Korean War Air-Ground Glossary
Letters: A-Al ♦ Am-Az ♦ B-Bi ♦ Bi-Bz ♦ C-Cl♦ Co-Cz ♦ D ♦ E ♦ F-Fl ♦ Fm-Fz ♦ G ♦ Ha-Hf ♦ Hg-Hz ♦ I ♦ J ♦ K ♦ L ♦ M-Me ♦ Mf-Mz ♦ N ♦ O ♦ Pa-Pi ♦ Pj-Pz ♦ Q ♦ Ra-Ri ♦ Rj-Rz ♦ Sa-Sh ♦ Si-Sz ♦ Ta-Tg ♦ Th-Tz ♦ U ♦ V ♦ W ♦ X ♦ Y ♦ Z
Note: the Korean-War Air-Ground Glossary is under construction. New pages and images are being added daily. Find terms or phrases more easily by using the Google Search Engine above. Click on the Truckbusters From Dogpatch web site button.We welcome your suggestions for new slang or terms from the Korean War. Use the Contact link above to submit your term.
The Korean War Air Combat Glossary includes military terms, slang and definitions used by the Korean War veterans to whom Truckbusters From Dogpatch is dedicated.
To help establish additional military and air force history resources about the so-called "Forgotten War," the Glossary also includes biographical information, Korean War stories and photographs of many leaders of the 18th Fighter-Wing, Fifth Air Force and other senior military leaders whose decisions affected the missions and operations of the 18th Wing, 18th Fighter-Bomber Group and the Wing's associated squadrons. The Glossary includes many photographs and video of 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing Korean War air combat operations when they were flying the P-51 Mustang and the F-86 Sabrejet aircraft.
The list includes the names and where known, biographical information about those pilots and Airmen who lost their lives during 37 months of Korean War combat. The information is far from complete and will certainly be expanded through the efforts of the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing Association and others.
The names of Two Squadron, South African Air Force (SAAF) fliers are also included.
Information on American pilots is drawn from the files of the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing Association, family records and recollections, and, where possible, from unit history reports. Sadly, even the unit histories were often incomplete or hasty in recording the status or circumstances of a pilot and his loss to the unit. When the unit history does mention the pilot, however briefly, that notation is included.
Excerpted from over 3,500 terms and definitions found in Truckbusters From Dogpatch
Letters: A-Al ♦ Am-Az ♦ B-Bi ♦ Bi-Bz ♦ C-Cl♦ Co-Cz ♦ D ♦ E ♦ F-Fl ♦ Fm-Fz ♦ G ♦ Ha-Hf ♦ Hg-Hz ♦ I ♦ J ♦ K ♦ L ♦ M-Me ♦ Mf-Mz ♦ N ♦ O ♦ Pa-Pi ♦ Pj-Pz ♦ Q ♦ Ra-Ri ♦ Rj-Rz ♦ Sa-Sh ♦ Si-Sz ♦ Ta-Tg ♦ Th-Tz ♦ U ♦ V ♦ W ♦ X ♦ Y ♦ Z
- B-Bi -
B-26 - Douglas “Invader”: twin-engine light bomber USA).
B-29 - Boeing “Superfortress”: four-engine bomber (USA).
BA-64 - North Korean armored car, a four-wheeled vehicle weighing 4,800 pounds combat loaded. It was powered by a four-cycle, 50 hp engine giving it a top road speed of 55 mph. It was armored with 3/8-inch rolled, steeply sloped plate to afford maximum protection against small arms fire. Armament consisted of one small caliber machine gun. The tires were made of solid sponge rubber. See T-34 and SU-76.
Bailey Bridge - Army bridge that could be swiftly assembled and used for river crossings, etc.
Bailout Bottle - A small green oxygen bottle attached to a parachute to be used in the event of a high altitude bailout so the pilot would not lose consciousness on the way down. The 18th flew some escort missions for B-29s at altitudes at or above 25,000 feet. On such missions, the bottles were issued.
