Submariners AssociationBarrow in Furness Branch
Jackspeak
| The British Navy has a language all of its own which reflects both its long history and also the culture (good and bad) of the service, this is "Jackspeak". Within the Royal Navy the submariners remain a somewhat separate and close-knit bunch with their own unique Jackspeak which this page sets out to record. | Submit Jackspeak |
| Last 10 Entries |
A |
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| AB | Able Seaman | ||
| Adam & Eve on a Raft | 2 Eggs on Toast (Fried Bread) | ||
| After-endie | Someone who works back aft | ||
| Afterends | Back end of a boat | ||
| AMP | Assisted Maintenance Period | ||
| Angles and Dangles | High speed alterations of depth using large angles of trim | ||
| ASW | Anti-Submarine Warfare | ||
B |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Back Afty | ERA who works in rear compartments, nuclear or diesel | ||
| Bandstand | Waist high rail on nuclear boats to allow the officer of the watch to keep his balance | ||
| Batt | Battery (or Bt) | ||
| Bear Pit | Bilge area at the after end of a diesel boats engine room | ||
| Bird Bath | 1. Canvas bath rigged under the 'Elephants Trunk' to catch incoming seawater in exceptionally rough weather 2. An all over wash from a sink full of water | ||
| Bish, The | The Pardre | ||
| Bits | Beans in tomato sauce (see Tits & Hits) | ||
| Black Hand Gang | Any rateing who's job deals with oil | ||
| Black Lighting | Minimal red lighting in the Control Room while at periscope depth when surface light is low or night-time | ||
| Black Pig, The | HMS Valiant LINK | ||
| Black Watch | Ratings left inboard for official reasons while the boat goes to sea. | ||
| Blockhouse | HMS Dolphin; aka 'Fort Blockhouse' LINK | ||
| Blow | Any process of displacing water/waste from a tank with compressed air "Blow Q" empty the Q Tank of water. | ||
| Boat | Any submarine | ||
| Bomb Shop | Weapon storage compartment | ||
| Bomber | Polaris/Trident Submarine | ||
| Bomber Queen | Name for any member of a Polaris/Trident Boat | ||
| Bongles & Dongles | Noise generating devices to allow boats to locate SBS Marines | ||
| Bubble | The bubble in a spirit level clinometer used by the planesman to keep the boat level (see Lose the bubble) | ||
| Bubble In The Wood | The bubble in the inclinometer has gone to one end or the other meaning the boat has taken a sharp up or down movement to rise or dive. Usually means the after planesmen has 'lost it' to due lack of concentration | ||
| Bunhouse | Wardroom | ||
| Bunting Tosser | Signaller | ||
| BZ | Bravo Zulu - well done | ||
C |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Cabbage Mechanic | A chef trying to sound upmarket | ||
| Cabbage Patch | Area port after corner of the forends where vegetables were stored | ||
| CBU | Core Burn Up | ||
| CEA | Chief Electrical Artificer | ||
| CERA | Chief Engine Room Artificer | ||
| Chicken On A Raft | Egg on toast | ||
| Chinese Wedding Cake | Rice pudding LINK | ||
| Clockwork Mouse | Boat engaged on training surface ships in A/S warfare | ||
| CO | Commanding Officer | ||
| Coffin Dreams | Nightmares on long dived patrols | ||
| Conning Tower | Boats bridge area (see Fin) | ||
| Conventional | Diesel/Electric boat | ||
| CPO | Chief Petty Officer | ||
| Crash Dive | Rapid or emergency dive | ||
| Crumb Brusher | Officers Steward | ||
D |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| DCM | Distinguished Conduct Medal | ||
| Deeps | Nickname for any submariner whose name is not known | ||
| Dit | Story | ||
| Diving Stations | Boats crew take up these stations prior to diving or whilst 'Crash diving' | ||
| Dog Watch | 1. Two 2 hour watches to equalise the roster 2. A derogatory term for short length of service | ||
| Dolphin Code | Numbers group which matches a corresponding message LINK | ||
| Dolphins | Gilt uniform brooch of two dolphins awarded to qualified Submariners | ||
| Donkshop | Engine room | ||
| Donkshop Horse | Engine room articifer | ||
| Downstairs Trot | Sentry posted inside a boat when alongside. | ||
| DSC | Distinguished Service Cross | ||
| DSM | Distinguished Service Medal | ||
| DSO | Distinguished Service Order | ||
E |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| EA | Electrical Artificer | ||
| EA of the Boat | Senior Electrical Rating | ||
| Elephants Footprints | Spam Fritters | ||
