pack up - cease to
function - "My port engine packed up coming out of
the target area"
packet (catch a) - be on the receiving
end of offensive fire (as in "I heard Nobby caught a
packet over Verona last night")
PAMPA - Long-range weather reporting
sortie
pancake - to land
pansy - effeminate
party - air battle
passion killers - WAAF blackouts (see
blackouts)
passion wagon - WAAF transport
Pebble Monkeys - trainee Rock Apes
peel off (to) - break formation to
engage enemy
penguin - for ground officers with no
operational experience: for mebers of the RAF Regiment (Rock
Apes) a Penguin was anyone who wore a Blue uniform
perch - to land
pickled - drunk
pie eyed - drunk
piece of cake - an easy target with
little opposition - anything easily done
piece of nice - any pleasant
entertainmaint
plaster - to bomb heavily and accurately
Plastic Sgt - newly unsubstantive Sgt
Aircrew
play pussy - hide in the clouds.
pleep - A squeak, rather like a high
note klaxon.
plonk - cheap wine, also "AC
plonk" - A/C 2 - the lowest rank in the RAF
plug away - continue to fire, keep going
for target
plumber - Armourer
Pom - Australian term for the British -
also "Pommy" used adjectivally as in "What
a typical Pommy cockup.."
POINTBLANK - directive for the Combined
Bomber Offensive, June 1943
Pond life - lowest of the low
poop off - open fire
popsie - young lady
port - the left side of a/c as seen from
pilots seat
posted - orders sending a crewman to
another station or responsibility
prang - to crash an a/c or to hit a
target well
PRATA - Weather reconnaissance flight
press on regardless - unofficial motto
of RAF - meant to show keeness to fly through adversity
to the target
Prune, P/O - fictional officer in the
RAF training manuals who demonstrated all of the things
that could go wrong if procedures were not followed
correctly
pukka - genuine as in "pukka
gen"
pulpit - cockpit of aircraft
Pundit - a flashing light which
signalled the airfield identity in order to assist
navigation - RAF ones flash red, Civil ones flash green
QUADRANT - first
Quebec Conference, August, 1943
Q-site - site flashing lights to
represent a mock airfield to attract enemy attention at
night
Queen Bee - WAAF Officer in charge of
the WAAF in a unit or camp
Queen Mary - an articulated
"semi" trailer used to transport aircraft or
aircraft parts by ground to Maintenance Units for service
or refurbishment
quick squirt - short sharp burst of
machine-gun fire - "quickie"
Ramrod - bomber raid
escorted by fighters aimed at destruction of a specific
target in daylight
Ranger - usually a deep penetration
flight to a specified area, to engage targets of
opportunity
Rhombus - weather reporting flight
Rhubarb - low-level strike operation
mounted in cloudy condition against enemy targets in
Occupied Countries
rigger - ground crew responsible for
airframe (specialists might include "instrument
bashers" and "sparks" to look after
instruments and electrical systems)
rings - rank designation on officer's
cuffs e.g. half ringer = Pilot Officer, one
ringer = Flying Officer, two ringer = Flight Lieutenant,
two and a half = Squadron Leader, three = Wing Commander
Roadstead - fighter operation mounted
against shipping
ROBINSON - daylight Lancaster raid on Le
Creusot, October 17th 1942
rocket - a reprimand
Rodeo - Fighter sweep
Rodney(s) - officers of any rank RAF
Regt
roddie or rodded bombs - bomb fitted
with a rod in the nose so that it would explode above the
ground - used in antipersonnel ops
ropey - uncomplimentary adjective
"A ropey landing", "A ropey type",
"A ropey evening", etc.
round - one cartridge of .303
ammunition, ammunition was measured in number of rounds
carried
Rover - Coastal Command armed patrol to
search for enemy shipping
runup - to test engines for magneto drop
before taking off - also the route taken into the target
area before the bomb dropping point was reached
salvo - bomb selection
which released all bombs at the same time
sardine-tin - torpedo carrying plane
Sashlite bulb - Photo-flash bulb used
for training and experimental purposes
Sasso - SASO - Senior Air Staff Officer
sawn-off - short in stature
scapathy - feeling of depression said to
be found among some of those posted to the Orkneys
scarecrow - crews reported aircraft
blowing up without evidence of attacks (e.g. tracer), and
the story arose that the Germans were firing scarecrow
shells to simulate stricken aircraft, so as to demoralise
crews. Probably actually the result of Schräge Musik
attacks, but less easy to explain in daylight reports.
