snipes slang for onboard engineers, machinists, boiler technicians, and mechanics, who work primarily below decks.
sonar a sonic device used primarily for the detection and location of underwater objects.
sonobuoy a sonar device used to detect submerged submarines and to relay its information by radio.
Spec Ops special operations.
spotter an observer who reports the results of naval gunfire and who may also direct fire on designated targets.
spotting observing and communicating the accuracy or inaccuracy of naval gunfire in order to make necessary adjustments.
squadron an organization of two or more divisions of ships.
squid slang for any sailor.
stateroom an officer's living quarters.
sterilizer a built-in device that renders a mine inoperative after a certain amount of time.
TACAN Tactical Air Navigation, a radio navigation aid.
tin can slang for a destroyer.
Top Gun the Navy Fighter Weapons School at Fal- lon Naval Air Station in Nevada, where pilots learn fighter tactics.
torpedo defense net a net employed to close an inner harbor to torpedoes fired from seaward or to protect an individual ship at anchor or under way.
tractor group a group of landing ships in an amphibious operation that carries the amphibious vehicles of the landing force.
twidget slang for an electronics or computer technician.
vampire code for an antiship cruise missile.
very deep draught ship a ship with a laden draught of 45 feet or more.
weather deck any deck exposed to the elements.
submarines
anechoic covering any covering material used to absorb sonar pulses to help prevent detection by an enemy vessel.
awash a partially submerged state in which only the conning tower can be seen above the surface.
ballast seawater flooded into wraparound or other tanks to allow a submarine to submerge or descend.
ballast tanks wraparound tanks or other tanks used to hold water or compressed air.
bathyscaphe a free-floating bathysphere with ballast and depth controls.
bathysphere a spherical diving bell having windows for observation.
blow the tanks to empty the ballast tanks by filling them with compressed air.
boomer a ballistic missile submarine.
bridge the conning tower, specifically where the periscope is located.
cavitation the noise produced by bubbles formed by propellor action, a crucial factor in detecting submerged submarines.
chicken of the sea slang for a ballistic missile submarine whose main objective is to stay hidden from the enemy.
clear datum to leave an area where a submarine has been detected or has given its position away.
conning tower the tower or superstructure, now called the sail, that contains the bridge and the periscope.
control room the room containing the control panels for diving, planning, steering, and other movements.
crush depth the deepest depth a submarine can go before being crushed by pressure.
datum the point where a submarine has been detected or has given its location away.
depth charge a bomb dropped from a ship to explode at a certain depth or on contact with the submarine.
draft the depth of water required for a submarine to float.
fairwater more common term for the conning tower.
fish slang for a torpedo.
fleet ballistic missile submarine a nuclear-powered submarine designed to deliver ballistic missile attacks from submerged or surface positions.
hangar a missile tube.
helm the control area where the submarine is steered.
helmsman one who steers the vessel.
hydrophone a submersible microphone used to detect sounds from ships or submarines.
hydroplanes horizontal rudders or fins located fore and aft that swivel to deflect water flow around the hull to lift or drop the nose, used to ascend or descend. Also known as planes.
lifeguard submarine a submarine used in rescue operations in enemy territory.
mess the crew meal room.
periscope the viewing apparatus that is raised surreptitiously above the surface of the ocean to observe enemy craft or terrain.
ping the sound made by an active sonar system.
ping jockey slang for a sonar operator, after the sound a sonar system makes.
planesman crew member who operates the hydroplanes.
powerplant a diesel-electric or nuclear-drive motor.
reactor a nuclear reactor in nuclear submarines.
rudder the adjustable plane used to steer the submarine.
sail a conning tower. Also known as a fin.
sail plane a fin located on either side of the conning tower.
screws the propellors.
scrubber a system that clears carbon dioxide out of the air.
snorkel air-intake and exhaust pipes in diesel-electric submarines. Also known as a snort.
snorkeling moving just below the surface with the snorkel raised above the surface for taking in and expelling air.
sonar acronym for sound navigation ranging, a system that transmits and receives reflected sound waves to detect submarines and submerged objects.
sonobuoy a sonar device used to detect submerged submarines, which, when activated, relays information by radio.
SOSUS sound surveillance system; a system of listening hydrophones on the seabed linked to stations on shore.
submarine havens specified sea areas for submarines in noncombat operations. Also known as submarine sanctuaries.
Subroc a submerged, submarine-launched, surface- to-surface rocket with nuclear depth charge or homing torpedo, primarily intended for use against other submarines.
torpedo an underwater missile ejected from a tube in the submarine by compressed air; it is propelled to its target by two propellers powered by an electric motor.
torpedo defense net a net employed to close an inner harbor to torpedoes fired from seaward or to protect a ship at anchor or underway.
Trident a nuclear-powered submarine armed with long-range Trident ballistic missiles.
U-boat submarine, especially a German one.
wolfpack a group of submarines working together in a line to destroy enemy vessels.
world war ii slang
NOTE: Some terms in this section are pejorative
Army
ack-ack machine gun or antiaircraft gun.
archies antiaircraft guns.
armored cow canned milk.
army banjo shovel.
Aussies soldiers from Australia.
AWOL absent without leave. Also, a wolf on the loose, or after women or liquor.
baby food cereal.