Military nicknames/ jargon

[A4K]

Thanks Bernhart!

fubar and snafu I know, but bohica...?

 

[ToughOmbre]

Couple more.....

Infantry insignia - "Idiot Sticks"
Browning .50 caliber - "Ma Deuce"

TO

 

[plan_D]

Gas turbine engines are extremely simple; they certainly look a lot more complicated than they actually are. If you care to know A4K there's four types:

Turbojet

Turbofan

Turboshaft

Turboprop

The first turbine engines were all of Turbojet design which meant that all the air flowing into the intake passed through the core. Because all the air passed through the core the engine had to inject a lot more fuel to heat up the masses of air thus making a turbojet very fuel inefficient. The benefit to a turbojet is its small size, light weight, remarkable response time and can maintain thrust at high velocities.

The vast majority of the pressure in a turbojet is wasted on increasing the speed of the jet velocity which is wasted energy and does not give a good proportion of thrust:fuel consumption.

To solve this problem a low-pressure turbine was added to the gas turbine that drove a large fan at the front of the engine to draw air in that would move around the core. The bypass air then extracts energy from the exhaust gases so that by the time they reach the exhaust nozzle the jet velocity is much lower and cooler - but it is still fast enough to generate thrust.
So instead of increasing the velocity of a small amount of air by a long-long way like a turbojet, the turbofan (bypass) modestly increases the velocity of a vast amount of air.

Most modern gas turbines are of the bypass type - from low to high bypass depending on the aircraft type, it's mission, and operating areas. Another advantage to a bypass engine is the noise reduction because of the slow velocity of jet air.

 

[ccheese]

fubar and snafu I know, but bohica...?

That's an old one: Bend Over Here It Comes Again !!

BTW, in the Navy, "scuttlebutt" is an unfounded rumor, but it's
also a water fountain.....

And, of course, there's "ropeyarn Sunday". This is Wednesday
afternoon off (at sea). It comes from an old custom of giving
the crew half a day off for uniform maintenance.

Charles (the old salt)

 

[A4K]

Thanks Plan D, interesting info. I can't say I noticed the noise reduction, though !

And thanks, Charles! I almost regret asking about the bohica...

 

[plan_D]

I think you would notice a vast difference in noise if you stood next to a Tornado taking off, then next to a B-737.

 

[A4K]

you're probably right, it's been a long time since I was in the Airforce, so I may be forgetting. I didn't really mind the Skyhawks and Strikemasters though, atleast not more than civilian machines.

 

[trackend]

Wavy Navy.......... Royal Navy Volenteer Reseves
Crap hats....... what the Parachute regiment call all none Parachute regiment military.
The Regiment.... what SAS personel call the SAS
Long Range Snipers.... battleship crew.
The Andrew......Navy (Andrew was the name of a well known press gang leader)
Got this from an ex RAF guy I now work with, Dope on a Rope (Winchman)

 

[pbfoot]

In the RN and RCN they call the Airforce types Crab Fat as they are blue and useless like the crab fat

 

[A4K]

Thanks guys! Good to have ya back, Trackend!

I just have one new one (rememberd while reading Trackend's coment) - our Territorial Soldiers are known as Terries, or more commonly 'weekend warriors'

 

[ccheese]

In the US Navy, "Irish pennants" are short threads that stick out on
a uniform. A "boondocker" is a work shoe, and the "boondocks" or the
"boonies" is a place off the beaten path. A corpsman is a pecker
checker or a penis machinist. Boiler Tenders (the BT rate) call themselves
Bedroom Technicians. A pollywog is someone who's never crossed the
Equator.

And, for Les: (aka Dan) Are you a turtle ???

Charles

 

[DOUGRD]

Hey Charles, Are you a Blue Nose?

 

[A4K]

Thanks Charles!
I've got a question for you too - Do you know the origins of the 'weigh the anchor' expression ? Should it be " 'way the anchor" as in, 'away with the anchor', or something similar ?

 

[Njaco]

from Wiki:

"An interesting element of anchor jargon is the term aweigh, which describes the anchor when it is hanging on the rope, not resting on the bottom; this is linked to the term to weigh anchor, meaning to lift the anchor from the sea bed, allowing the ship or boat to move. An anchor is described as aweigh when it has been broken out of the bottom and is being hauled up to be stowed. Aweigh should not be confused with under way, which describes a vessel which is not moored to a dock or anchored, whether or not it is moving through the water. Thus, a vessel can be under way (or underway) with no way on (i.e., not moving)."

 

[Wildcat]

I just have one new one (rememberd while reading Trackend's coment) - our Territorial Soldiers are known as Terries, or more commonly 'weekend warriors'

Our reserve soldiers are called "choco's" which is short for chocolate soldiers, as in they will melt in the heat of battle.

 

[A4K]

Thanks guys! Love that one Wildcat!!!

Thanks too, chris! I now understand why when my bosses say "Let's get this project underway" why nothing happens...

 

[Njaco]

Never thought of that!

 

[DOUGRD]

from Wiki:

"An interesting element of anchor jargon is the term aweigh, which describes the anchor when it is hanging on the rope, not resting on the bottom; this is linked to the term to weigh anchor, meaning to lift the anchor from the sea bed, allowing the ship or boat to move. An anchor is described as aweigh when it has been broken out of the bottom and is being hauled up to be stowed. Aweigh should not be confused with under way, which describes a vessel which is not moored to a dock or anchored, whether or not it is moving through the water. Thus, a vessel can be under way (or underway) with no way on (i.e., not moving)."

You know Chris, I was thinking about this definition and I'm not sure I agree with the "Thus, a vessel can be under way (or underway) with no way on (i.e., not moving)." A vessel that is not moving also lacks any control as the rudder is ineffective. The vessel is then said to be "lacking steerage" or "adrift" and is vulnerable to wind and tide. A sailing ship that is not moving because of a lack of wind in her sails is "becalmed". Just another strange thought process. Hmmm

 

[DOUGRD]

Here's another trivia tidbit for y'all.... You've seen aircraft being launched from the catapults in the movies right? Did you ever wonder what that one green shirted dude is doing behind the nose landing gear just when the aircraft stops moving forward on the cat? Well what he's doing is installing the "Hold Back Link" in the "Hold Back Fitting" on the aft side of the landing gear. This Hold Back link is shaped sort of like a dumbell. One end is inserted into the Hold Back Fitting ,as I said, and the other end is attached to the "Launch Bar" (I forget the correct terminology-sorry). There are different Hold Back Links for each type aircraft and they are color coded. When the "Cat Officer" gives the "Launch" signal the catapult is released and when the specific pressure for that "Hold Back Link" is reached it snaps in two and the aircraft is pulled down the deck by the "shuttle" which is the component of the cat you see scooting down the deck. OK, blah, blah, blah.... the interesting part about all this is the manufacturing process for the "Hold Back Link". When they are molded they make ten of them. NINE are tested to ensure they break at the correct pressure. If they do then the TENTH one is put in the shipping box to be sent to a carrier. If I'm not mistaken (Yes it's been known to happen!) the boxes I saw on deck contained 100 links. So that means that there were 1000 molded to produce those 100! Just thought you might find that interesting.

 

[A4K]

Thanks Doug, and you're right, that is interesting..! I guess it's much better to produce 10 hold back links for every one needed than write off an aircraft and kill a pilot and systems officer...