Historical Documents - Office of the Historian

A–26, twin-engine light bomber aircraft (Invader) (United States)

AA, anti-aircraft

Abraham, Quebec

A/c, aircraft

ACV, auxiliary aircraft carrier or tender

AEC, Atomic Energy Commission (United States)

AFHQ, Allied Force Headquarters at Algiers

AFofL, American Federation of Labor

AGC, combined operations communications headquarters ship

AGWar, Adjutant General, War Department (United States)

AK, cargo ship (including ships of the Liberty and Victory classes)

AKA, cargo vessel, attack

Alacrity, plan for the entry of a British force into the Azores on October 8, 1943

Alcove, communications indicator used on telegrams from the British Government in London to the British Delegation attending the Third Washington Conference

Alusna, United States Naval Attaché

Amco, the United States telephone exchange established at the Citadel, Quebec

AMG, Allied Military Government

AMGOT, Allied Military Government in Occupied Territories

Anakim, Allied plan to retake Burma and open the line of communications to China through the port of Rangoon

Anfa, the Casablanca Conference, January 14–24, 1943

AOC-in-C, Air Officer Commanding in Chief

AP, transport ship, armor piercing

APA, transport, attack

APD, high-speed troop transport

Arcadia, the First Washington Conference, December 1941–January 1942

Armd, armoured

A/S, anti-submarine

ASW, anti-submarine warfare

AT, ocean tug

AT(E), Administration of Enemy Territories (Europe)

ATR, ocean tug, rescue

AUS, Army of the United States

Avalanche, Allied amphibious assault at Salerno

B, “Baker” time (the local time in Algiers)

B–17, four-engine heavy bomber aircraft (Flying Fortress) (United States)

B–17 F, four-engine heavy bomber aircraft (Flying Fortress, Series F) (United States)

B–24, four-engine heavy bomber aircraft (Liberator) (United States)

B–24 C and D, four-engine heavy bomber aircraft (Liberator, Series C and D) (United States)

B–25, twin-engine medium bomber aircraft (Mitchell) (United States)

B–29, four-engine very heavy bomber aircraft (Superfortress) (United States)

Backbone, plan for possible military operations against Spanish Morocco

Baker, military expression for the letter B

Barracuda, plan for an Allied sea and airborne assault on Naples

Baytown, British invasion of the Calabrian coast opposite Messina

BB, battleship

Bigot, special security procedure for future operations

Black, communications indicator used on telegrams sent to the White House Map Room by President Roosevelt when the latter was away from Washington

BMWT, British Ministry of War Transport

BOAC, British Overseas Airways Corporation

Bolero, build-up of United States forces and supplies in the United Kingdom for a cross-Channel attack; sometimes used to refer to the attack itself

Bosco, United States Army communications center at the Chateau Frontenac, Quebec; communications indicator used on certain messages handled by that center

Bosco–in, communications indicator used on incoming messages handled by the United States Army communications center at the Chateau Frontenac, Quebec

Bracken, the Azores

Brimstone, plan for the capture of Sardinia

Brisk, plan for acquiring bases in the Azores

Bullfrog, plan for an operation against the Arakan coast in Burma

Buttress, British operation against the toe of Italy

C–47, twin-engine transport aircraft (Skytrain) (United States)

CA, heavy cruiser

Cannibal, British offensive against Akyab in 1943

Cartwheel, converging drives on Rabaul by forces from the South Pacific and Southwest Pacific areas

Catalina, twin-engine naval patrol bomber aircraft (PB2B or PBY) (United States)

Cav, cavalry

CC, military communications indicator

CCAC, Combined Civil Affairs Committee (United States-British)

CC of S, Combined Chiefs of Staff (United States-British)

CCOS, Combined Chiefs of Staff (United States-British)

CCS, Combined Chiefs of Staff (United States-British); document symbol used by the Combined Chiefs of Staff

CCWD, classified communication, War Department

CG, Commanding General; Consul General

CGS, military communications indicator

Charlie, military expression for the letter C

Churchill, heavy tank (British)

CIC, Combined Intelligence Committee (United States-British); document symbol used by the Combined Intelligence Committee

CIGS, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (British)

CinC, Commander in Chief

CIO, Congress of Industrial Organizations (United States)

CKS, Chiang Kai-shek

CL, light cruiser

CM–in, classified message, incoming

Colonel Warden, Prime Minister Churchill

ComAirLant, Commander, Air Forces, Atlantic Area

CominCh, Commander in Chief

Concrete, communications indicator used on telegrams from the British Government in London to the British Delegation attending the First Quebec Conference

COS, Chiefs of Staff (British); document symbol used by the British Chiefs of Staff

COSSAC, Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander Designate; document symbol used by COSSAC

CPS, Combined Staff Planners (United States-British); document symbol used by the Combined Staff Planners

Cromwell, medium tank (British)

Cudgel, plan for small-scale operations against the Arakan coast in Burma

Culverin, plan for an assault on Sumatra

CV, aircraft carrier

CVE, aircraft carrier, escort

D, day

D–1, one day before the date of a planned military operation

D+1, D+2, etc., one, two, etc., days after the date of a planned military operation

DD, destroyer

D Day, the date of a planned military operation

DE, destroyer escort

Div(s), division(s)

DMI, Director(ate) of Military Intelligence, War Office (British)

DNB, German News Agency (owned by the German Ministry of Propaganda)

DSIRN, a section of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (British)

DUKW, 2½-ton amphibian truck

EAM, National Liberation Front (Greek)

E–boat, anti-submarine naval craft

ETO, European Theater of Operations

Eu, Division of European Affairs, Department of State (United States)

EW, European War

Eyes Only, communications indicator used on messages which were to receive extremely limited distribution

Fan, communications indicator used on messages from the Combined Chiefs of Staff to Allied Force Headquarters at Algiers

FCB, Federal Communication Board (United States)

FE, Division of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State (United States)

FEB, Far Eastern Bureau (British)

fhcic, reference symbol used by the Commander in Chief, Allied Force Headquarters at Algiers

fhcos, reference symbol used by the Chief of Staff, Allied Force Headquarters

fhdsc, reference symbol used by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Allied Force Headquarters

fhgbi, reference symbol used by the Assistant Chief of Staff (G–2), Allied Force Headquarters

fhgct, reference symbol used by the Assistant Chief of Staff (G–3), Allied Force Headquarters

Firebrand, plan for the invasion of Corsica

FO, Foreign Office (British)

Former Naval Person, Prime Minister Churchill

Fortune, military communications indicator used by a planning group located in Algiers

Freedom, communications indicator used on certain messages to General Eisenhower; Eisenhower’s headquarters at Algiers

ftr, fighter

FW, file with

G–2, G–3, intelligence and operations sections, respectively, of a divisional or higher staff

GAF, German Air Force

Gestapo, Secret State Police (German)

GHQ, General Headquarters

Giant 2, plan for an air drop near Rome

Goblet, plan for an invasion of Italy at Crotone (Cotrone)

GR, general range

GRT, gross registered tonnage

GSC, General Staff Corps, United States Army

H, document symbol used by the Division of Political Studies, Department of State, for policy summaries

H2S, radar aid to navigation and target identification (British)

Habbakuk, a floating airfield to be used as a substitute for an aircraft carrier

Habbakuk I, a floating airfield made of wood

Habbakuk II, a large floating airfield made of steel or pykrete (frozen pulp and water)

Habbakuk III, a small floating airfield made of steel

Hardihood, aid to Turkey

HM, His Majesty’s

HMG, His Majesty’s (i.e., the British) Government

Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily

HX, cargo convoy to the United Kingdom from New York or Halifax

ICAN, International Commission for Aerial Navigation

ICI, Imperial Chemical Industries (British)

IE, initial equipment

ILO, International Labor Organization

Inf, infantry

IRA, Irish Republican Army

JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States)

jg, junior grade

JIC, Joint Intelligence Committee; document symbol used by the Joint Intelligence Committee

JPS, Joint Planning Staff

JP(T), document symbol used by the British Planning Staff

Ju 52, transport aircraft (Junkers 52) (German)

Juggler, operation against fighter aircraft production complexes at Regensburg and Wiener Neustadt

Jupiter, plan for operations in Norway

Kkad, communications indicator used on certain telegrams sent to Quebec

KMS, cargo convoy from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar

Lady Warden, Mrs. Winston S. Churchill

LCA, landing craft, assault

LCF(L), landing craft, flak, large

LCG(L), landing craft, gun, large

LCG(M), landing craft, gun, medium

LCI(L), landing craft, infantry, large

LCM, landing craft, mechanized

LCM 3, landing craft, mechanized (Mark III)

LCP(L), landing craft, personnel, large

LCS(M), landing craft, support, medium

LCT, landing craft, tank

LCT(2) to LCT(6), landing craft, tank (Mark II to VI)

LCT(R), landing craft, tank, rocket

Liberator, see B–24

Lifebelt, the Azores; plan for an assault on the Azores

L of C, line(s) of communications

LR, long range

LRP, long-range penetration

LRPGs, long-range penetration groups

LSC, landing ship, carrier, derrick-hoisting

LSD, landing ship, dock

LSE, landing ship, emergency repair

LSH, landing ship, headquarters

LSI(H), landing ship, infantry, hand-hoisted boats

LSI(L), landing ship, infantry, large

LSP, landing ship, personnel

LST, landing ship, tank

LST(2), landing ship, tank (Mark II)

LVT II, landing vehicle, tracked, un-armored (Mark II) (Water Buffalo)

LVT(A)II, landing vehicle, tracked, armored (Mark II) (Water Buffalo, canopy type)

Manhattan Engineer District, atomic bomb development project

MAP, Ministry of Aircraft Production (British)

Mariner, see PBM

Mat, military communications indicator

Maud Committee, scientific committee established to examine fission phenomena (British)

Mayson, atomic energy research

MC, Medical Corps, United States Navy; Military Cross (British)

Me 323, transport aircraft (Messer-schmitt 823) (German)

Med, Mediterranean

MEW, Ministry of Economic Warfare (British)

Min, minutes

Miscl, miscellaneous

Monkey, communications channel between Italy and Eisenhower’s headquarters

Mosquito, twin-engine bomber aircraft (British)

Mrs. Warden, Mrs. Winston S. Churchill

MT, motor transport

Mtg, meeting

Musket, projected landing on the heel of Italy near Taranto

MVSN, Fascist Militia (Italian)

N, night

Naf, communications indicator used on telegrams from Allied Force Headquarters at Algiers to the Combined Chiefs of Staff

NATO, North African Theater of Operations

NATS, Naval Air Transport Service

NDRC, National Defense Research Committee (United States)

NE, Division of Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State (United States); northeastern

NL, naval lighter

Notebook, build-up of the air transport route to China

Oatmeal, plan for landing in the Azores

OBB, old battleship

OEW, Office of Economic Warfare (United States)

OSRD, Office of Scientific Research and Development (United States)

OSS, Office of Strategic Services (United States)

Overlord, plan for an Allied cross-Channel invasion of northwest Europe in 1944

OVRA, Secret Police (Italian)

OWI, Office of War Information (United States)

P, document symbol used by the Subcommittee on Political Problems of the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy (United States)

P–38, twin-engine fighter aircraft (Lightning) (United States)

PA/H, Office of the Adviser on Political Relations (Mr. Hornbeck), Department of State (United States)

PBM, twin-engine naval patrol bomber aircraft (Mariner) (United States)

Pencil, communications indicator used on telegrams to the British Government in London from the British Delegation to the Third Washington Conference

P–IO, document symbol used by the Special Subcommittee on International Organization of the Subcommittee on Political Problems of the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy (United States)

Plough Force, project for training United States and Canadian volunteers for snow operations in northern Norway

