various services names...

[piniped]

A question that has puzzled me for a while...

Why are airforce pilots called crabs?

I heard from a usually impeccable source that it was when the RAF was first set up (as an offshoot of the navy he pointed out) the uniforms were meant to be "crab fat blue".
I will here and now confess that I had never heard of such a colour, but am willing to be educated.

He also said that many believe that it was due to the unfortunate habit of sliding sideways out of the bar when it was their round?

BTW what's a fishhead?

Ps Ali B...great night...shocking hangover...

[ORAC]

At the beginning of the First World War, a company called Garstang in Lancashire received an order from Imperial Russia for one million yards of grey woollen cloth for Russian Army uniforms. Unfortunately, by the time it was woven, dyed grey and ready for shipment, Tsarist Russia was no more and so the cloth was left to moulder in a warehouse.

Towards the end of the war, the RAF's founding fathers picked the colour sky-blue for the uniform of the new Service, and put out an invitation to tender for a huge amount of sky-blue cloth. Garstang, which already had a million yards from the Tsarist order, came in with the lowest price and was awarded the contract. However, when they tried to dye the grey material sky-blue, it came out as a dirty blue-grey colour, which was made into RAF uniforms regardless of the mismatch. (waste not, want not - there was a war on)

Unfortunately for the RAF, this colour was identical to that of the well-known crab-fat jelly, the ointment the Army (and the Royal Navy) used to treat body lice, or "crabs". Thus the RAF became known as crabs.

A Fishhead is a term WAFUs refer to members of the surface fleet. Also used by the RAF to refer to anyone in the RN.

"Fly Navy, sail Army, walk sideways". :)

[Blacksheep]

Meanwhile the Latin name for a large anthropoid ape - Pongo - gave rise to the expression "Where the army goes, the pong goes"

BTW, does anyone know why RAF Officers are called Zobbits instead of the onomatopoeic Whar-whar used in other services?

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[teeteringhead]

Zobbit probably comes from the arabic dhaabit (dh is "voiced" th, as in "then") meaning officer. Could have become current in inter-war Mesopotamia, where many RAF were stationed.

[Sideshow Bob]

I always thought we were called Crabs because we tend to walk sideways on a boat with our backs to the wall, better safe than sorry!!(and watch out for the doorways)

[Bof]

In 24 years, three weeks and one early breakfast, 52 to 76, I never ever heard the term Zobbit. Did I miss out or is it post 76?

[canberra]

sorry to spoil a good story but, first of all garstang is a town about 15 miles north of preston. what would a town in lancashire be doing making wollen cloth, did you learn nothing at school? lancashire made cotton them on t'other side of pennines made wollen goods. secondly the powers that be did not want a sky blue uniform, in fact the first raf uniforms were khaki. about 12 years ago there were pictures of them in air pictorial. and would you want to wear a sky blue uniform ? as to the raf being being an offshoot of the navy , well are the faa and aac an offshoot of the raf? the story ive always been told is that the cloth was blue grey anyway and didnt need dying. and as for zobbit its arabic for penis!!

[RFCC]

Zobbit, or Zob, was in common usage during my time, '66-'94.

[ORAC]

Canberra, when you wish to contradict me, get your facts right.

Firstly, there were lots of woollen mills in Lancashire, cotton mills just happened to be more prevalent.

Secondly, the initial design was in khaki, as inherited from the army. The interim design used sky blue. The final design incorporated the now familiar grey/blue for the reasons stated.

Initail design (http://www.rafweb.org/ranks2.htm)

Interim design (http://www.rafweb.org/ranks3.htm)

Final design (http://www.rafweb.org/ranks1.htm)

The RAF came from the merger of the RFC and the RNAS. Whilst the initial and interim ranks modelled the RFC, and the RN politely suggested the RAF have their own ranks, note how similar the eventual RAF ranks are to those of the RNAS and the adoption of the RNAS/RN stripes instead of the army pips.


RNAS uniforms (http://www.rafweb.org/ranks5.htm)

RFC uniforms (http://www.rafweb.org/ranks4.htm)

Air of Authority (http://www.rafweb.org/Index1.htm)

[BEagle]

.......and I thought that 'zob' was the dimunutive form of 'zabba' (cf 'Zizi' in French) which is an Arabic word for.....prick.

[Murphy]

So thats confirmed then.

Zob, Zabba, Zobbit!

All really do mean Officer!!!

[ORAC]

The Alternative Dictionaries (http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/)

Arabic slang:
zib: dick, penis. Used in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon.

(Etymology: Semetic root - "z?`b" - full of water).

[Blacksheep]

Many thanks teeteringhead.

Having just double checked the arabic and confirmed that, in Iraqi useage at any rate, the word for commissioned officer is 'dhaabit', it seems you are spot on. I suppose the word came into use from that largest RAF base ever - Haabaniyah in Iraq.

Bof- you must have led a sheltered existence? There was certainly nothing secret about the word and I'd have thought that all who served in the RAF must be familiar with it. See this example from the letters page of "The Gan Island Post" for example -

"13/05/72. State of Dress in Airmen`s Mess.
Dear Sir,
May we, through your column, appeal for a return to sanity with regard to the mode of dress (or undress), currently on show in the Airmen's' Mess? Nobody wants the Zobbit-zone formality of shirt and tie but at least it would cover up the bulging guts, skin disorders, sunburn scars, and sweaty grime that we are forced to contemplate whist trying to masticate our daily bread..."

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[Murphy]

BlackSheep,

Are you Thud and Blunders replacement in the Sun!!

Just asked as I'm down the road, but my brother was in Gan during the date of the extract, were you also!!:confused: