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Military Alphabet of World War 2

September 20, 2020Mack Dean29228 views

The military alphabet of World War 2, which is more commonly known as the NATO standard military alphabet today, is a means to pronounce the English language alphabet in a manner to ensure clarity during voice transmission over radio telephone. During World War 2, English speaking militaries such as the United States and the United Kingdom used the alphabet while transmitting clear and encoded voice transmissions. At the time, the military alphabet was more commonly referred to as the radio-telephony spelling alphabet.

Origins of the Military WW2 Alphabet

Contents

  • Origins of the Military WW2 Alphabet
    • The NATO Standard Military Alphabet
    • Military Alphabet Example Use
    • The Numeric Military Alphabet
  • Military Alphabet Prior to 1956
  • Military Alphabet Video

The first international alphabet system (or pronunciation system) was first adopted in 1927 by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). From this point forward, the alphabet would undergo a number of revisions and would ultimately be adopted by ICAN (International Commission for Air Navigation) and the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) to the Second World War. The UK and UK militaries would use the pure “phonetic” military alphabets until the NATO military standard was adopted.

Below is the currently published NATO military alphabet that was adopted from the ICAO version of pronunciation.

The NATO Standard Military Alphabet

This chart shows the current NATO standard military alphabet (based on the ICAO alphabet from WW2):

Military Alphabet and Morse code.
Military Alphabet and Morse code.

Letter

NATO

A

Alpha

B

Bravo

C

Charlie

D

Delta

E

Echo

F

Foxtrot

G

Golf

H

Hotel

I

India

J

Juliet

K

Kilo

L

Lima

M

Mike

N

November

O

Oscar

P

Papa

Q

Quebec

R

Romeo

S

Sierra

T

Tango

U

Uniform

V

Victor

W

Whiskey

X

Xray

Y

Yankee

Z

Zulu

Military Alphabet Pronunciation Guide

FM 24-19: Radio Operators Handbook outlines the specific manner than the military alphabet should be pronounced.

The description of the ICAO Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, from the pamphlet included in an audio recording of the alphabet sent to all ICAO member states in 1955.
The description of the ICAO Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, from the pamphlet included in an audio recording of the alphabet sent to all ICAO member states in 1955.

Letter

Pronunciation

A

ALFAH

B

BRAHVOH

C

CHARLEE

D

DELLTAH

E

ECKOH

F

FOKSTROT

G

GOLF

H

HOH TELL

I

INDEE AH

J

JEWLEE ETT

K

KEYLOH

L

LEEMAH

M

MIKE

N

NO VEMBER

O

OSSCAH

P

PAHPAH

Q

KEHBECK

R

ROWME OH

S

SEE AIRRAH

T

TANGGO

U

YOUNEE FORM

V

VIKTAH

W

WISSKEY

X

ECKSRAY

Y

YANGKEY

Z

ZOOLOO

Military Alphabet Example Use

To spell “World War 2” using the military alphabet, one would say:

Whiskey Oscar Romeo Lima Delta Whiskey Alpha Romeo Too

The Numeric Military Alphabet

The following is the “numbers” equivalent of the military alphabet that is used to help alleviate confusion on voice circuits when passing numerical information (ie its generally a good idea for the person calling in a naval bombardment or air strike to state the coordinates for the strike correctly in a manner that can be understood by the person on the other end of the radio telephone.

Number

Pronounciation

0

Zeero

1

Wun

2

Too

3

Tree

4

Fow-er

5

Fife

6

Siks

7

Seven

8

Ait

9

Nine

 

Military Alphabet Prior to 1956

Royal Navy

Western Front slang
or “signalese”

RAF phonetic alphabet

U.S. phonetic
alphabet

1914–1918 (World War I)

1924–1942

1943–1956

1941–1956

Apples
Butter
Charlie
Duff
Edward
Freddy
George
Harry
Ink
Johnnie
King
London
Monkey
Nuts
Orange
Pudding
Queenie
Robert
Sugar
Tommy
Uncle
Vinegar
Willie
Xerxes
Yellow
Zebra

Ack
Beer
Charlie
Don
Edward
Freddie
Gee
Harry
Ink
Johnnie
King
London
Emma
Nuts
Oranges
Pip
Queen
Robert
Essex
Toc
Uncle
Vic
William
X-ray
Yorker
Zebra

Ace
Beer
Charlie
Don
Edward
Freddie
George
Harry
Ink
Johnnie
King
London
Monkey
Nuts
Orange
Pip
Queen
Robert
Sugar
Toc
Uncle
Vic
William
X-ray
Yorker
Zebra

Able/Affirm
Baker
Charlie
Dog
Easy
Fox
George
How
Item/Interrogatory
Jig/Johnny
King
Love
Mike
Nab/Negat
Oboe
Peter/Prep
Queen
Roger
Sugar
Tare
Uncle
Victor
William
X-ray
Yoke
Zebra

Able
Baker
Charlie
Dog
Easy
Fox
George
How
Item
Jig
King
Love
Mike
Nan
Oboe
Peter
Queen
Roger
Sugar
Tare
Uncle
Victor
William
X-ray
Yoke
Zebra

Military Alphabet Video

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