The Battling Pilot Glossary
Stories from the Golden Age reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.
aileron: a hinged flap on the trailing edge of an aircraft wing, used to control banking movements.
Alleghenies: Allegheny Mountains; a mountain range comprising the western part of the Appalachian Mountains. The range extends about 500 miles (805 km) from northern Pennsylvania to southwest Virginia.
Anacostia: a historic neighborhood in the southeast quadrant of Washington, DC.
beam: an early form of radio navigation using beacons to define navigational airways. A pilot flew for 100 miles guided by the beacon behind him and then tuned in the beacon ahead for the next 100 miles. The beacons transmitted two Morse code signals, the letter “A” and the letter “N.” When the aircraft was centered on the airway, these two signals merged into a steady, monotonous tone. If the aircraft drifted off course to one side, the Morse code for the letter “A” could be faintly heard. Straying to the opposite side produced the “N” Morse code signal.
Bolling: Bolling Field; located in southwest Washington, DC and officially opened in 1918, it was named in honor of the first high-ranking air service officer killed in World War I. Bolling served as a research and testing ground for new aviation equipment and its first mission provided aerial defense of the capital.
club: airplane propeller.
cowl gun: a gun installed inside the cowl (metal covering over the engine) of an airplane.
Department of Commerce: the department of the US federal government that promotes and administers domestic and foreign commerce.
dihedral: the upward or downward inclination of an aircraft wing from true horizontal.
fins: fixed vertical surfaces at the tail of an aircraft that give stability, and to which the rudders are attached.
.45 Colt: a .45-caliber automatic pistol manufactured by the Colt Firearms Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Colt was founded by Samuel Colt (1814–1862), who revolutionized the firearms industry.
gow up: to make sticky or mess something up. From gow, meaning opium or sap; the sticky brown resin harvested from poppies. Used figuratively.
ground loop: a sharp horizontal turn made by an aircraft on the ground when taxiing, landing or taking off.
key: a hand-operated device used to transmit Morse code messages.
kite: an airplane.
lady-in-waiting: a lady who is in attendance upon a queen or princess.
Luger: a German semiautomatic pistol introduced before World War I and named after German firearms expert George Luger (1849–1923).
minstrel show end man: a man at each end of the line of performers in a minstrel show who engages in comic banter with the master of ceremonies. A minstrel show is a comic variety show presenting jokes, songs, dances and skits, usually by white actors in blackface.
rudder: a device used to steer ships or aircraft. A rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft’s stern or tail. In typical aircraft, pedals operate rudders via mechanical linkages.
rumrunners: people or ships engaged in bringing prohibited liquor ashore or across a border.
sideslip: (of an aircraft when excessively banked) to slide sideways, toward the center of the curve described in turning.
slipstream: the airstream pushed back by a revolving aircraft propeller.
smear: smash.
Split-S: one of the oldest air combat maneuvers used to disengage from combat. To execute a Split-S, the pilot rolls his aircraft inverted and then executes a half-loop, resulting in the aircraft flying level in the opposite direction.
stevedoring: of an individual engaging in the loading or unloading of a vessel.
three points: three-point landing; an airplane landing in which the two main wheels and the nose wheel all touch the ground simultaneously.
tracer: a bullet or shell whose course is made visible by a trail of flames or smoke, used to assist in aiming.
Western Front: term used during World War I and II to describe the “contested armed frontier” (otherwise known as “the front”) between lands controlled by the Germans to the East and the Allies to the West. In World War I, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches stretching from the coast of the North Sea, southward to the Swiss border that was the Western Front. This line remained essentially unchanged for most of the war. In 1918 the relentless advance of the Allied armies persuaded the German commanders that defeat was inevitable and the government was forced to request armistice.
wingover: also known as the Immelmann turn; an aerial maneuver named after World War I flying ace Max Immelmann. The pilot pulls the aircraft into a vertical climb, applying full rudder as the speed drops, then rolls the aircraft while pulling back slightly on the stick, causing the aircraft to dive back down in the opposite direction. It has become one of the most popular aerial maneuvers in the world.
