ABC; AIRBORNE CIGAR. A jamming device to interfere with enemy RT channels in the 30-33 MHz, 38.3-42.5 MHz and 48-52 MHz wavebands. Range 50 miles.
AI; Airborne Interception. A progressive series of radars carried by aircraft.
AIRBORNE GROCER: A device for barrage-jamming of Wurzburgs. Extremely vulnerable to being homed onto.
ASDIC, (Allied Submarine Investigation Committee), a ship-borne sonic detection system first developed in 1917.
ASPIDISTRA; Codename for the ground transmitters operating the DARTBOARD interference system
ASV; Air to Surface Vessel. An airborne or shipborne radar used to detect surfaced U-boats and other surface vessels
AVM Air Vice Marshal. A senior rank equivalent to 4-star General.
BAGFUL - A device for making a permanent record on paper tape, detailing wavelength, time and duration of incoming signals
BIG BEN; North Sea patrols undertaken by Bomber Command to try to detect the guidance system of the German V2 rockets.
BIG WING A plan espoused by DRS Bader during the Battle of Britain. A tactic to use five or more fighter squadrons together. The plan was not workable until after the Battle but its proposal was divisive and damaging to the unity of Fighter Command.
BLACK THURSDAY; Augustst 15th 1940. The day on which the Luftwaffe took at least 90 losses.
BLITZKRIEG; A tactic of aerial artillery in support of fast-moving armour. The term was innacurately applied to the bombing of London and other British cities in 1940-41
BLONDE - An automatic camera which provided continuous record of signals within a specified band, as received by a cathode ray tube.
BOOZER; RAF airborne device which warned that the aircraft carrying it was being monitored by Würzburg.
BRIAR A ground transmitter operating in the 300-600 MHz band used to jam enemy Würzburg ground recievers.
CARPET Airborne jammer of German ground radar 300-600 Megacycle band. Later American developments allowed a more precise use.
CHAIN HOME; 22-30MHz RDF using linked radar stations on the east and south coasts of Britan Range up to 90 miles
CHAIN HOME LOW a short range version of Chain Home operating at 200MHz for low-flying aircraft detection
CHASTISE; Codename for the Dambusters' raid. 16-17 May 1943
CIRCUS: A fighter sweep over enemy territory, particularly airfields to draw the fighters into battle.
COAL SCUTTLE: A modification to an aircraft's existing H2S navigational radar to give a visual bearing every 30 seconds on a signal under investigation.
CORKSCREWING; Evasive manoeuvre adopted by British bombers.
CORONA; British ground transmitter operating at 2.56 MHz based at Rugby and Leafield. Used to transmit confusing signals over the German night fighter RT control frequencies
CREEP BACK; The progressive dropping of bombs before the target was reached.
DARTBOARD; Ground-based interference from "ASPIDISTRA"of enemy RT and WT channels in the 300 kHz band.
DECKER; Phosphorous coated rags transported in water and designed to fire crops and forests. This tactic was of little effect.
DINA ; An American improvement of MANDREL airborne jamming device operating in the 95-210 MHz band. Also named PIPERACK when used to counter FuG 220 AI radar.
D.R. DEAD RECKONING; system of navigation.
DRUMSTICK; Groundbased interference with enemy WT transmissions in the 3-6 MHz bands
DUNKEL-NACHTJAGD- DARK NIGHT HUNT; German night fighter zone not backed by searchlights
DÜPPEL; The German version of WINDOW. Strips of silver paper dropped to confuse the ground radars
ECM ; Electronic Counter-Measures.
ERPROBUNGS GRUPPE; Luftwaffe formation for the evaluation of new tactics or techniques.
FIDGET; Interference of enemy high frequency night-fighter transmissons.
FISHPOND; Device fitted to H2S to enable wireless operators to scan beneath the bombers for night fighter attacks from below.
FLAK; Flieger Abwehr Kanonen. German anti-aircraft guns
FLENSBURG; (FuG 227) German air interception homing device.
