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Abbreviations etc., used on this site
I have been told that many visitors to this site, particularly non-native
English speakers, are sometimes baffled by the terms and abbreviations used.
This glossary is therefore an attempt to help those visitors to obtain a better
understanding of the database and captions.
If I have missed anything or you need more explanation, please email me.
| AAF | (US) Army Air Force |
| a/c | Aircraft |
| acc | Assistant Crew Chief |
| a/f | Airfield |
| AF | Air Force |
| API | Armour Piercing Incendiary (ammunition) |
| arm. | Armorer |
| ASR | Air-Sea Rescue |
| ATG | Air Transport Group |
| Bandit | Enemy Aircraft |
| BD | Battle Damage |
| Big Friends | Allied Bombers |
| B/O | Bail or Bailed Out |
| BG | Bomb Group |
| Bogey | Unidentified Aircraft (possibly hostile) |
| BS | Bomb Squadron |
| Capt. | Captain |
| CAT. E | Category "E" = damaged beyond economical repair |
| CAVU | Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited |
| cc | Crew Chief |
| Chattanooga | Offensive fighter/fighter-bomber mission against rail targets |
| cpl | Corporal |
| C.O. | Commanding Officer |
| Col. | Colonel |
| CTD | Completed Tour of Duty |
| D-Day | (6th June 1944) Derived from the way of expressing an "as yet unknown" date. The event will take place at H-Hour on D-Day in M-Month |
| EOW | End of War |
| ERS | Emergency Rescue Squadron |
| ETD | Ended Tour of Duty |
| ETO | European Theatre of Operations |
| Flak Happy | In need of a spell of R&R in a Flak Home |
| Flak Home | Requisitioned Country House/Mansion used to give aircrew a respite from combat |
| FG | Fighter Group |
| F/O | Flight Officer |
| F.O. | Field Order (number) |
| FS | Fighter Squadron |
| FTG | Fighter Training Group |
| FTS | Fighter Training Squadron |
| FUBAR | Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition but often given as "Fouled" up in polite company! |
| GTTF | Gunnery and Target Tow Flight |
| HQ |
Headquarters |
| I/O | Intelligence Officer |
| KIA | Killed in Action |
| KIFA | Killed in Flying Accident |
| KIMAC | Killed in Mid-air Collision |
| Little Friends | Allied Fighters |
| Lt. | Lieutenant (First and Second Lieutenants are not differentiated on this site.) |
| Lt.Col. | Lieutenant Colonel |
| L-R | From Left to Right (in photo) |
| MAC | Mid-air Collision |
| MACR | Missing Air Crew Report (number) |
| Maj. | Major |
| m/e | Multi-engined |
| MIA | Missing in Action |
| M/Sgt. | Master Sergeant |
| MTO | Mediterranean Theatre of Operations |
| NMF | Natural Metal Finish (unpainted) |
| O.D. | Olive Drab (top surface and anti-glare panel colour) |
| Pfc. | Private, first class |
| POW | Prisoner of War |
| PRG | Photographic Reconnaissance Group |
| PRO | Public Relations Officer |
| PRS | Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron |
| PS | Photo Squadron |
| Pvt | Private Soldier |
| Ramrod | Bomber Escort Mission |
| R&R | Rest and Relaxation (Recuperation) |
| RCS | Radio Call Sign |
| Relay | Radio Relay - the duty of orbiting offshore to relay radio messages to/from the unit aircraft on long missions |
| Rhubarb | Small number of fighter aircraft attacking ground targets |
| Rodeo | An offensive fighter mission using bombers as either a diversion or as bait |
| R/V | Rendezvous |
| s/e | Single-engined |
| SF | Scouting Force |
| SFX | Experimental Scouting Force |
| Sgt. | Sergeant |
| SNAFU | Situation Normal - All Fucked Up, but again often changed to "Fouled up" by those who think that "single men in barricks" do indeed grow into plaster saints! (ack. Rudyard Kipling) |
| Spare | Additional aircraft that took off at the beginning of a mission to take the place of any that had to return early |
| S/Sgt. | Staff Sergeant |
| t/e | Twin-engined |
| T/Sgt. | Technical Sergeant |
| u/i |
Unidentified |
| VE Day | Victory in Europe Day |
| ZI | Zone of the Interior (The United States) |
