~ 0 ~ U. S. NAVAL ABBREVIATIONS,~ OPNA V 29-P1000 (Revised April 1949) FIFTH EDITION /f.~. Prepared by THE OFFICE OF NAVAL RECORDS AND HISTORY OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS NAVY DEPARTMENT • WASHINGTON, D. C. APRIL 1949 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office • Washington 25, D. C, - Price 35 cents J Addenda AC&W Air Communications and Weather (Group) JANMAT Joint Army-Navy Material Program ANCXF Allied Naval Commander Expeditionary Forces JASA Joint Anti-Submarine Action AOC in CBAFO Air Officer Commanding in Chief KRRC King's Royal Rifle Corps (GB) British Air Force Occupation MBS Van Mobile Communications Unit Equipped With BAD British Joint Services Mission (Navy Staff) Transmitter and Receiver BETFOR Headquarters British Element Trieste Forces MTOUSA Mediterranean Theater of OperationS, U. S. BNLUS British Naval Liaison (Office) U. S. Navy Army (London) NADO Navy Accounts Disbursing Office n BOSEY Board of Supply, Executive Yuan (Board NAMC Naval Air Material Center 0 responsible for removal of surplus U. S. war NAMRU Navy Medical Research Unit material to China from Guam) NAPO Naval Air Priorities Office CCA Committee for Conventional Armaments NASAF Northeast African Strategic Air Force CF AW Commander Fleet Air Wing NCDO Navy Central Disbursing Office d CGA Coabt Guard Auxiliary NFA National Food Administration · CinCNavEastL~~ontMed Commander-in-Chief U.S. Naval OIS Office of Industrial Survey Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean; ONM Office of Naval Materiai now CinCNELM ONO Office of Naval Operations CinCNELM (same as above) RAMP Recovered Allied Military Personnel CLC Task Fleet Command Ship RHAF Royal Hellenic Air Force CLK Hunter Killer Ship RSFSR Republic of Soviet Federated Socialist Republics CN AV ANTRA Chief of Naval Air Advanced Training SeeDer Secretary of Defense ComNavZor Commander U.S. Naval Forces Azores SKILA Southern Korean Interim Legislative Assembly CVA Heavy Aircraft Carrier (65,000 tons) SNOAD Senior Naval Officer Adriatic (GB) DDE Destroyer Escort (completed or converted from SSA Cargo Submarine DD hull) SSG Guided Missile Submarine DDK Hunter Killer Destroyer SSP Transport Submarine EEl Essential Elements of Information SSR Radar Picket Submarine ERP European Recovery Program T AF Tactical Air Force FOF Fukuoka Occupation Force TIS Theater Intelligence Section FTT Free Territory Trieste TRUST Headquarters Trieste, U. S. Troops GARIOA Government and Relief in Occupied Areas TURCO Turn Around Control (Appropriations) USAFINZ U. S. Army Forces in New Zealand IJN Imperial Japanese Navy WAF Women in the Air Force IMAC First (I) Marine Amphibious Corps WFTU World Federation Trade Union IRO International Refugee Organization YFP District Barge, Floating Power t. t a P. ' d n a t i. Foreword The roads around Pearl Harbor \Yere alive initials indicating function and manufacturer. in wartime with vehicles marked "AdCom­ The personnel designations ·were changed sev­ PhibsPac." The waters of Casco Bay were eral times during the period, particularly for plowed by small boats bearing at their bows reserve officers; these are all included, with the mystic inscriptions, "DesLant" or "SOPA." cross-referencing to avoid needless repetition. In a single dim corridor of the Navy Depart­ For purposes of security, the names of over­ ment, "OIR" and "OR&I" indicated adjacent seas stations and units were frequently omitted but quite distinct offices of "EXOS." not only from envelope addresses but also from Altogether the Navy produced, officially or the contents; \Yithout the assistance of the list unofficially, thousands of such abbreviations reproduced under "Navy Numbers," it would during the war. A few, such as "SecNav," be difficult to identify the source of letters "CominCh," "CNO," "BuPers," and "j.g.," which simply had the printed headings "Naval were well-known throughout the service. Most District Headquarters, Navy No. 121, FPO of the rest, however, were thrown around in New York" or "Naval Operating Base, Navy familiar fashion by those immediately con­ No. 1504, FPO San Francisco." cerned, but might be thoroughly mystifying to The general abbreviations fall into two major · the rest of the Naval Establishment. It would types. "Commander Philippine Sea Frontier," be difficult to find a person who could even for instance, was sometimes contracted to approach a perfect score in identifying "ComPhilSeaFron" and at other times to "CAFAC," "JOSCO," and "OMPUS," to say "CPSF." The former type was whimsically nothing of "COLanForASCU," "LanCra­ compared by one columnist to the practice of BNAW," "NOBDUCHAR," and "PaCorNa­ the Russians with their "Politburo" or Log," ~ven while the war was in progress; as it "Amtorg." Such contractions are much easier grows more distant, those symbols will