| AA |
Anti-aircraft |
| AAF |
Auxiliary Air Force |
| AASF |
Advanced Air Striking Force |
| AC2 |
Aircraftman 2nd Class |
| Adlerangriff |
‘Eagle Attack’: German air offensive against Britain |
| Adlertag |
‘Eagle Day’: first day of Adlerangriff |
| AI |
Air Interception: airborne radar |
| AMES |
Air Ministry Experimental Station: radar station |
| AOC |
Air Officer Commanding |
| AOC-in-C |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief |
| ARP |
Air-Raid Precautions |
| BE |
British Experimental – early aircraft |
| BEF |
British Expeditionary Force |
| CAS |
Chief of the Air Staff |
| CH |
Chain Home: standard radar stations |
| CHL |
Chain Home Low: low-reading radar stations |
| CO |
Commanding Officer |
| ‘Cromwell’ |
Code-name to bring British forces to highest degree of readiness, September 1940 |
| DF |
Direction Finding |
| Do |
Dornier |
| ‘Dynamo’ |
Code-name for evacuation from Dunkirk |
| Enigma |
German encoding machine |
| Erpro |
Erprobungsgruppe |
| G, Geschwader |
= RAF Group |
| GCI |
Ground Controlled Interception: ground radar used in conjunction with AI |
| Gr, Gruppe |
= RAF wing |
| He |
Heinkel |
| HF |
High frequency radio |
| IFF |
Identification Friend or Foe – device to identify British aircraft |
| JG, Jagdgeschwader |
Fighter group |
| Ju |
Junkers |
| KG, Kampfgeschwader |
Bomber group |
| Knickebein |
‘Crooked leg’: wireless beam system for navigation |
| LAC |
Leading Aircraftman |
| LDV |
Local Defence Volunteers – later Home Guard |
| Me |
Messerschmitt |
| MT |
Mechanical transport |
| OKW |
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht – High Command of the German Armed Forces |
| Ops room |
Operations room |
| OTU |
Operational Training Unit |
| PAC |
Parachute and Cable – defence device for airfields, etc. |
| RDF |
Radio Direction Finding – British name (till 1943) for radar |
| R/T |
Radio telephony |
| ‘Seeloewe’ |
‘Sealion’: code-name for projected German invasion operation |
| Sigint |
Intelligence derived from signals |
| Staffel |
= RAF squadron – 9 aircraft |
| StG, SturzkamPfgeschwader |
Dive-bomber group |
| Stuka |
Dive-bomber (Ju 87) |
| Ultra |
Highest grade of secrecy – decrypts of messages encoded on the Enigma machine |
| Vector |
Compass bearing |
| Vics |
V formations |
| WAAF |
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force |
| W/T |
Wireless telegraphy |
| VHF |
Very high frequency radio |
| Y |
Listening or interception service, W/T and R/T |
| ZG, Zerstoerergeschwader |
Destroyer (Me 110) group |