Bailout - The process of exiting the aircraft while it is airborne. Pilots were advised to “slow the airplane to the lowest speed that is reasonably safe—150 mph. The lower the speed at which you bail out, the less risk there is. But don’t slow the airplane dangerously near the stalling point, particularly if you have no power. Lower the seat, duck your head, and jettison the canopy. Disconnect your headset and oxygen hose, and release the safety belt and shoulder harness. Pull yourself up onto the seat so that you’re in a crouching position with your feet in the seat. Dive with head down toward the trailing edge of the right wing, unless a fire or some other condition makes it advisable to go out the left side.” If the pilot had to exit the plane at high altitude, he was advised to “make a delayed free fall” before opening his chute. In this way “you not only escape the danger of cold, of lack of oxygen, and–if in a combat zone—the danger of gunfire, but you also eliminate the possibility of personal injury from the snap-out in the rarified air.” At high altitudes the G-forces exerted on the pilot by the pull of the harness in during the opening snap are from two to four times as great as at lower altitudes.
BAR - Browning Automatic Rifle.
Barrier cover - UN interceptor jet patrols 20-50 miles north of an attacking bomber stream.Base leg - See Final.
Battalion - A battalion normally consisted of two or more companies or batteries under the command of a lieutenant colonel—a basic military organizational element. The three infantry battalions in the standard Army and Marine Corps regiments of the day all followed the same system for letter designating their companies. Companies A, B, and C in First Battalion were rifle companies; D was a weapons company. In Second Battalion, E, F, and G were rifle companies; H was a weapons company. Likewise in Third Battalion, I, K, and L were rifle companies (there was no J Company) and M was a weapons Company.
Battery - In the U.S. military, battery is the designation for a company-sized unit of artillery. Commanded by a captain, it is composed of approximately 100 officers and men and equipped with guns, howitzers, rocket launchers, searchlights, appropriate to its mission.
Battle Damage - “Any damage to the aircraft brought about by enemy action. Battle damage may be accomplished by direct means such as air-to-air or ground-to-air fire, or by indirect means such as cable traps.” (Memorandum No. 40, Operations Analysis Office, Hq. Fifth Air Force, 31, March 1951)
Battle Fatigue - Called “Shell Shock” in the First World War, Battle Fatigue was the term used in World War II and Korea. Pilots also had nicknames for battle fatigue, at the least the early symptoms, including: “clanky” and “flak happy.”
Battle Formation - See Formations.
Battle Loss - “Any aircraft that is lost while on a combat mission due to direct enemy action.” (Memorandum No. 40, Operations Analysis Office, Hq. Fifth Air Force, 31 March 1951)
BDA - Battle Damage Assessment
Bedcheck Charley - Enemy aircraft, nicknamed “Bedcheck Charlies,” used to harass Allied positions. Two types of antique aircraft were most often used, including: Soviet-built Yakovlev YAK-18 training planes; and Polikarpov PO-2 wood and fabric biplanes, both with a cruising speed of about 100 knots. Even ground personnel were not immune to the perceived threat of enemy air attack, particularly at K-16 where “Bed Check Charlie,” a small, two-place, enemy biplane made regular appearances. Hedgehopping down the valleys and hilly countryside to avoid air search radar, “Charlie” would arrive in the early morning hours, “dropping hand grenades, mortar shells, and strafing the area with a hand held sub-machine gun. No damage was inflicted by this ‘bogie’ other than a few barked shins, skinned elbows, caused when personnel stumbled over tent ropes en route to their fox holes,” the 39th FIS reported. Bedcheck Charlie hit K-23/Pyongyang in November 1950,” noted Col. Bill Myers.
Belly landing - A forced landing with wheels up. “Forced landings with wheels down should be made only when you’re absolutely certain that such a procedures will be safe.” See Ditching.
BG - Bombardment Group