Limey names for Yankee Kit

The US may make the best gear but the Brits think up much better names for it. Like the Sherman tank its a household name, who knows what an M4 is??
Mustang, Catalina (superb name) instead of PBY8, its terrbile and of course Honey (only the British could call a tank Honey). I like Preist as well, got a sort of certain nobility behind it, call a big gun a Preist.

I think they work so well cos there really US names and most are quite fitting.

Come on whats your favourites?

Kev

 

Thunderbolt. Much better than the 'proper' name

 

PP, You mean Jug???

I liked the "Kittyhawk" as opposed to the P-40 or the "Airacobra" instead of the P-39.

 

PP, You mean Jug???

Jug's not it's proper name

 

Jug's not it's proper name
LOL!! I know it wasn't!! Sorry mate I was trying to be ironic and it didnt come off!!

 

LOL!! I know it wasn't!! Sorry mate I was trying to be ironic and it didnt come off!!

So was I

:ukflag[1]:

 

The US may make the best gear but the Brits think up much better names for it. Like the Sherman tank its a household name, who knows what an M4 is??
Mustang, Catalina (superb name) instead of PBY8, its terrbile and of course Honey (only the British could call a tank Honey). I like Preist as well, got a sort of certain nobility behind it, call a big gun a Preist.

I think they work so well cos there really US names and most are quite fitting.

Come on whats your favourites?

Kev

I have a certain sense of irony and like the different versions of the M3, Lee and Grant, being on different sides of the American Civil War.

 

I have a certain sense of irony and like the different versions of the M3, Lee and Grant, being on different sides of the American Civil War.

But they were at one time all in the union army!

 

The British method helps one to remember the item concerned especially if one is not into the Military in any depth. M4, P 38 , B24 , B17. Thunderbolt ( or Jug), Lightning, Liberator, Flying Fortress etc. Just my opinion.

 

The US may make the best gear but the Brits think up much better names for it. Like the Sherman tank its a household name, who knows what an M4 is??
Mustang, Catalina (superb name) instead of PBY8, its terrbile and of course Honey (only the British could call a tank Honey). I like Preist as well, got a sort of certain nobility behind it, call a big gun a Preist.

I think they work so well cos there really US names and most are quite fitting.

Come on whats your favourites?

Kev


I think us Brits named all the self - propelled guns/ artillery after church terminology- WW2 anyway.

 

Ah yes the Sexton

 

Never really understood the Wolverine they stripped down a M4 chassis removed some of the armour plate (prob nota good idea on the Tommey cooker) to get in an anti tank gun. but in the meantime someone manged to fit the 17 pounder in the (fully) protected Sherman. That opened top turret...

 

Wolverine.


As a sub-question how many Bit's of American kit can you think of with the designation 'M1'? From flying gloves to carbines it can be the most confusing moniker...

M1 - CARBINE
M1 - GERAND
M1 - LIGHT TANK(ETTE)

 

Sexton was excellent but a British design. Based on the RAM, Canadian not US.
The Preist was US built.


What I said was...Ah yes the Sexton in response to

I think us Brits named all the self - propelled guns/ artillery after church terminology- WW2 anyway.

stated by lancesergeant.

So you are out of context but those were nice pics.

 

"Airacobra" instead of the P-39.
This is an exception that proves the rule - Airacobra was the American name, and what does it mean? There is a snake called a Kingcobra (as in P63, or AH-1W come to that), but what is an Airacobra? Or an Airacomet, the name of the Bell P59 jet?

The Brits would have thought of something better; I'm pretty sure it was us who thought of 'Fortress', 'Mustang' and 'Liberator', all iconic names. But presumably the Americans thought of 'Mitchell' - after Pearl Harbour.

Sometimes, though we seemed to rename things for no clear reason - we called the AT6 'Harvard', when the USAAC had already called it the 'Texan'. And the Grumman F4F had the US name 'Wildcat', but we insisted on renaming it 'Martlet', which most people including me need to consult a dictionary for (its a medieval word for 'Falcon'). We reverted to 'Wildcat for the Mk VI version.

"Kittyhawk" as opposed to the P-40


Again, the US had a name for the P40 - 'Warhawk' - but I think our names 'Tomahawk' for the early versions, and later 'Kittyhawk' were more imaginative.

Adrian

 

Aircobra is a terrible name. Probably fitting.