scarlet slugs - Bofors tracer fire
schooly - Education Officer
Schräge Musik - devastatingly
successful upward firing gun fighter attack using
tracerless ammunition against bombers used by expert
Luftwaffe pilots, used in WWI by Albert Ball
Scopie - Air Traffic Controller
scramble - immediate operational take off
scrambled egg - gold braid on Group
Captain or higher officers' hats
scrap - fight
scraper ring - half (middle) ring on a
Squadron Leader's tunic cuffs (technical origin: from
pistons)
scream downhill - execute a power dive
screamer - bomb that makes a whistling
sound as it comes down
screened - a period after completing a
tour when aircrew could not be called on to do
operational flying
screw - propeller
scrounge - obtain illicitly
scrub - to cancel an op
scrub around - take evasive action
SEA LION - German plan for the invasion
of England
second dickey - additional pilot usually
aboard for experience on an operation before starting ops
with his own crew: the first pilot is however not called
a first dickey
senior scribe - NCO i/c O/R - NCO in
charge of the Orderly Room
Serrate sortie - Operation to locate and
destroy enemy night fighters and combined with night
bomber raids. Made use of airborne radar
SEXTANT - Cairo Conference,
November-December 1943
Shagbat - Supermarine Walrus aircraft
shakey do - see "dicey do"
shed - hangar
ships that pass in the night - those
serving only for the duration (of the war)
shit - very bad weather
shooting a line - see line shoot:
recorded in line book or shooting gallery
shot down in flames - crossed in love -
severely reprimanded
shot up - very drunk
shot to ribbons - totally incapable
through drink
show - performance or situation -
("that was a good show over Budapest" or
"he put on a bad show")
shufti (have a) - take a look
Sid Walker gang - crash salvage party:
Cockney comedian of that name, song of his was 'Day after
day, I'm on my way, Any rags, bottles or bones?'
silver sausage - barrage balloon
six (hit for a) - to score maximum
points - to put on a very good show (from cricket)
skipper - the captain of the aircraft
and crew leader - in the air his rule was law regardless
of his rank
skirt patrol - search for a female
companion
sky-piece - smoke trails
sky pilot - padre
smashing job - excellent (aircraft,
girl)
snake - lively or noisy party
snake about - evasive action when chased by
enemy fighters or searchlights or AA fire
snake-charmers - dance band
snappers - enemy fighters
snargasher - training aircraft (Canadian
usage)
snoop - Service Policeman; SP about his
duties
Snow Drops - RAF/Military Police
soggy - aircraft with unresponsive
controls; soggy type - dull or unintereting person
sortie - one aircraft doing one trip to
target and back
soup - fog; "tangled in the
soup" - astray in the fog
Spam - canned meat product - produced by
Hormel in the US - substitute for real meat (see Bully
Beef)
spam can - B-24 Liberator
spam medal - 1939-43 Star (also Naffy
gong)
sparks - term for either the ground crew
who looked after the electrical systems or the aircrew
wireless operator
spawny - very lucky
Spit - Supermarine Spitfire aircraft
spit-and-polish parade - parade
inspection by CO or an ACO
split-arse - daring, reckless: (rude: a
WRAF)
spoof - a diversionary raid or operation
sprog - a "new boy" fresh from
training - inexperienced (also a "sprog crew")
- US "rookie"
spun in - bad mistake, analogy from an
aircraft spinning out of control into the ground
Spartan - exercise to establish methods
of making entire airfield formation mobile
Squadron Leader - rank of officer who
usually led a Flight: also squadron bleeder
Squadron Leader Swill - Admin Officer,
whose duties included disposal of swill
squadron vic - V shaped formation of
aircraft
square bashing - (marching) drill on the
square or parade ground
squirt - to fire a short burst from
machine guns - as in "the R/G gave him a squirt