| Elephants Trunk | Canvas chute rigged around conning tower ladder to collect incoming seawater in rough weather (see Bird Bath) | ||
| EM | Electrical Mechanician | ||
| ERA | Engine Room Artificer (5 classes, eg: ERA1) | ||
F |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Familygram | Forty word message received weekly? by Polaris/Trident whilst on patrol | ||
| Fast Cruise | Shut the hatches and conduct emergency exercises whilst alongside the jetty | ||
| Fifth Hand | Young officer under training | ||
| Fin | The structure which carries the bridge and covers the masts on streamlined boats. | ||
| Fire, Flood & Famine | Disaster control exercises during work-up period | ||
| Fish | Torpedoes | ||
| Flash Back | The contents of the sewage chamber/tank blown back at the person trying to discharge the same outboard | ||
| Flood Q | Flood the Q tank set in the bows to rapidly increase the speed of the dive. Used especially in emergencies. Adds fifty tons of water to the bows of the boat | ||
| Fog Locker | Jackson boiler kept boiling for hot drinks | ||
| Fore-endy | Sailors who work in the torpedo space forward. Torpedo & Anti Submarine (Weapons) ratings. | ||
| FOSM | Flag-Officer, Submarines | ||
G |
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| George | Auto helm. Preceded One Man Band. | ||
| Goatshed | Sleeping accomodation for the 3 Senior Chiefs on O boats. CERA, Coxn and EA of the boat. Doubles as Coxn's office. | ||
| Goffers | 1 A huge wave coming over the fin 2 Cola | ||
| Grey Targets | Surface warships (see Skimmer) | ||
| Grocer | The Coxswain | ||
| Group Up | To configurate a conventional boats electrical motors for high speed running when dived. | ||
| Gulpers | A gulp of rum. | ||
H |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Hits | Herrings in tomato sauce (see Bits & Tits) | ||
| Hoolie Bar | Basement, NAAFI, drinking establishment, provided for crews off returning boats at Faslane Submarine Base to let off steam. Few rules, if any applied in the bar. | ||
| Hot Bunking | Sharing bunks when crew, trainees or other passengers in excess of the amount of bunks available are carried. When you come off watch you get into a warm bunk. | ||
I |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Inboard | Onboard the depot ship | ||
| Inside Wrecker | Any chef | ||
J |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Jackspeak | Naval slang or acronym | ||
| Jimmy | The First Lieutenant, the second in command responsible to the Captain for the general well being of the submarine. Responsible (assisted by the Chief Stoker) for calculating and setting the trim before diving. Particularly after being in harbour with fresh fuel, water, torpedos, ammunition and stores etc taken aboard. In the USN known as the Executive Officer. | ||
K |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Kingston Valves | Hand operated shut off valves in the bottom of certain main ballast tanks to allow them to used for extra fuel storage. Also hydraulically operated fitted in the 'Q' tank. | ||
| Kye | Hot Cocoa Drink LINK | ||
L |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Lid | Conning tower hatch, upper lid and lower lid. When diving this should be heard reported. "Upper lid shut, two clips, two pins" | ||
| Lose the bubble | To lose control (see Bubble) | ||
| LS | Leading Seaman | ||
| Lt | Lieutenant | ||
| Lt Cdr | Lieutenant Commander | ||
| LWEM | Leading Weapons Engineering Mechanic | ||
M |
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| Matelot | A Sailor | ||
| MC | Military Cross | ||
| MCP | Main Coolant Pump | ||
| Mech | Mechanician | ||
| MEO | Marine Engineering Officer | ||
| MID | Mentioned In Dispatches | ||
| MM | Military Medal | ||
| Mrs | Individual tinned steam puddings each one a different flavoured | ||
| MSM | Meritorious Service Medal | ||
| Mystery Trip | Classified covert intelligence gathering patrol | ||
N |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| Nail Bender | An ordnance artificer | ||
| NBC | Naval Base Commander | ||
| Neaters | Undiluted pusser's rum | ||
| Nelson's Blood | Pussers Rum | ||
| Ni**ers In The Snow | Rice pudding with raisins, sultanas etc | ||
| Nine O | Last meal of the day (diesel boats) | ||
| NSRP | Nuclear Steam Raising Plant | ||
O |
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | ||
| On the step | Nuclear boat at speed on the surface, riding its own bow wave | ||