FLOWER: an intruder sortie, usually by Mosquitoes, against German night-fighter airfields during bomber operations.
FREIJAGD; The use of Bf109s in independent, (usually high altitude), fighter sweeps over southern Britain to diert Fighter Command's response.
FREYA; (FuG 221) A series of German early warning long range radars.
FuG (Funk Gerät); a series of airborne homing devices used to illumnate MANDREL, MONICA, H2S and ASV. Later modifications permitted their use as search radars for night-fighters.
G-H; British two-station radio direction finding system used as a bombing aid
GARDENING; RAF codeword for minelaying by aircraft
GEE; RAF navigational aid which could provide the navigator with a fix from pulses transmitted by three ground stations. Range approximately 300 miles.
GESCHWADER; Luftwaffe formation approximately equivalent to a Wing, comprising 90-120 aircraft diided into Gruppen, each of 20-30 aircraft.
GISELA; German intruder operation when the night fighters followed the British bombers back to their bases
GROSS-BATTERIEN; Large batteries of German anti-aircraft guns.
GROUND GROCER; A jamming device used to interfere with FuG 202 and 212 AI radar.
GRUPPE; subdivision of a geshwader, each group haing 20-30 aircraft assigned
GUSTAV; Nickname for the Bf109G
H2S “HOME SWEET HOME"; RAF bombing aid which produced a radar 'picture' of the terrain over which the aircraft was passing.
HACK; An aircraft used for communications or recreational purposes.
HAPPY
VALLEY; RAF nickname for the Ruhr industrial area.
HEINRICH; German transmitter introduced to jam GEE.
HELLE NACHTJAGD- ILLUMINATED NIGHT HUNT; German night fighter system backed by searchlights
HIMMELBETT- FOUR POSTER BED; German radar-backed night fighter system.
IFF; IDENTIFICATION FRIEND OR FOE. Equipment carried by aircraft of both sides which issued a signal identifying it as friendly.
ITW; Initial Training Wing (Ground School)
JABO (JAGDBOMBER); Bf 109s converted to carry 250Kg bombs and carry out nuisance raids. A very effective tactic.
JOSTLE; British airborne jamming device to disrupt enemy RT transmissions.
JAGD
GESCHWADER; Luftwaffe day fighters
JAGDSCHLOSS; Rotating long range early warnng radar
KAMMHUBER-
LINE; RAF nickname for the zonal system of air defence set up by General
Joseph Kammhuber.
KAMPF GESHWADER; Luftwaffe Bomber wings
KNICKEBEIN; German radio beams used to guide their bombers to their targets
KORFU;(FuG 351) German ground radar used to produce fixes on the bombers' H2S equipment.
LICHTENSTEIN;
(FuG 212) German air interception radar
LICHTENSTEIN SN-2 (FuG 220) AI search radar effective at 2 miles
LORAN; LOng RANge version of GEE
LUFTWAFFE-HELFERINNEN. "BLITZ MAIDENS";. German female radar plotters.
MAHMOUD: RAF night fighter operation conducted against Luftwaffe night fighters wih a single mosquito joining the landing pattern.
MAMMUT; MAMMOTH. German long range radar with a range of up to 300Km.
MANDREL;. Airborne radar jamming device operating in the 85-135 MHz waeband to conter the Freya early warning system.
MATTSCHEIBE; FOCUSING SCREEN. German name for the glow in the sky from searchlights, flares and fires against which the bombers were silhouetted.
MILK RUN; Nuisance sorties over Berlin undertaken by Mosquitoes to activate the German air defence system
MILLENNIUM; Codename for the first 1000 bomber raid on Cologne 30-31 May 1942.
MONICA; RAF tail fighter-warning device effective up to 4 miles
MOONSHINE. Radio jamming device used by RAF to deceive the Freya radars by returning their own signal in an amplified form giving the impression of a larger force that in fact existed.
