|
1/27
|
A notation used by armies to denote the battalion number and regiment number. For instance, this notation reflects the 1st Battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment
|
|
A.A.F.
|
United States Army Air Force
|
|
AA
|
Antiaircraft (also given the slang expression “ack-ack”)
|
|
Ace
|
A combat pilot who had shot down at least five enemy aircraft.
|
|
Angels 10
|
Directions given by flight directors to indicate planes flying at 10,000 feet (or any altitude in multiples of 1,000 feet.)
|
|
ANZAC
|
Australia-New Zealand Area Command
|
|
APD
|
Destroyer Transport
|
|
AK
|
Cargo ship
|
|
Arresting Gear
|
An aircraft carrier’s mechanism that decelerates a landing plane’s forward speed
|
|
ATIS
|
Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, General MacArthur’s command
|
|
BAR
|
Browning Automatic Rifle
|
|
Barbette
|
Large steel cylinder that supports a ship’s gun turret
|
|
BB
|
Battleship (such as BB-56, USS Washington)
|
|
Beam
|
Ship’s side
|
|
Black Gang
|
Part of a ship’s crew stationed in the engine room
|
|
Black Shoe Navy
|
Expression used in the U. S. navy to designate sailors who served on surface ships and a term of disdain used by naval aviators. (See also Brown Shoe Navy)
|
|
Blip
|
A bright dot displayed on a radar scope
|
|
Bogey
|
Term used by the Americans to indicate a radar contact of unknown origin
|
|
BOLERO
|
Allied code name given in 1942 to the operation of building up forces for a subsequent cross-English channel invasion
|
|
Brown Shoe Navy
|
Expression used in the U. S. Navy to designate naval aviators. (See also Black Shoe Navy)
|
|
BUDOCKS
|
Abbreviation for U. S. Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks
|
|
BUORD
|
Abbreviation the U. S. Navy’s Bureau of Ordinance located at the main Navy Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. and responsible for all armaments aboard all American ships and naval aircraft
|
|
BUSHIPS
|
Bureau of Ships
|
|
BUTTON
|
Code name for the American Air Base at Espiritu Santo
|
|
Buster
|
Fighter director term, to proceed at best sustained speed
|
|
CA
|
Heavy Cruiser (such as CA-26, USS Northampton)
|
|
CACTUS
|
Code name for Henderson Field
|
|
CAG
|
Carrier Air Group. Also used to designate the commander of a carrier’s Air Group.
|
|
CAP
|
Combat Air Patrol
|
|
Cardiv
|
Carrier Division
|
|
C. in C.
|
Commander in Chief
|
|
Charthouse
|
Room on board a ship where maps and navigational charts are stored
|
|
Check fire
|
A command used by gun crews to cease firing their guns
|
|
Chutai
|
Japanese word for a group of six to nine aircraft
|
|
C.I.C.
|
Combat Information Center – a place onboard a ship in which all information concerning a tactical situation is collected, analyzed, and disseminated to naval commanders to aid them in making decisions. This center was developed in the latter stages of World War II as naval battles became more complex and fast-moving.
|
|
CINCLANT
|
Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet
|
|
CINCPAC
|
Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet
|
|
CINCPOA
|
Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas
|
|
CINCSWPA
|
Commander in chief, Southwest Pacific Area
|
|
CINCUS
|
Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (sometimes abbreviated as CinCUS)
|
|
CL
|
Light Cruiser (such as CL-47, USS Boise)
|
|
C.N.O.
|
Chief of Naval Operations
|
|
C.O.
|
Commanding Officer
|
|
COM
|
as prefix means Commander.
Examples:
COMAIRSOPAC – Commander Aircraft South Pacific
COMCRUDIV – Commander Cruiser Division
COMINCH – Commander in Chief United States Fleet
COMSOPAC – Commander South Pacific Force and Area
COMAIRPAC - Commander Air Forces, South Pacific
|
|
Conn
|
Term used to refer to commanding the steering and speed of a ship
|
|
CTF
|
Commander Task Force
|
|
CTG
|
Commander Task Group
|
|
CV
|
Fleet Carrier (such as CV-6, USS Enterprise)
|
|
CVL
|
Light Carrier (such as CVL-22 (USS Independence)
|
|
CVE
|
Escort Carrier (such as CVE-55 (USS Casablanca)
|
|
CXAM
|
Type of radar developed and installed on U.S. warships in 1940 that was in wide use on American naval vessels during World War II
|
|
DD
|
Destroyer (such as DD-448, USS La Vallette)
|
|
DMS
|
Destroyer-Minesweeper (such as DMS-29, USS Butler [ex DD-636])
|
|
DESDIV
|
Destroyer Division
|
|
DESRON
|
Destroyer Squadron
|
|
DOVETAIL
|
Code name for the Allied rehearsal conducted in the Fiji Islands for the Guadalcanal invasion
|
|
DSM
|
Distinguished Service Medal
|
|
DUKW
|
Pronounced “Duck” were amphibious trucks that could be loaded while on a ship and then driven through the water onto the shore.
|
|
ETO
|
European Theater of Operations
|
|
FAB
|
Field Artillery Battalion
|
|
FDO
|
Fighter Director Officer (Directs aircraft to ground and air targets)
|
|
FC Radar
|
A generic term use to designate Fire Control radar used to direct the fire of the ship's guns.
