Hi All
As we had some discussion on Sunday on what parts of a section rifle group would be called. I was among those suggesting that A-Ack B-Beer should be used. Having now checked I was wrong sort off.. Ack and Beer are the first 2 letters from WW1 signallers alphabet and this was used upto WWII. The RAF had their own but the Army introduces the one as below. This is the same as the US one and may have been introduced to minimise confusion.
British WW2 Phonetic Alphabet
As directed by:
HMSO Manual: Signal Training Pamplet No. 5,
Signal Procedure Part I. - Procedure for Radio Telephony
War Office 5 June 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phonetic Letter
Able A
Baker B
Charlie C
Dog D
Easy E
Fox F
George G
How H
Item I
Jig J
King K
Love L
Mike M
Nan N
Oboe O
Peter P
Queen Q
Roger R
Sugar S
Tare T
Uncle U
Victor V
William W
X-Ray X
Yoke Y
Zebra Z
Thanks Ramsey... I must admit I wasn't 100% sure myself... but the Ack Beer thing sounded wrong. I didn't say anything as I wasn't sure!
Good that we've got it sorted now.
Cheers for that! I see that was dated '43. Out of historical interest, i wonder if the older one was used in the early war, and it was changed after the US entered the fray, like you say, to avoid confusion.
Thats why i paired you off as 'able' and 'baker', i do do my homework you know 
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Ack and beer were early war hence ack ack for AA artillery...
Whoops sorry it was me who thought able and baker were american only and started it all off.
Thanks for confirming Ramsay.
Military alphabets before 1956 (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_phonetic_alphabet )
(so take it/leave it....)
1914–1918 (WWI)
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
Western front
Ack (so we have ack ack for AA artillery)
Beer
Charlie
Don
Edward
Freddie
Gee
Harry
Ink
Johnnie
King
London
Emma
Nuts
Oranges
Pip
Queen
Robert
Esses
Toc (as in the famous Toc H)
Uncle
Vic
William
X-ray
Yorker
Zebra
1920-42
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
1943-56
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
US services
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
Love the WW1 ones! Duff Nuts Willie - brilliant (they struggled on X though).
What's with the Brit WW2 though? Nab/Negat?
Hi All
The Nab/Negat does seem odd and I have not found any reason why it was chosen.
The Don for letter D seems to have had a long life as I have seen Despatch Riders called Don-R's all during WWII and after. Field Telephone wire was still being called Don10 at the end of the 1980's.
You may already know that the Normandy Invasion beaches are broken down into Phonetically named sections from UTAH (Able,Baker,Charlie) in the West to SWORD (Peter,Queen,Roger) in the East. The "N" one should be on JUNO but I can't find a reference at the moment for what it was called