Yesterday i got a copy of the very interesting "Dictionary of RAF Slang by Eric Partridge". I am going to test your RAF knowledge with a term which you will need to know the answer to if you can enter the pantheon of AirSpace greats.
Today's slang word is... JOE SOAP
AirSpace - more than just hot air
Hello Maverick,
Joe Soap who carries the can for one and all. Something I am very good at.
All the best Flyer1.
I am lucky if I remember to turn the camera on and remove the lens cap!!!!, but I have a go.
Flyer1, very well done indeed, Joe Soap is indeed an airman 'carrying the can' or doing work that should be done by another.
Next one is...Beer Lever
JOHNNYB1950, you are right, the Beer Lever is:
"The Joystick of an aircraft. From pub-bars".
How long were you at Huntingdon John?
So here is the next one.What's a Nursery Slope
Hello Maverick, I must own up, the answer I have for Nursery Slope I got from my dad. Is it an easy target for beginners? I have told my dad who is in his nineties if its the wrong answer I am taking his skate board away!!!
flyer1.
So John many of these phrases will be familier with you then .
Flyer1 you are correct again, Nursery Slope is "an easy target on which bombing-beginners practice". Well done :-)
What or who is a "Trenchard Brat"
Hello Maverick, I believe it was Lord Trenchard who formed the training center at R.A.F. Halton. The Brats or spoiled brats as they were sometimes called were apprentices in the art of aero mechanics. They were instructed in, airframe, propulsion, electronics and other things. Just after my son had passed out as a Technician, Halton ceased to be a place of instruction. Martin, flyer1.
Okay what is a Daisy cutter (this should be easy for you cricket fans out there)
Hi Guys,
New to the forum, just wanted to ask if anyone knows what the term - 2nd A/B, means? Trying to answer a query, as listed .......
Can anyone give me a description for 2nd A/B noted alongside crew member of Lancaster on ORB , whom I knew to be bomb aimer?
Regards,
John
Many thanks for your reply, mate.
Dear Maverick, just by way of clarification, Trenchard formed No 1 School of Technical Training at RAF Halton in 1919 in order to train aircraft apprentices aka 'Trenchards Brats' or just 'Brats'. The scheme got underway in 1920, but the first 4 Entries were trained at RAF Cranwell as Halton was not ready to start the training programme until 1922. My father was a 'Brat' at Cranwell, and I still have his RAF Notebooks from that era.
a stupid or naive person, one who could be easily put upon or deceived