|
|
FD Radar
|
Fire Direction Radar – used by warships to detect potential targets and direct a ship’s gunfire
|
|
Fighter One
|
Additional fighter landing strip at CACTUS
|
|
Fighter Two
|
Second fighter landing strip at CACTUS
|
|
Fish
|
The term used to refer to torpedoes.
|
|
Forecastle
|
The forward area of a ship from the bow to the bridge
|
|
FRUPac
|
Fleet Radio Unit - Pacific
|
|
G
|
A generic label the American Army used for staff positions in large units such as at the division or higher levels. These designations had sublevels:
G-1 Personnel
G-2 Intelligence
G-3 Operations
G-4 Supply and evacuation
The staff designations below the division level carried the prefix S.
|
|
General Quarters
|
Alarm sounded that orders a ship’s crew to their battle stations
|
|
GMT
|
Greenwich Mean Time
|
|
H.M.A.S.
|
His Majesty’s Australian Ship
|
|
H.M.N.Z.S.
|
His Majesty’s New Zealand Ship
|
|
IAP
|
Inner Air Patrol
|
|
ICPOA
|
Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Area
|
|
IGHQ
|
Imperial General Headquarters (Japanese)
|
|
IFF
|
Identification, Friend or Foe (an American radio device or radar identification system)
|
|
JANAC
|
Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee
|
|
JCS
|
Joint Chiefs of Staff
|
|
JICPOA
|
Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Center
|
|
JNAF
|
Japanese Naval Air Force
|
|
Kido Butai
|
Japanese name for the Japanese carrier fleet
|
|
LCT
|
Landing craft tank (such as LCT-1 through LCT-500)
|
|
LST
|
Landing Ship Tank (such as LST 722, USS Dodge County)
|
|
LSO
|
Landing Signal Officer - person in charge of landing carrier-based aircraft on the ship’s flight deck.
|
|
MAG
|
Marine Air Group
|
|
MAW
|
Marine Air Wing. The First MAW commanded the American land based airpower on Guadalcanal. The 2nd relieved them on December 26.
|
|
MIA
|
Missing in Action (a designation used to list combat casualties when the fate of the person in question could not be confirmed. Sometimes a person listed MIA returned. When they did not return, they were presumed and later listed as dead.)
|
|
MTB
|
Motor torpedo boat (such as PT-109)
|
|
Knots
|
1.15 miles per hour
|
|
OOD
|
Officer of the Deck – Officer placed in temporary command and responsible for a ship’s maneuvers when the ship’s captain is not on deck.
|
|
O.N.I.
|
Office of Naval Intelligence
|
|
Op
|
Operation
|
|
OTC
|
Officer in Tactical Command – a practice used by navies that gives the most senior officer in command when more than one force joins another.
|
|
Pestilence
|
Code name for the entire American offensive operation in the South Pacific.
|
|
Port
|
Nautical term for the left side of a ship
|
|
POW
|
Prisoner of war
|
|
PPI
|
Plan Position Indicator, the display commonly associated with radar today, in which a number of circles set at certain ranges with the radar-carrying ship in the center gave the radar observer a clear view of the area around him. The PPI made navigation, position-holding, and threat evaluation much easier.
|
|
PT
|
Motor torpedo boat (see also MTB)
|
|
R4D
|
Navy version of the famous two-engine Douglas C-47 (DC-3) transport aircraft
|
|
R.A.A.F.
|
Royal Australian Air Force
|
|
Radar
|
RAdio Detection And Ranging
|
|
RAN
|
Royal Australian Navy
|
|
RANVR
|
Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve
|
|
RBA
|
Rescue Breathing Apparatus – used by US Navy damage control parties when air that cannot be breathed safely may be present
|
|
RCT
|
Regimental Combat Team
|
|
Reciprocal Course
|
A ship’s course that is 180º opposite to another ship’s course
|
|
RN
|
Royal Navy
|
|
RNZAF
|
Royal New Zealand Air Force
|
|
SC Radar
|
Type of radar installed on American naval vessels to detect approaching aircraft
|
|
SCAP
|
Screen Combat Air Patrol
|
|
SCR Radar
|
Latest radar installed on Guadalcanal in early 1943
|
|
SEABEES
|
American Naval Construction Battalions
|
|
SG Radar
|
Another more advanced type of radar installed on American naval vessels to detect approaching ships
|
|
Shoestring
|
Nickname for Guadalcanal invasion (Operation Watchtower)
|
|
Shotai
|
The Japanese word for a collection of two to four planes – usually three
|
|
SNLF
|
Special Naval Landing Force (Japanese)
|
|
Sonar
|
(SOund Navigation And Ranging) Echo-ranging sound gear
|
|
SOPAC
|
South Pacific
|
|
Starboard
|
Nautical term for the right side of a ship
|
|
Station Hypo
|
Code breaking operation reporting to CINCPAC at Pearl Harbor
|
|
STO
|
Call letters for Australian coastwatcher Paul Mason
|
|
TBS
|
Talk Between Ships (Voice radio)
|
|
ULTRA
|
American/British code-breaking activities
|
|
USA
|
United States Army
|
|
USAAF
|
United States Army Air Force
|
|
USMC
|
United States Marine Corps
|
|
USMCR
|
United States Marine Corps Reserve
|
|
USSBS
|
United States Strategic Bombing Survey
|
|
Very gun
|
A gun that shoots flares
|
|
Watchtower
|
Code name of the operation for the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi
|
|
YP
|
Yard Patrol Boat (such as YP 676)
|
