Aphabetic plate. Help requested.

[Kilroy56]

This brass is said to come from a Wellington bomber...
Thoughts welcome.
Thank you,
Kilroy.

 

[stona]

I can tell you that Ac, Beer, etc is an early version of the 'radiotelephony spelling alphabet'. I'm not sure when it was revised but probably by 1942.
Why that plate would be fitted to any aircraft I don't know, maybe it was.
Steve

 

[GrauGeist]

Chances are, it's a phoenetic alphabet plate typically found attached to "field keys" (early telegraph sets) of about WWI vintage.

It is possible it might have been with an early "wireless" set but beyond that, I would not know if a Wellington bomber had such a set onboard. Other, more knowledgable folks may have some input on that.

Anyway, here's a link to early communication sets and you'll see an identical plate attached to a "field key" set (note the black enamel is still intact), 5th photograph down.

BRITISH, NATO, AUSTRALIAN TELEGRAPH KEYS - TELEGRAPH SCI INSTRUMENT MUSEUMS

 

[stona]

Makes sense as that 'alphabet' was of WW1 vintage.

Steve

 

[Kilroy56]

Thank you Gentlemen.
I am not sure of the plate authenticity but that phonetic alphabet was in use till 1942.
Regards to all,
Kilroy

 

[N4521U]

I have Never seen a phonetic alphabet like that one. Silly alphabet just Has to be Buritish!

Uncle Pip, Orange Monkey Nuts!

 

[abaddon1]

It is more likely that the plate in question was attached to some type of ground radio equipment... probably a field telephone; as I have never seen one attached to any British WW2 aircraft. British airmen knew the phonetic alphabet by heart. A brief history (and variations) is as follows:

The Royal Flying Corps and Royal Army, standardized the terms in 1914;
A=Apple, B=Brother, C=Charlie, D=Dover, E=Eastern, F=Father, G=George, H=Harry, I=India, J=Jack, K=King, L=London, M=Mother, N=November, O=October, P=Peter, Q=Queen, R=Robert, S=Sugar, T=Thomas, U=Uncle, V=Victoria, W=Wednesday, X=Xmas, Y=Yellow.

There was another phonetic alphabet that concurrently and informally emerged within the RFC and Royal Army, commonly called "Signalese" or "Western Front Slang". It included many variations from the officially defined phonetics,
The Signalese phonetic alphabet was as follows:
A=Ack, B=Beer, C=Charlie, D=Don, E=Edward, F=Freddie, G=Gee, H=Harry, I=Ink, J=Johnnie, K=King, L=London, M=Emma, N=Nuts, O=Oranges, P=Pip, Q=Queen, R=Robert, S=Essex, T=Toc, U=Uncle, V=Vic, W=William, X=X-ray, Y=Yorker, Z=Zebra

The Royal Navy used the following :
A=Ack, B=Beer, C=Charlie, D=Don, E=Edward, F=Freddy, G=George, H=Harry, I=Ink, J=Johnnie, K=King, L=London, M=Monkey, N=Nuts, O=Orange, P=Pip, Q=Queen, R=Robert, S=Sugar, T=Toc, U=Uncle, V=Vic, W=William, X=X-ray, Y=Yorker, Z=Zebra

The Royal Air Force changed the codes during World War II, particularly with the arrival of the Americans in 1943.

1939-42 1942-43 1943-45
A Ace Apple Able
B Beer Beer Baker
C Charlie Charlie Charlie
D Don Dog Dog
E Edward Edward Easy
F Freddie Freddie Fox
G George George George
H Harry Harry How
I Ink In Item
J Johnnie Johnnie Jig
K King King King
L London Love Love
M Monkey Mother Mike
N Nuts Nuts Nab
O Orange Orange Oboe
P Pip Peter Peter
Q Queen Queen Queen
R Robert Robert Roger
S Sugar Sugar Sugar
T Toc Tommy Tare
U Uncle Uncle Uncle
V Vic Vic Victor
W William William William
X X-Ray X-Ray X-Ray
Y Yorker Yorker Yoke
Z Zebra Zebra Zebra

So; The plate would date from the early part of the War.

 

[stona]

Thank you Gentlemen.
I am not sure of the plate authenticity but that phonetic alphabet was in use till 1942.
Regards to all,
Kilroy

Barely, it was officially updated in 1942.That older version is WW1 vintage as used by army signallers and usually over wires rather than the ether.
It's amazing that these things weren't more closely regulated in the armed forces until you remember that, particularly in aircraft, radio (they would have called it wireless) was a very recent innovation.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Kilroy56]

Thank you so much for these most interesting information.
Your help is indeed greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Kilroy

 

[waroff]

From

page 72, Was it specific to service civil aviation radio?

 

[Shinpachi]

When I was engaged in international trading business in the 1970s when fax was not widely available, I often used such code on the phone.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Heck, I still use it over the phone.