NEPTUN; (FuG 216-217-218) German warning device fro attack from the rear or alternatively, a night-fighter search radar.
NAXOS; (FuG 227) German ground radar which produced fixes on H2S.
NAXOS 2; Airborne version of NAXOS.
NICKELLING; Codename for leaflet dropping
OBERKOMMANDO WEHRMACHT (OKW); German Army General Staff HQ
OBOE; RAF target-finding bombing aid using two transmitting stations CAT and MOUSE.
PFF; PATHFINDER FORCE. Small group of aircraft which, after finding the target, put down flares to guide the following bombers.
PERFECTOS; RAF airborne radar used to home on the IFF equipment carried by the German night fighters.
PIPERACK;. British airborne jamming device
POST KLYSTRON; German jamming device to counter H2S
RAMROD: A tactical bombing mission with fighter escort.
RANGER: Similar to Circus but usually a deep penetration operation
REBECCA: The airborne interrogator end of a two-part system using a ground beacon called EUREKA. Designed as a homing system for the identification of ground forces during supply drops.
RHUBARB: Low-level tactical operation from cloud cover.
ROADSTEAD: Anti-shipping strike by fighters. Codenamed ROVER in Coastal Command.
RODEO: A general fighter sweep over occupied territory.
RAZZLE; Phosphorous coated wooden strips transported in water Razzles were designed to fire crops and forests but with negligable effect.
RAYON; Ground-based interference of KNICKEBEIN in nightfighter control
RDF; Radio Direction Finding. A name first used for what became Radar
RDX; Powerful explosive first used in the Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb
RODERICH; German jamming device to counter H2S
SCARECROWS; Flares which British aircrews believed were being used by the Germans to deceive them into believing they were bombers in flames. In fact they were stricken bombers .
SCHRÄGE-MUSIK; SLANTED MUSIC. Upward firing 20mm cannons used in German night fighters.
SEEBURG TISCH SEEBURG TABLE; Glass screen on which the German night fighter controllers plotted the course of the raid
SEALION (SEELÖWE) the planned inasion of Britain in September 1940
SERRATE; RAF airborne radar used to home on the German night fighters' Lichtenstein bomber detection equipment.
SHIVER; An airborne transmitter used to jam Würzburg radar
STAB STAFF; a staff or HQ formation at geschwader or gruppe level
STAFFEL; Luftwaffe equivalent to a squadron.
TINSEL; RAF airborne jamming device used by wireless operators to transmit engine noise over the German night fighter control frequencies
TUBA; a jamming device for Freya radar operating in the 70-200 MHz range
UPKEEP; Codename for Barnes Wallis' bouncing bomb used in the Dambusters' raid
VILLAGE INN; A gun laying radar installed in the rear-turret of some some Lancaster bombers allowing blind-firing on an "illuminated" target
WANGANUI; Coloured flares dropped on H2S to skymark a target
WASSERMANN; German long range radar with a range of up to 190 Km.
WHITE BOMBS; Nickname for propaganda leaflets.
WILDE SAU; WILD BOAR. German ground- controlled night fighter system using twin engined aircraft
WIMPY; RAF nickname for the Vickers Wellington bomber. The name came from J.Wellington Wimpy, a character in the Popeye cartoon in the Daily Mirror
WINDOW; Strips of silver paper dropped by British aircraft to confuse the German ground radars
WÜRZBURG; German short (11 mile) range gunlaying radar capable of giving both height and range.
X-BEAMS; German radio beams used to guide their bombers to the target
Y-BEAMS; German radio beams used to guide their bombers to the target
Y-SERVICE: British organisation for the interception and reporting of German wireless "chatter" for intelligence purposes.
Z: Infra-red identification equipment
ZAHME SAU; TAME BOAR. German 'free lance' night fighter system using single engined aircraft
ZERSTÖRER GESHWADER; Luftwaffe Destroyer Wings, composed of Bf110 Heavy fighters