The Battle of Midway Roundtable

 

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

 USED IN "THE ROUNDTABLE FORUM"

 

Updated: 7 October 2010

 

 

Some of these terms were current in the Battle of Midway era but were changed in later years.

 

1/c, 2/c, 3/c......First, Second, or Third Class (navy enlisted rank indicator, i.e. “AMM3/c”)

1MC..................Number 1 Master Caller.  Like a public address system, throughout a ship.

 

A6M2...............Japanese Type 00 ("Zero") fighter, a.k.a. "Zeke"

ADM.................admiral (officer rank, equivalent to a full general in the army)

AF....................Japanese code designator for Midway

AMM................Aviation Machinist's Mate (enlisted specialty)

AO....................oil tanker

AOM.................Aviation Ordnanceman (enlisted specialty)

ARM.................Aviation Radioman (enlisted specialty)

Avenger...........TBF/TBM torpedo bomber

 

BB....................battleship

BZ....................flaghoist signal meaning "well done."  Also spoken as bravo zulu (modern usage).

Belconnen......common name in the BOM era for FRUMEL

Betty.................IJN land-based twin engine bomber, Mitsubishi G4M1 Type 1

Blackshoe......slang for USN personnel in non-aviation specialties (see Brownshoe)

Bluejacket......slang for USN enlisted personnel

BOM.................The Battle of Midway

BOMRT............The Battle of Midway Roundtable

Brownshoe....slang for USN aviation personnel (see Blackshoe)

Buffalo.............Brewster F2A fighter

Bulkhead.........the "wall" on a ship or aircraft

 

CA....................heavy cruiser

CAP.................Combat Air Patol:  a sortie of fighters tasked with fleet or base defense
CAPT...............a naval captain of O-6 rank, equivalent to an army colonel

Captain...........either an O-6 officer (see above) or the commander of a ship, regardless of rank

Catalina..........(also "Cat") PBY patrol bomber

CDR................Commander (officer rank, equivalent to an army lieutenant colonel)

CEAG.............Commander, Enterprise Air Group (LCDR C. Wade McClusky)

CHAG.............Commander, Hornet Air Group (CDR Stanhope Ring)

CHC................Chaplain Corps

CINCPAC........Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet (ADM Chester Nimitz)

CIU...................Combat Intelligence Unit (CDR Joseph Rochefort’s ComInt operation in Hawaii)

CL....................light cruiser

CO...................commanding officer

COM14............Commander, 14th Naval District (shore command in Hawaii)

COMINCH.......Commander In Chief, U.S. Fleet  (ADM Ernest J. King)

ComInt............Communications Intelligence

Commodore....an obsolete USN officer rank, equivalent to an army brigadier general.  Also....

Commodore....the commander of a division or squadron of ships, regardless of rank

CPO...............Chief Petty Officer (E-7 in the modern USN enlisted rank structure)

CTF................Commander, Task Force (i.e., CTF-17)

CV..................aircraft carrier

CVE................escort carrier (a.k.a. "jeep" carrier)

CVL................light aircraft carrier

CVN...............modern nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

CWO..............Chief Warrant Officer.  A commissioned WO.

CYAG............Commander, Yorktown Air Group (CDR Oscar Pederson)

 

Dauntless......SBD dive bomber

DD, DE..........destroyer, destroyer-escort

DF..................direction finder, direction finding (see RDF)

Devastator....TBD torpedo bomber

 

EAG...............Enterprise Air Group

EM.................Electrician's Mate (enlisted specialty)

ENS...............Ensign (officer rank, equivalent to an army second lieutenant)

ensign...........naval officer rank (above); also, the national flag

 

F2A................Brewster Buffalo fighter

F4F................Wildcat fighter

Fantail...........the rounded, aft-end of a ship's weather deck; the stern of a ship

FC.................Fire Controlman (gunfire control director--enlisted specialty)

F....................Fireman (non-rated enlisted sailor with below-decks engineering duties; modern = FN)

FRUMEL.......Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (CIU counterpart in Australia; post-BOM name)

FRUPAC.......Fleet Radio Unit, Pacific (post-BOM name for CIU Pearl Harbor)

 

gaff.................diagonal spar pole mounted near the top of a mast

 

HAG................Hornet Air Group

HYPO............unofficial name for CIU Pearl Harbor.  Also “Station HYPO.”

