From the Editor:
All too often we hear members relating some incident they experienced in their Air Force career, but to the layman the conversation is unintelligible - the speaker has been using Service terms which are self-explanatory to himself and to other Service veterans, but lost on a non-service audience. This short article is an attempt to translate Service jargon to reasonable, understandable English. So here goes.
"The Flak was very heavy" - the word FLAK is an abbreviation of the German "Fliegerabwehrkanonen" which, simply put, means anti-aircraft fire, or "cannon defence against airmen" and refers to upward firing AA guns.
In referring to a crewmate or aircraft maintenance NCO, he may be called "Chiefy" - the usual shorthand term for a Flight Sergeant. This is taken from an old Royal Naval Air Service appellation for what was then the equivalent rank of Chief Petty Officer, hence Chiefy.
Another term which, to an ex-airforce type, is self explanatory is "got the chop" - this means simply that the person to whom the speaker is referring was killed in action.
A similar term is "gone for a Burton". There are two derivations, each of them plausible. The first refers to a 'Spanish Burton' which was an ingenious but complicated pulley arrangement made up of three blocks. Indeed so complicated was the Spanish Burton, and so rarely used that hardly anyone could remember how to do it. Thus it became the standard answer to anyone in authority enquiring the whereabouts of a missing member of a working party 'he's gone for a burton'.
The other explanation comes from the term 'a-burton' an unusual method of stowing wooden casks or barrels sideways across the ship's hold. The advantage of this was that they took up less space and were individually more accessible than when stowed in the fore-and-aft line. The disadvantage, however, and the reason why it was rarely employed, was that the entire stowage could easily collapse. Hence the implication of "knocking a man over."
To go for a Burton implied that someone had been killed or completely ruined. WW2 pilots used this expression when colleagues did not return from missions; it seemed less permanent than saying that their fellow pilots had died. It is supposed to refer to Burton Ale, a strong beer brewed at Burton-on-Trent, with the implication that their friends had only popped out for a drink. However the phrase is recorded in the 15th century as a euphemism for "to die". The origin here is completely lost.
A newly appointed officer or enlisted airman was usually referred to as a "sprog" - and the usual meaning was that he had a lot to learn before he was accepted. Lower on the social scale was the "erk". This humble being was usually the lowest ranked member of the Air Force and was, without a shadow of doubt, one of the truly unsung heroes of the war.
Usually an AC2 or AC1, erks did all the dirty work associated with the maintenance of aircraft, looking after the comforts of aircrew such as packing parachutes, compiling met reports, feeding the hungry herd and carrying out toilet-cleaning duties. All too often they were ignored by their superiors, never given the full credit for the multitude of tasks they carried out in all weathers, and subjected to some of the most draconion discipline authority could devise.
Another term that confuses the non-Service listener is AFU. This was an Advanced Flying Unit - usually set up further to train pilots and navigators mainly in the art of flying in European conditions for which their initial training in Australia and Canada had not prepared them.
From AFUs they went to OTU, or Operational Training Units, where they carried out what was a post-graduate course, this time with the other members of their crew. After completing the OTU they went on to "Con Unit" which was a Conversion Unit.
Bomber Command crews went through an HCU, Heavy Conversion Unit, and converted from twin engined aircraft to four engined aircraft in preparation for their ultimate posting to an operational squadron.
During this latter training they may have carried out "nickels" which was the dropping of propaganda leaflets over enemy territory, or a "bullseye" i.e. a tactic where aircraft were sent to approach the enemy coast so as to be registered on the enemy radar and then return to their base.
Former aircrew may also state that they operated on H2S - an airborne radar unit which aided in the navigation of the aircraft. Another such aid was known as "GEE", which was based on a grid system.
Those who served on Coastal Command may mention ASV, or Air to Surface Vessels radar, a device which enabled the detection of enemy shipping.
In the space allowed for this short summary of Air Force jargon, it is not possible to set down the whole of the lingua franca of aircrew; suffice to say that it not only baffled friends but, in certain circumstances, really put the enemy on his toes in his attempts to translate jargon into English.
How these expressions came to be accepted is outside my competency, but if any of our more literate members wish to take on this task, please be my guest.
C.B.M.