Battle of Britain Pilot Slang
Battle of Britain pilots developed their own slang/terminology that would have been incomprehensible to others even in the military. However, this slang became part of the lifestyle of members of Fighter Command and was used in everyday conversation as well as in written correspondence. Some of this slang has become reasonably common in general use today (such as binders) but during the months of the Battle of Britain when the Kings English was more dominant it was language commonly associated with the men from Fighter Command.
Binders People who are always grumbling and moaning.
Bin Killed as in Hes been bin
Blood Wagon Ambulance
Booze-wine drink, usually beer
Brolly Parachute
Brown Job Soldier/Army Officer
Beat-up To dive at an object with the purpose of frightening them
Bogle A woman
Cotton Wool Clouds
Deck The ground or an aerodrome
Double Top A good shot (from double 20 in darts)
Erks Airmans rank if below a corporal
Forced Lob Forced landing
Grappling Hooks Making a big effort
Grease Monkey Mechanic
Head in the Office Office refers to the cockpit
Jim Crow an aircraft on a reconnaissance mission
Nabble To catch up
Peelow Pilot
Putting on the horses giving more throttle to gain more speed
Poking Charlie Making fun of someone
Ring Twitch To anticipate danger; a feeling of fear and excitement
Squirt To shoot at
Stooge Someone who does all the dirty work
Stooge Patrol A patrol on which you do not expect to see the enemy
Stooging Along Going on patrol without taking much notice of anything
Tits The trigger or firing button on the joystick
Vic Aircraft flying in a V formation
Walking Out To bale out of your aircraft
July 2010