 

ICPOA...........Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Area (parent command for FRUPAC)

IJA.................Imperial Japanese Army

IJN.................Imperial Japanese Navy

IMMF.........,...International Midway Memorial Foundation

 

JN-25.............IJN communications encryption code

 

Kate...............IJN torpedo bomber (also used as a carrier-borne level bomber), B5N2

Kido Butai.....IJN First Striking Force, or First Air Fleet (Nagumo's carriers and support vessels)

 

LCDR.............Lieutenant Commander (officer rank, equivalent to an army major)

Long Lance...Japanese torpedo (Type 93, carried aboard surface ships)

LT..................Lieutenant (officer rank, equivalent to an army captain)

LT(jg)...............Lieutenant Junior Grade (officer rank, equivalent to an army first lieutenant)

 

MACH............Warrant Machinist (see WO).  Rank commonly held by USN warrant officer pilots.

MAG...............Marine Air Group
MarDefBn.....Marine Defense Battalion

MCPO............Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9 in the modern enlisted rank structure)

Mess..............dining facility ashore, or shipboard space for same

Messdeck......shipboard enlisted dining space

MSGT.............Master Sergeant

MUS...............Musician (enlisted specialty)

 

NAP............."Naval Aviation Pilot" (petty officer rating for enlisted pilots)

NHHC..........Naval History and Heritage Command

NMNA..........National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola FL

NOUS..........Naval Order of the United States

NRA.............Naval Reserve Association

 

OinC.............officer in charge

OOD..............at sea = Officer of the Deck; in port or ashore = Officer of the Day

OP-20-G.......Office of Communications Intelligence, Washington DC

Operation MI.......Japanese operations plan for the BOM

 

PBY..............Catalina patrol bomber

PhoM............Photographer's Mate (enlisted specialty)

PO................Petty Officer (navy non-coms, equivalent to army corporals and sergeants)

 

RADM..........Rear Admiral (officer rank, equivalent to an army major general)

RDF.............Radio Direction Finder (or Finding).  Also called “DF”

RE................Warrant Radio Electrician (see WO)

R/G...............radioman/gunner (aircrew)

RM................Radioman (enlisted specialty)

 

SBD..............Dauntless dive bomber

SCPO...........Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8 in the modern enlisted rank structure)

Screw...........a ship's propeller

Scuttlebutt..a drinking fountain.  Also, slang for unofficial information or rumors

Sea................Seaman.  Sometimes shown as S3/c, S2/c, or S1/c.  (modern = SN)

Sickbay........medical facilities on a ship

SigInt............Signals Intelligence (same as ComInt)

SNAFU.........WW2 contemporary slang:  “situation normal: all fouled up”

SNLF...........Special Naval Landing Force (Japanese amphibious invasion troops)

SOC..............scout/observation aircraft carried on USN cruisers and battleships

SS.................submarine

Stateroom.....an officer's quarters on a ship (but for the captain only, it's the "cabin")

 

TAD...............Temporary Additional Duty (a temporary transfer--same as TDY in the Army)
TBD...............Devastator torpedo bomber

TBF, TBM......Avenger torpedo bomber

TF..................Task Force (a subdivision of a fleet)

TG.................Task Group (a subdivision of a Task Force)

truck..............the highest portion of a ship’s mast

 

USNA...........U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis

 

VADM............Vice Admiral (officer rank, equivalent to an army lieutenant general)

Val.................Japanese dive bomber, Aichi D3A1 Type 99

VB.................bombing squadron, or Navy/Marine bombing aircraft in general

VF.................fighter squadron, or Navy/Marine fighters in general

VMF..............Marine fighter squadron

VMSB...........Marine scouting/bombing squadron

VP.................patrol squadron

VS.................scouting squadron, or scouting aircraft in general

VSB..............scouting and bombing squadrons, or their aircraft in general

VT.................torpedo squadron, or torpedo attack aircraft in general

 

Wildcat.........F4F fighter

WO................Warrant Officer.  Usually promoted from the enlisted ranks as a technical specialist.

 

XO................Executive Officer; the second in command in any USN or USMC unit.

 

Y...................Yeoman (ship or squadron clerk).  Modern = YN.

YAG...............Yorktown Air Group

 

Zero.............Japanese A6M Type 00 fighter, a.k.a. "Zeke"

 

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