| One All Round | 1. Order given to allow the Control Room staff to smoke one cigarette when dived. 2. The captain indicating a 360 degree periscope sweep during an attack | ||
| One Man Band | Combined steering and planes with automatic depth and course keeping facility, together with all the instruments, built into one unit | ||
| Open up | Open upper hatch (lid) after surfacing | ||
| ORD | Ordinary Seaman | ||
| Outside Wrecker | Engine Room Artificer responsible for mechanical items outside the pressure hull. Also the panel watch-keeper at Diving Stations | ||
P |
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| Part Three | Unqualified submariner. Still to pass the seagoing part of submarine training. Compulsory for all ranks and rates. | ||
| Peep Stick | Periscope | ||
| Periscope Cheese | Large tin of processed cheese | ||
| Perishers | Submarine Captains Qualifying Course (see Teacher) | ||
| Pig | Royal Naval officer | ||
| Pigs Ear | Tundish | ||
| Pirate Rig | Seagoing wear for conventional boat crews i.e. anything but naval issued uniform. | ||
| PO | Petty Officer | ||
| Polto | Petty Officer Electrican | ||
| Polycell | Nickname given to the sonar maintainer on P&O boats. Circa 1980s | ||
| Pusser | The Royal navy | ||
Q |
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| Q Tank | A quick diving tank, fitted with hydraulically operated air vent and sea flooding valves. | ||
R |
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| Rack | A bunk | ||
| RCN | Royal Canadian Navy | ||
| RE of the Boat | Electronics maintainer non sonar/weapons | ||
| RN | Royal Navy | ||
| RNR | Royal Naval Reserve | ||
| RNVR | Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve | ||
| Rocket Shop | Missile compartment onboard Polaris/Trident boats | ||
| Roof | The seas surface | ||
| Roughers | Stormy seas | ||
| Roundabout | Seat attached to after (search) periscope that can be latched in or out enabling the periscope to rotate by the means of an electric motor. This enables the OOW of a dived boat to maintain a continous lookout. | ||
S |
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| Scratcher | Seaman Petty Officer or Leading Hand in charge of the casing, mooring ropes, anchor and gear etc | ||
| Scratchers Dickie | A Leading Hand, the Second Coxswains No.2 | ||
| Sh*t On A Raft | Devilled kidneys LINK | ||
| Sheds, The | Area of very old accommodation in Blockhouse. | ||
| Shelf | A bunk | ||
| Sherwood Forest | Missile compartment onboard Polaris/Trident boats | ||
| Sig | Signaller | ||
| Silent Routine | Reduce all noise to a minimum, retire to your bunk if you are not gainfully employed | ||
| Sippers | A sip of rum | ||
| Skimmer | A surface ship or any person who serves in surface ships | ||
| Snake Pit | Bilge area at the forward end of a diesel boats engine room | ||
| Sneaky | Classified covert intelligence gathering patrol | ||
| Snorting | Running diesel engines when dived, drawing air down a snort induction mast | ||
| Sonar Bender | Sonar maintainer | ||
| Spithead Pheasant | Wardroom slang for kippers | ||
| SPO | Petty Officer MEM | ||
| SPO | Stoker Petty Officer | ||
| Sto | Stoker | ||
T |
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| Tank, The | Submarine escape training tank at HMS Dolphin LINK | ||
| Tanky | Coxswain's store keeper. On some boats doubled up as the senior rates messman. | ||
| Target | Any other vessel at sea. "There are only two types of vessel. Submarines and Targets" | ||
| Teacher | Officer in Command Submarine Captains Qualifying Course (see Perishers) | ||
| Tel | Telegraphist LINK | ||
| Tits | Tomatoes in tomato sauce (see Bits & Hits) | ||
| Tower | Access to conning tower/fin with upper and lower hatches | ||
| Trade, The | The Submarine Service | ||
| Trim | State of buoyancy and angle of a boat. To be in neutral buoyancy and horizontal is the desired result i.e. to catch a trim | ||
| Trot | Boats moored together | ||
| Trot Sentry | Rating stationed on casing as gangway sentry | ||
U |
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| Under Wonder Gun | Sumerged signsl ejecter | ||
| Upper Trot | Casing and gangway sentry | ||
| Upstairs | The seas surface | ||
V |
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| VC | Victoria Cross LINK | ||
W |
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| Wardroom | Officers mess | ||
| WEO | Weapons Engineer Officer | ||
| Wet | A drink | ||
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