PM, Prime Minister, i.e., Churchill

Pointblank, combined bomber offensive against Germany from the United Kindom

PQ, President Roosevelt; Province of Quebec

Present Aerial Person, Prime Minister Churchill

Priceless, Mediterranean operations following the Allied invasion of Sicily

Prime, Prime Minister Churchill

PRU, photographic reconnaissance unit

PT, motor torpedo boat

PW, Pacific War

PWE, Psychological Warfare Executive (British)

Qtr, quarter

Quadrant, First Quebec Conference, August 11–24, 1943; Quebec

RAF, Royal Air Force (British)

Rankin, plans for a return to the Continent in the event of deterioration of the German position

Ravenous, plan for the recapture of northern Burma

RCAF, Royal Canadian Air Force

RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RDF, radio direction finder

Recce, reconnaissance

Recn, reconnaissance

Reconn, reconnaissance

Rept’g, representing

RN, Royal Navy (British)

RNA, Royal Netherlands Army

RNN, Royal Netherlands Navy

Roundhammer, plan for a cross-Channel operation intermediate in size between Sledgehammer and Roundup

Roundup, plan for a major Allied cross-Channel operation in 1943

S, Office of the Secretary of State (United States)

S–1, atomic energy research and development

SAM, United States ships transferred to British flag on bareboat charter (for seamen and manning)

Saucy, limited offensive to reopen a land route from Burma to China

SC, cargo convoy to the United Kingdom from Halifax or Sydney, Cape Breton Island

SE, single-engine

SEF, single-engine fighter

Sherman, medium tank (M–4) (United States)

Sickle, build-up for a bomber offensive against Germany

SIS, Secret Intelligence Service (British)

Sledgehammer, plan for a limited cross-Channel attack in 1942

Soapsuds, early code word for Tidalwave

SOE, Special Operations Executive (British)

SOS, Services of Supply

Spitfire, single-engine fighter aircraft (British)

Sqns, squadrons

SS, submarine; National Socialist Elite Guard (German)

Stat, United States Statutes at Large

T, document symbol used by the Subcommittee on Territorial Problems of the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy (United States)

T–20, medium tank (United States)

T/C, navigation trainer aircraft

TEF, twin-engine fighter

Tidalwave, low-level heavy bomber attack on Ploeşti, Rumania

tk bdes, tank brigades

Torch, Northwest Africa; Allied invasion of Northwest Africa

Trident, the Third Washington Conference, May 12–25, 1943

Troopers, War Office (British)

Tubealloy, see Tube Alloys

Tube Alloys, atomic energy research and development

U–boat, submarine

UE, unit equipment

UGF, troop convoy from New York to Gibraltar

UGS, cargo convoy from New York to Gibraltar

UJ, Uncle Joe, i.e., Stalin Uncle Joe, Stalin

UNRRA, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration

Upkeep, bombing of the Möhne and Eder dams in Germany

USA, United States Army; United States of America

USAAF, United States Army Air Forces

USCOS, United States Chiefs of Staff, i.e., the Joint Chiefs of Staff

USFor, United States Forces in the United Kingdom

USN, United States Navy

USNR, United States Naval Reserve

Ventura, twin-engine naval patrol air-craft(PV–1 or PV–3) (United States)

VLR, very long range

Vulcan, final ground offensive to clear Tunisia

W, communications indicator used on telegrams from Allied Force Headquarters at Algiers to the War Department

WDCSA, War Department, Chief of Staff, United States Army

Welfare, communications indicator used on telegrams to the British Government in London from the British Delegation attending the First Quebec Conference

White, communications indicator used on telegrams sent from the White House Map Room to President Roosevelt when the latter was away from Washington

WPB, War Production Board (United States)

WSA, War Shipping Administration (United States)

W/T, wireless telegraphy

XAP, merchant transport

YMS, motor mine sweeper

Z, “Zebra”, Greenwich mean time

Foreign Relations of the United States, Conferences at Washington and Quebec, 1943

List of abbreviations, symbols, and code names