Following the take up of radio, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) used a succession of radiotelephony spelling alphabets to aid communication. These have now all been superseded by the NATO phonetic alphabet.
They would be used in phrases to emphasize the aircraft identification, e.g. "H-Harry", "G for George". This letter was not the aircraft's serial number painted on the tail (two letters followed by three digits as in a motorcar license plate of the time) but was painted on the side of the aircraft in large letters following the two-letter squadron designation code and the RAF roundel. This worked because no squadron had more than 26 aircraft.
The first alphabet owes a lot to World War I Western Front "signalese" - the phonetic spelling used by signallers. Only Ack, Gee, Emma and Esses changed. Possibly these were lost because they were already in use in phrases such as Ack-Ack: AA, anti-aircraft (fire) and "ack emma", "pip emma" for AM and PM. The Royal Navy of World War I differed more from the later alphabet having Apples, Butter, Duff, Pudding, Queenie, Tommy, Vinegar, Willie, Xerxes and Yellow.
Notice to Airmen Number 107 of 1921 adopted the phonetic alphabet in use by the three armed services for civil aviation as well.[1]
Contents |
| 1924–1942 | 1942–1943 | 1943–1956 |
|---|---|---|
| Ace Beer Charlie Don Edward Freddie George Harry Ink Johnnie King London Monkey Nuts 1 Orange Pip Queen Robert Sugar Toc Uncle Vic 2 William X-ray Yorker Zebra |
Apple Beer Charlie Dog Edward Freddy George Harry In Jug/Johnny King Love Mother Nuts Orange Peter Queen Roger/Robert Sugar Tommy Uncle Vic William X-ray Yoke/Yorker Zebra |
Able/Affirm Baker Charlie Dog Easy Fox George How Item/Interrogatory Jig/Johnny King Love Mike Nab/Negat Oboe Peter/Prep Queen Roger Sugar Tare Uncle Victor William X-ray Yoke Zebra |
In 1956 the NATO phonetic alphabet was adopted.