before we went into the corkscrew"
squo - Squadron Officer - WAAF
equivalent to RAF Squadron Leader
stand down - no operations planned
starboard - the right side of the a/c as
seen from pilot's seat
Starfish - UK decoy sites with various
fire and illumination effects simulating targets to lure
Axis bomber formations e.g. Langstone Harbour for
Portsmouth
STARKEY - large scale spoof invasion of
the Pas de Calais in September 1943, mounted to assess
German reaction and bring his fighters to battle, which
brought about the unplanned destruction of the French
town of Le Portel
Stationmaster - CO of Station
Stationmaster's meetings - meetings run
by Station Commander
steam - work hard and effectively
stick - bomb selection so that bombs
would be released at timed intervals from their carriers
in the bomb bay (also to release only a part of bomb
load, going around a second time to drop the rest)
stiffener - someone who binds you rigid
stooge - deputy, i.e. second pilot or
any assistant
stooging (around) - flying around
waiting for something to happen - flying slowly over an
area, patrolling
Store Basher's Bible - Air Publication
No.830: vol I Equipment Regulations; vol II Storage
and Packing; vol III Scales of RAF Equipment
strip (tear off a) - to be severely
reprimanded by a superior - reflecting the tearing off of
rank badges when someone was demoted
Sun - Short Sunderland aircraft
Sunray - Overseas training flight for
bomber crews
Sunray - code for any CO
supercharged - in a drunken state
swede - green recruit/countrified
sweep - systematic operation to flush
out targets in a given area e.g. fighter sweep
swindle - cunning piece of work
synthetic - not the real thing e.g.
flying simulators
Tallboy - 12,0001b
penetrating (earthquake) bomb
tail end Charlie - rear gunner or rear
aircraft of a formation
take it on - (aeroplane) climb rapidly
Tame Sow/Zahme Sau - German tactics,
designed to bring night fighters in contact with bombers
moving to and from target, using co-ordinated groups
tapes (get) - become a corporal; get
your third tape - become a sergeant
tap in - have a good time (France 1940);
"enemy aircraft ahead, let's tap in"
taps - controls, indicators in the
cockpit or cabin of an aircraft
target for tonight - girl friend
tatered - depressed by unexciting
patrols
taters (sack of) - load of bombs
delivered to same address
taxi - plane carrying small number of
passengers
taxidermist (go and see) - go and get
stuffed
taxi-driver - instructor at a school of
air navigation
tear off a strip - reprimand, "take
down a peg"
teased out - exhausted or very tired
after long duty on a patrol or raid
teat - electric button which fires the
guns (or tit, also for dropping bombs)
Tee Emm - RAF Magazine (as in Training
Manual), post war retitled Happy Landings
tee up - prepare a job, to get ready.
ten-tenths - no visibility because of
total cloud cover - also 10/10ths flak - very heavy
concentration
Theatre or Theatre of Operations -
geographic area where combat was taking place - eg: The
Mediterranean Theatre, The Far East Theatre etc. : US -
ETO European Theater of Operations
three months bumps - 3 month course of
training in flying
three pointer - excellent landing (on
all three wheels)
Thum - Weather reporting flight
THUNDERCLAP - Plan to deliver a sudden,
catastrophic blow by bombing Berlin and other cities with
a view to bringing about German surrender
ticket - pilot's certificate
tiggerty-boo (tickety-boo) - all in
order (tiggerty from the Hindustani teega)
tin basher - metal worker
tin fish - torpedo
Tinsel - broadcasting bomber engine
noises on the German fighter control frequencies
titfa/titfer - cap, steel hat (rhyming
slang tit-for-tat)
Tommy - after Tommy Atkins (Kipling) -
originally used to denote the British infantryman - later
to be used by the Germans as "tommi" as their
equivalent to "Gerry" : US equivalent -
"G.I."
tool along - fly aimlessly
totem-pole - airfield lighting equipment
of this shape
TORCH - Allied invasion of French North
Africa in 1942
touch bottom - crash
touch down - to land
tour (of operations) - initially a
period of time, later a number of ops, that a bomber
crewman had to complete before being screened
toy - a training aircraft or Link
Trainer
toys - mechanical parts of a plane
beloved of the armourers and mechanics
tracer - a type of machine gun round
which glowed as it moved showing the way to the target
and allowing for adjustments in sighting - unfortunately
also gave away the firer's position - usually every
fourth round was a tracer
train (driving the) - leading more than
one squadron into battle
Trenchard Brat - RAF Boy Apprentice: to
be a Brat was highly regarded as the training was tough
and the standards demanded were high; many achieved
distinction
trip - an op
TRIDENT- The third Washington
Conference, May 1943
trousers - fairing of the undercarriage
legs of certain types of aircraft, see also spats
tug - plane which tows gliders or
targets
turn up the wick - open the throttle
turnip bashing - drill on the square or
in fields
twilights - Summer-weight lighter
coloured underwear of the WAAF
twit - see clot
twitch - body tremors developed by
aircrew after a number of operations - "he's got the
twitch" - sign of operational stress
two-six (2-6) - general base call
"down the flights", all personnel needed on a
job
type - a kind of person ( as in:
"he's a ropey type" or "he's a bolshie
type")
umbrella - parachute
undercart - the undercarriage of an aircraft -
two main wheels and a tail wheel in the case of
"taildraggers" like the Wellington - two main
and a nosewheel for "tricycle" aircraft like
the B-24 - attempting a landing with the 'cart
"up" was considered a "putting up a large
black" for the pilot
upstairs - in the air
up top - flying high
UP - projector for firing Z rockets
VARSITY - Airborne
operation to facilitate the crossing of the River Rhine
in March 1945
Vees - a brand of wartime cigarette
vegetables - acoustic or magnetic mines
sowed on gardening expeditions to various
"beds"
V Force - the RAF's strategic jet bomber
fleet of Valiants, Victors and Vulcans
vic - aircraft formation in the shape of a
"vee" usually three aircraft but could be more
Vic - Vickers Victoria or Vickers
Valencia aircraft
view - RAF personnel always take a
"view" of things: good, poor, dim, long
distance view, lean view, outside view, "Ropey"
view
visiting card - bomb
waafize - the
substitution of WAAF for male members of a unit
wad - cake or bun or scone "char and a
wad"
waffle/waffling - out of control, losing height;
or cruising along unconcernedly and indecisively
wallah - chap or fellow
wallop - beer
wanks - strong liquor
washed out - scrubbed - to fail as a student
pilot - bomb aimers or navigators in particular were
often scrubbed pilots
Wassermann - German early warning radar
wear (it) - tolerate, accept, permit
weaving - a gentle form of corkscrew -
evasive manoeuvre to allow gunners maximum view around
aircraft, especially below
weaving (get) - get going, hurry up
Week-End Air Force - Auxiliary Air
Force, 1925 to outbreak of war
wheels down - get ready to leave a form
of transportation
whiff - Oxygen
Whirligig - Westland Whirlwind aircraft
Whispering Death - Beaufighter
whistle (to) - depart hurriedly e.g.
scramble
whistled - state of intoxication
whistler - high explosive bomb as it
comes down
wild - (is or was, of an aircraft) -
faster, performs more energetically than expected
Wild Sow/Wilde Sau - German tactics to
engage bombers over the target by individual fighters
Wimpey - Vickers Armstrong's Wellington
Bomber - after J. Wellington Wimpey from Popeye
comic strip
windmill - see egg-whisk; motion of an
unpowered propeller
Window - Tinfoil strips dropped by
bombers to disrupt enemy radar system
Wing - unit made up of two or sometimes
three squadrons
Wingco - Wing Commander
wizard/wizzo - really first class,
superlative, attractive, ingenious
wog - coloured person, native
(westernized oriental gentleman)
wop - Wireless Operator
wopag - Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
wom - Wireless Operator/Mechanic
woof - to open the throttle very quickly
Works and Bricks - Air Ministry Works
Directorate AMWD responsible for the construction and
maintenance of aerodromes, hangars, offices etc.
wrap up - crash
wrapped-up - under perfect control
write-off - something damaged beyond
repair
Würzburg - German radar used to direct
A.A. guns, searchlights, and briefly, night fighters
X-Gerät - German
bombing aid
Y-control - method of
controlling night fighters using modified Y-Gerät
equipment
Y-Gerät - German bombing aid
Y Service - ground based signals
monitoring service, using German or Italian speaking
operators
yellow doughnut - collapsible dinghy
carried on aircraft
yellow peril - training aircraft
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