Where does the word SQUAWK come from?
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: UK
Where does the word SQUAWK come from?
Is it because we are big birds and big birds squawk?
I was listening to a programme on Radio 4 last night which was talking about how when you describe small birds you use the word tweet to describe the sound they make and big birds SQUAWK.
Any ideas?
I was listening to a programme on Radio 4 last night which was talking about how when you describe small birds you use the word tweet to describe the sound they make and big birds SQUAWK.
Any ideas?
Joined: Jul 2002
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL(H)
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From: UK
According to Wikipedia, "the use of the word "squawk" comes from the system's origin in the WW2 Identification Friend or Foe system, which was code-named "Parrot"."
A PPRnNe search will probably also throw up lots of answers...
A PPRnNe search will probably also throw up lots of answers...
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 494
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From: Belgium
An internet search gave the following answer:
Transponders date back to World War II when the British developed a top secret radar transceiver (a transmitter transmits, a receiver receives and a transceiver does both). The British code name for this system was Parrot and it worked by responding to a radar interrogation signal with a coded transmission. This allowed the British to distinguish their own aircraft from German aircraft on radar.
When the Germans trailed the British night bombers back to England to shoot them down, Parrot was able to distinguish the German aircraft as they showed up on radar as "primary" returns, which are just blips. The returns generated by the British aircraft appeared very different because of their distinct codes.
Aircraft with these units would be given instructions such as "squawk your parrot," meaning they should turn them on. "Strangle your parrot" meant the pilots should turn the unit off as it was possible the transponder signal was powerful enough to prevent the radar system from identifying primary enemy targets.
The same system used in the U.S. by the Army Air Forces was called IFF, which stands for "Identification Friend or Foe." The term "squawk" remains in use today when the controllers issue the four digit code for the pilots to display in their transponder.
by Captain Meryl Getline
Transponders date back to World War II when the British developed a top secret radar transceiver (a transmitter transmits, a receiver receives and a transceiver does both). The British code name for this system was Parrot and it worked by responding to a radar interrogation signal with a coded transmission. This allowed the British to distinguish their own aircraft from German aircraft on radar.
When the Germans trailed the British night bombers back to England to shoot them down, Parrot was able to distinguish the German aircraft as they showed up on radar as "primary" returns, which are just blips. The returns generated by the British aircraft appeared very different because of their distinct codes.
Aircraft with these units would be given instructions such as "squawk your parrot," meaning they should turn them on. "Strangle your parrot" meant the pilots should turn the unit off as it was possible the transponder signal was powerful enough to prevent the radar system from identifying primary enemy targets.
The same system used in the U.S. by the Army Air Forces was called IFF, which stands for "Identification Friend or Foe." The term "squawk" remains in use today when the controllers issue the four digit code for the pilots to display in their transponder.
by Captain Meryl Getline
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Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Essex, UK
There's some answers there I wouldn't have guessed!
What I would have guessed is that, if you hear the sound of the transmission through a speaker, it simply sounds like a squawk and thus the expression.
What I would have guessed is that, if you hear the sound of the transmission through a speaker, it simply sounds like a squawk and thus the expression.
