(Some of the words are spelled a little differently in the US military, e.g., it uses “Alpha” rather than “Alfa.”) There are also phonetic alphabet numbers a phonetic word represents each number, and some have distinctive pronunciations. In 1956, all NATO countries adopted a universal phonetic spelling alphabet, known as the ICAO International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or just the NATO phonetic alphabet. During this time, extensive research was conducted in which various possible words for each letter were tested to determine which offered maximum intelligibility under the intensely cacophonous conditions of battle. While the American and British militaries had each developed different phonetic spelling alphabets, during WWII they began to combine and standardize their independent versions to streamline communication during joint operations. The Joint Army/Navy alphabet of this era was different than the modern military’s version for example, Alpha, Bravo, Echo, Romeo, and Sierra, which today respectively represent the letters A, B, E, R, and S, were rendered as Able, Baker, Easy, Roger, and Sugar back then. During WWII, the military developed the “Joint Army/Navy radiotelephony spelling alphabet” so that the forces could communicate smoothly when working together. In World War I, each branch of the US military had its own code. The final version was put into use in March of 1956, and adopted shortly thereafter by both military and civilian radio operators.To ensure that messages got through clearly, signalmen developed a system of words that represented each letter of the alphabet. At airports which serve Delta Airlines, Dixie, David, or Data are generally used instead of Delta to avoid further confusion. The words used for C, M, N, U and X received the replacement words that you are probably familiar with today. The biggest problem words? Delta, Extra, Nectar and Victor. The code was tested hundreds of thousands of times in 31 nations to identify the words causing the most issues. However, as one would expect, trying to adopt this alphabet across so many different countries wasn’t a smooth process. It took several more years of tweaking to get the sounds common to all of these languages right, and on Novemthis new phonetic code was implemented:Īlfa (Alpha) Bravo Coca Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliett (Juliet) Kilo Lima Metro Nectar Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Union Victor Whisky Extra Yankee Zulu In 1947, the International Air Transport Association developed a new draft code that was meant to act as a universal cipher for those speaking in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. These countries used the Ana Brazil code, a modified code which was easier for Spanish speakers. The Able Baker code continued to be used in both military and civil aviation after the war, until flights to and from Latin and South America became more common later in the decade. This became known as the Able Baker alphabet, which was also used by the RAF in 1943 to make communications between the two allied nations easier. armed forces worked together to standardize their own internal alphabets in the lead up to the war. World War II marked a significant uptick in both civilian and military flight operations around the world. In 1932, several amendments were made to the alphabet to make it more understandable, and it was this alphabet that the International Commission for Air Navigation used right up until World War II.Īmsterdam Baltimore Casablanca Denmark Edison Florida Gallipoli Havana Italia Jerusalem Kilogramme Liverpool Madagascar NewYork Oslo Paris Quebec Roma Santiago Tripoli Uppsala Valencia Washington Xanthippe Yokohama Zurich As such, the alphabet quickly became a work in progress as problems with comprehension were identified through frequent use. This combination of letters and numbers needed to be understood by both English and non-English speakers. The first recognized radiotelephone spelling alphabet was put into practice by the International Telecommunication Union in 1927. It soon became clear, however, that these communications could be garbled or misunderstood, often resulting in tragic consequences. The rise of radio and telephone communications in the early to mid-twentieth century had a powerful impact on all aspects of life, including the emerging field of aviation. Despite its widespread use, few realize what an accomplishment it was to create a universal code that we could safely use to navigate the skies – no matter our country of origin or destination. It’s the world’s most used radiotelephonic code, which assigns code words that represent each letter of the English alphabet. It’s the language pilots use every day in the air: the International Radiotelephone Spelling Alphabet, also known as the NATO phonetic alphabet.
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