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]

Originally Posted by A4K

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]

Originally Posted by A4K

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.