become to deduce than the more numerous combina­ even less familiar. tions of initials which follow the British prac­ For the benefit of naval personnel, officials, tice. Some abbreviations received an official and scholars who may have occasion to consult blessing and were incorporated in aviation, correspondence, reports and historical narra­ communications, personnel or technical lists or tives in which such abbreviations occur, it has manuals; others were often improvised and seemed desirable to prepare a glossary indenti­ might vary with the individual taste of the fying the principal terms likely to be encount­ abbreviator. "Service Squadron," for instance, ered in such documents. The need for such a appeared variously as "Seron," "Serron," glossary was indicated by the preparation of "Servon" and "Servron." Those four all appear various partial lists during the war; none of in this glossary, but naturally it has been out these, however, covered more than a fraction of of the question to include all variations. the whole. Certain naval categories have been deliber­ The glossary includes most of the principal ately omitted, because of limited interest in Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard abbrevi­ comparison with the detail involved, or for ations in use from 1940 to the end of 1946. Four reasons of security. One should consult perti­ particular categories have been given in great nent bureau manuals, for instance, for the des­ detail: vessel types, naval aircraft types, com­ ignations of their administrative subdivisions missioned and enlisted personnel designations, and their more specialized equipment. The long and Fleet Post Office numbers. The vessel types, list of port markings for overseas freight ship­ while numerous, are clear cut. For aircraft, ments has likewise been left out, as have the the nickname as well as the official designation designations of naval radio stations and plane­ is given, and the general meaning of the to-plane communication signals. The "code iii names" for particular operations, conferences alphabetical arrangement, particularly for the and places will be issued shortly in a separate United States Army, certain other branches of list. the United States Government, and some for­ Where the same abbreviation has more than eign navies. one meaning, the several meanings have been The glossary has been prepared in the Office arranged alphabetically. Abbreviations pre­ of Naval History, under the supervision of the ceded by an asterisk (*), other than Navy Historian for Naval Administration. It was numbers, may never be used singly; those pre­ begun by Lt. (j.g.) R. Donald Spencer, USNR, ceded by the symbol for number ( #) are the but the great bulk of the research and arrange­ Bureau of Personnel Condensation Code for use ment is the work of Lt. Comdr. Dorothy E. in dispatch orders to personnel. Richard, USN. In addition to the Navy, Marine Corps and Any requests for information concerning this Coast Guard abbreviations, it has seemed ex­ publication or the Naval Historical Program pedient to include, without any such pretense should be addressed to the Director of Naval of completeness, certain items from other Records and History, Office of the Chief vf Naval sources which are likely to be encountered in Operations, Navy Department, Washington 25, naval documents. Numerous entries of that D.C. sort will be found included in the genera1 tV A AAF Army Air Forces AAFIS Army Air Forces Intelligence School A Acting (following Navy Chief's rating); e.g., AAFMTO Army Air Force Headquarters, Mediter- CAOMA (Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Acting) ranean Theater of Operations A Air AAFPOA Army Air Forces, Pacjfic Ocean Areas A Allied Aviation Corporation (manufacturer's sym­ AAFPOAAdmin Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean bol) Areas (Administrative) A Amphibious plane (suffix to plane designation) as: AAHA Awaiting Action of Higher Authority PBY-6A AAHQ Allied Air Headquarters A Army AAI Allied Armies in Italy A Arresting Gear (suffix to plane designation) as: AAIC Allied Air Intelligence Center SOC-3A AAMG Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun A Asiatic AAPIU Allied Aerial Photographic Interpretation A Auxiliary Unit "A" 3-drum, express type (boiler) AAQM Acting Assistant Quartermaster (USMC) A Brewster Aeronautical Corporation (manufactur­ AAR Aircraft Accident Record er's symbol) AATB Advanced Amphibious Training Base A Noorduyn Aviation, Ltd. (manufacturer's symbol) AATC Anti-Aircraft Training Center A Plane built for Army Air Forces (suffix to plane AATraCen Anti-Aircraft Training Center designation) as: SBD-3A AAT&TC Anti-Aircraft Training & Test Center A USNR officer designation for General Service, AB Aerial burst bombs Aviation Non-flying. Formerly (A).