Phonetics for we 'oldies'

[Dennis Kenyon]

Just today, my attention was drawn to the Facebook site and a new 'modern & 'hippy' phonetic alphabet ... it got me to wondering how many ppruners could still use the original pre 1955 code. My memory cells ain't what they used to be, so I'd ask other COFs to fill in the blanks and correct any errors.

Who remembers? ABLE BAKER CHARLIE DOG EASY FREDDIE? GEORGE HOW ITEM JIG KING LONDON MIKE NAN OBOE POPSIE QUEENIE ROGER SUGAR TAN UNCLE VICTOR W EVADES ME. XRAY YOKE ZEBRA.

As a Royal Air Force sprog pilot, how well I remember my war-bitten Flight Sargent instructor's standard pre-flight brief at 10 FTS Pershore ... "Start up Sugar" ... for the twin Cheetah engine Airspeed Oxford. And later as a Combat Star Canberra B2 bomber crew, we got a bit good at GeeH bombing using Ken Wallis' 25 pound practice bomb ... as we quite often achieved a 'Dog How' at Wainfleet, Otmoor, Chesil Beach and Luce Bay. Nordhorn oversea I recall.

And how about the RAF's infamous 'Q' Code when we would acknowledge altimeter area settings as the 'Queen Nan How!'

Oh happy daze. Dennis Kenyon.

[TowerDog]

. And how about the RAF's infamous 'Q' Code

I always thought the Q code was German.
Now you are saying it was RAF's..?

[G0ULI]

The Q codes were used by telegraphists before radio was even invented as shorthand to speed up the passing of messages.

[Niner Lima Charlie]

U.S. Army Air Corps used:

ABLE BAKER CHARLIE DOG EASY FOX GEORGE HOW ITEM JIG KING LOVED MIKE NAN OBOE PETER QUEEN ROGER SUGAR TARE UNCLE VICTOR WILLIAM XRAY YOKE ZEBRA.

In use until 1956 when replaced with the ICAO alphabet.

[Thracian]

For the Q-Codes (invented by the ITU at those times of radiotelegraphy), take a look at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_code

Honestly: Except QNH (and sometimes QFE), I haven´t used any of them. Not even QDM...

Thracian

[jimf671]

Thanks Dennis.

I thought I was old until I opened this thread! :ok:

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Courtesy of my Dad (RAF 1941-1966):

A for 'orses
B for mutton
C for 'thHighlanders
D for ential
E for brick at 'im
F for vescent
G for police
H for consent
I for Novello
J for oranges
K for restaurant
L for Leather
M for Sis
N for mation
O for the Wings of a Dove
P for relief
Q for a bus
R for Askey
S for Williams (or Rantzen, these days, I suppose)
T for 2
U for me
V for La France
W for a quid
X for breakfast
Y for girlfriend
Z for wind

...and in my previous pre-aviation military 'career', I needed to be familiar with both the 'Q' and 'Z' codes, both of which were widely used by not-so-friendly people in whose radio traffic we were interested. Fortunately never had to call 'QRM 5' - I am being heavily manually interfered with.

[Dennis Kenyon]

Okay ... let's see if we can dredge up some other Qs. QFE/QNH has stayed with us. QSY has been banned. I know there are dozens but the brain cells are popping up with QTEs & QDMs, Who knows about the RAF QGH approach. Forgotten QNE and the other fifty or so. I'm sure we can Google them all. No counting QHI or QPR!

As the years whizz by ... my mind turns back to an oddity of the 1950s. Who remembers the luscious Diana Dors? Squadron pilots were encouraged to study the service AP 129 flying bible ... about the size of a London telephone directory. At my Canberra base in Wittering (that would have been 1956 ish) her Majesty's Stationery Office produced a seaside style poster to display on the Squadron OPS board. The buxom Diana lady was pictured in the nude clutching the said AP129 to her ample bosom. The catch line ran ... AP129 covers everything. Sorry for the 'tittle-tattle' lads ... its been one hell of a bad wx day! Take care all from the Chief COF. Dennis Kenyon.

[Fareastdriver]

AP 129 was replaced by AP 3456. Gone were the illustrations of a single bladed propeller.

[John Eacott]

As the years whizz by ... my mind turns back to an oddity of the 1950s. Who remembers the luscious Diana Dors?

As a callow youth it was quite titillating to see the crowd turn out for her to open the local tyre fitting shop in Chingford :ok:

As for QDM, we don't even use QFE in the colonies ;)

[handysnaks]

and don't forget the Q Bikes

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5d/1d/e1/5d1de166f53a960818ba3ec13803666a.jpg

[MOSTAFA]

I seem to remember Z and Q codes for morse ZUJ for standby I seem to remember?

