"It took me about a year before I received my call sign," said Owens. So my call sign came from the TV show 'Leave it to Beaver'," "Both my parents were in the Air Force, to keep the story short, it involves me being dropped off to work by my mother and my squadron commander seeing it. "My call sign is Beaver, and like most call signs have a story behind them," said Capt. Navy's Naval Mobile Construction Battalions.Īircrew call signs are often based on their appearance, actions, name and even innocent sounding ones may have embarrassing stories behind them. Army's First Infantry Division who are named for their distinctive shoulder insignia, "Devil Dogs" or "Teufel Hunden" in reference to the Marine Corps during the Battle of Belleau Wood against forces of the German Empire during World War I, and "Sea Bees" named for the U.S. Throughout the rest of the armed forces, units throughout all services have adopted their own names stemming from where they were formed, terms the enemy has called them and the job that they have names such as "Big Red One" for the U.S. It was much easier to communicate with each other through their use instead of a flyer's actual name."Īviators are not the only ones who receive nicknames. "The popularity of call signs grew during World War II and served to confuse the enemy. "Call signs originated from the need to ease communication between pilots and ground crew," said Dennis Pinner, 2nd Bomb Wing historian. Air Force aviators throughout America's history are known for their valor, courage and flying skill, and most have one more thing in common: a call sign.įrom the earliest days of aviation, aviators have come up with nicknames based on their flying style and by the 1930's it was a regular occurrence for all aviators to have a call sign.
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