Famous, funny or suitable nicknames for weapons/equipment

It's christmas and the last weeks, I remembered what my father (he died in 1996) told me about his experiences in the war. He was a teenager in southern germany back then and the air war was his contact with the enemy most of the time.

He told me, that he doesn't feared the Liberators, which he described as a flying bus, but he was especially afraid of something he called "Gabelschwänzle" and i could never forget this strange name. Today I know, that he talked about the P-38 Lightning, the forktail-devil, and yesterday i read, that it was known as "two planes, one pilot" in Japan.

The similar shaped german FW-189 was called "Rama", "Rahmen" or frame by the russians.


I'm sure, you guys from overseas will know a lot of nicknames, especially for german or japanese weapons or equipment, i never heard of.

And, not to forget, merry christmas to everyone!

 

the F4U was the Whistling Death.....Screaming Mimi for the Nebelwerfer is a good one...seems like Bedcheck Charlie was a common name for a variety of chronic nocturnal operators.......also, the naming of landmarks with funny, odd, deathly, etc names was common....the Galloping Horse and Sea Horse of Guadalcanal for examples....great thread here...thank you
humans used nicknames a lot......they nicknamed each other also....

 

Stalinorgel or Stalin's organ was the german nickname for the feared Katjushas, Heulende Kuh or screaming cow for the Nebelwerfer.

The famous Polikarpow Po-2 was nicknamed Nähmaschine or Kaffeemühle (remember, both were mechanical machines back then). Sewing machine or coffee grinder. Her peculiar sound kept the german soldiers awake.

 

Was not the ll 2 Strumvik called "The Flying Tank " or also "The Hunchback" ?

 

"Bouncing Betty" was a particularly feared mine used by the Germans. Normally a mine only kills the man who steps on it, but Betty would jump about a yard high and disperse shrapnel in circular pattern that would kill or injure men 20 or 25 yards away.

An interesting nickname for heavy artillery up in the 240mm class was "Freight Cars." These weren't seen often (because of the lack of mobility) until the invasion of Germany itself, particularly around Aachen where a lot of these heavy guns were employed. Soldiers were already hardened to the usual 100 - 150mm German artillery, but these Freight Cars shook the earth and took out entire city blocks.

 

Never heard of the "Freight Cars"! A german heavy artillery?

Il 2 Sturmovik, "der Bucklige" in german, but the nickname was invented by the russians.

The soviet Degtyayrov machine gun was nicknamed turntable or Plattenspieler by the german soldiers.

 

Yes, a term applied to any heavy artillery shells. I've most often seen the term used in the fighting around Aachen. The German army brought up a number of big guns, even some 380mm raketenwefers (as used in the sturmtiger), but converted to towed artillery pieces.

 

Some of the best from
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103641


Catalina PBY Painted black or dark blue for night ops “Black Cats”

Beaufighter Attacking shipping “ Whispering Death”

Sunderland Flying boat “The Flying Porcupine”


M3 Submachine "Grease Gun"

M3 rocket launcher "Bazooka"

Shreck "Stovepipe"

MkII Us grenade "Pineapple"

Royal Navy anti aircraft guns "Pom Pom"

Model 24 Stielhandgranate "Potato smasher"

B-17: Flying Coffin (German nickname), Queen
C-47: Dowager Duchess, grabd Old Lady, Gooney Bird, Old Metuselah
Grumman TBF AVenger: Turkey, Pregnant Beast
Bell RP-63 Kingcobra: Pinball
P-51: Spad, Peter Dash Flash
Douglas SBD Dauntless: Slow But Deadly
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver: Son of a Bitch 2nd Class

 

British troops called it "The De-Bollocker" for its tendency to blow off a man's testicles.

 

The BT 7 tank was renamed Mickey Mouse by the german infantry:

These (disabled) tanks with the open hatches must have been a familiar sight during Operation Barbarossa.

 

SB2U Vought Vindicator: AKA The 'Vibrator' or 'Wind Indicator'

Escort Carriers, CVEs : Combustible
Vulnerable
Expendable


P-47 Thunderbolt: The Jug
B-29 SuperFortress: Called 'Lord B' by the Japanese
Swordfish Torpedo Bomber: 'Stringbag'

USS Intrepid CV11: 'Dry I', 'Evil I'
USS Missouri BB63: 'Mighty Mo'
USS Cowpens CVL25 'Mighty Moo'

M4 Sherman: 'Tommy Cooker' or 'Ronson'

 

USS Houston........ Grey Ghost of the Java Coast

 

USS Salt Lake City, CA-25, the 'Swayback Maru!'

 

USS Franklin, CV-13: 'Big Ben'
USS Ticonderoga, CV-14: 'Tall T'
USS Langley, CV-1: 'The Ol' Covered Wagon'
USS Lexington, CV-2: 'Lady Lex'
USS North Carolina, BB-55: 'The Showboat'

 

The British firm of Supermarine and its chief designer T J Mitchell were best known for the Supermarine Spitfire - which didn't need any nickname. Mitchell also designed the Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Walrus which did have a nickname - the "Shagbat"

 

Right, also "Black Death"

I've wondered a bit over the years about some of the formidable sounding names like Black Death, Butcher Bird for the FW190, Fork Tailed Devil, etc. I wonder if the enemy called them that or it was just what the forces using them wanted to think the enemy called them. I don't remember the allies having scary sounding nicknames for enemy planes but some members may point some out.

Others nicknames I can think of:

Mosquito - Wooden Wonder
Wellington - Wimpy
I-16 - Rata
GMC 2 1/2 ton - Jimmy
Dodge WC51/52 - Beep
Dodge WC54 - Meat Wagon
Ford GTB - Burma Jeep
US Destroyers - Cans
AT-17 - Bamboo Bomber
PT-17 - Yellow Peril
Studebaker 2 1/2 ton - Studer (Soviet)
Piper Cub - Grasshopper
US helmet - Steel Pot
Fokker G.1 - Grim Reaper

 

PBY Catalina flying night missions with search radar in the Pacific were known as 'Black Cats'

 

#1
Cool.
The German nick name for the Fw 189 was Uhu (Owl), and known to the Allies as "the Flying Eye".
It flew before the war, and was relevant up until the last days - where it was manufactured at Bordeaux-Merignac ( today's (?) Dassault Mirage plant ).
An excellent craft.

 

British helmet - stockpot (Suppentopf)

I doubt it too that any allied soldier called the MG 42 "Hitler's Buzz Saw" during combat.

 

'Charlie the Bastard':