[Democritus]

Ah, AP129 - where the new fangled rotary winged thing was referred to as a hicopleter.......

[Sir Niall Dementia]

I regularly get a bite from a venerable air-trafficer at home base by asking for the Queenie Nan How.

SND

[muffin]

I had an old ex army radio as a kid with a phonetic alphabet in its handbook starting 'Ac, Beer, Charlie, Don'. The only other bit I remember was 'Monkey, Nuts, Orange, Pip.'

[MightyGem]

and don't forget the Q Bikes
My, that brings back memories.

[MaxR]

INT QSA INT QRK K

[Cornish Jack]

Who remembers the luscious Diana Dors?
... A story, probably apocryphal - you may recall that the lady in question was a former resident of Swindon. Having become famous, she was invited back to her home town as a celebrity at a mayoral function. Prior to becoming famous, her proper name was Diana Fluck. The Mayor was tasked with a welcoming speech and wished to refer to her beginnings in the town. He realised the Freudian potential of her name and spent hours (apparently) practising his welcome speech. Came the great day and he (supposedly) launched into the opening words as " We wish to welcome back to our midst that celebrated Swindon resident Miss Diana ........ Clunt!":\:\:\ :p
Back to topic - what about Ack Emma (AM), Pip Emma (PM), Toc H (Talbot House) etc. ? Now that really IS going back a bit!!:cool:

[Cpt_Pugwash]

"QFE/QNH has stayed with us. QSY has been banned."

At this QTH, I often hear stations being asked to QSY, even do it myself sometimes. :O :ok:

[Dennis Kenyon]

Ah ... that's because we COFs refuse to give up that easily. I got a telling off not too long ago for making a call to LHR advising I was a delayed IA flight out of Rangoon wanting a steer (QTE) for Heston. No SOH these young ATC-ers! Dennis Kenyon. QOF .....

[pax britanica]

Biot of a thread drift but many of these 'codes' go back to the days of morse or '5 unit code telegraphy' (the ones with the punched paper tape you see in old films with telex machines and teleprinters.

The Aviation world had its Q codes as described but many other industries had codes for their own use-in the telecoms world there was a series of 'five letter codes; which covered a wide range of every day phrases all designed to save 'words' in the pay by the word teelgraph world and the make the transmission quicker military world.

In the early days of my career I sent many telegrams with just the code word TUNHO on them which meant -'your message is acknowledged and we will respond shortly ; and there were hundreds of them covering everyday business situation. the finance industry had its own codes and the telegraph world had its widely used 'commercial code' that consisted of pronounceable in non existent words of varying length which were considered acceptable for customers to sue when sendign messages to save on the per word charges

of course all these things rendered 90% of telegrams illegible to anyone not in the same industry and no doubt the 'old sweats' of the aviation world could read back a message full of codes for locations and QSYs and QNHs without a pause. In my industry we had guys who could read a teleprinter tape as though it was the written word going from the punch hole code to the code word to the meanign of the code word in one smooth step.

i often wonder how long and at what cost the ICAO and NATO phonetic alphabet to be developed from the more homely Able Baker Charlie of the wartime RAF.

I suppose if facebook get their way and a 21st century 'inclusive ' version is promoted it really is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist since so many people world wide know the current ICAO /NATO version

[onetrack]

Facebook phonetic alphabet??? News to me, I definitely must be old and out of the loop. I thought the Ebonic Alphabet was all the go, in todays world! :)

[unstable load]

that consisted of pronounceable in non existent words of varying length which were considered acceptable
A friend of mine resigned his first job by telegram, thus.....
"upstickjobarsewise":D

[eastern wiseguy]

I am of an age when UK ATCO's had to hold procedural ratings at certain airports.

I had just validated my rating and the first bit of procedural control was an AAC Beaver looking to carry out a QGH to runway 07.

First and ONLY time I ever used it.

I am devastated if QSY has gone. It was always used as shorthand for getting the "early go" ..the phrase used was "after that one you can qsy ops..." i.e. leave this frequency ,go home.:ok:

[Ascend Charlie]

I thought the abbreviation was "RTB RFN":E

[Rotorgoat8]

I think W was whiskey same as today. When I was a kid in the 50's our neighbor was a HAM radio operator and I remember his call sign was "King Peter number 7 - Able Queen Whiskey".