The Whale Has Wings Vol 2 - Taranto to Singapore (42 page)

Luftwaffe - the German Air Force

MN - Marine Nationale, the French navy

Pom-pom - the name given in the RN to a fast-firing light AA weapon. Originally firing a 2-pdr shell, then the 40mm shell, given its name due to the sound the multi-barrel version made

RA - Regia Aeronautica, the Italian Air Force (Italy did not have a separate naval air force)

RAF - the British Air force

RDF - Radio Direction Finding, an early (British) name for Radar (so named to try and mislead what it actually did)

RN - Royal Navy, the British naval forces. Also the RAN (Australian), RCN (Canadian), and RNZN (New Zealand).

Round down - the aft part of a carrier's flight deck. This was 'rounded down' in a downward curve, which improved the airflow and made it easier for a plane to land. It also reduced the available deck parking area, and so was reduced on British carriers as larger strikes became more common.

SAP - Semi Armour Piercing

Shadow factory - A set of factories built in the mid-30's in Britain ready to be used as aircraft factories in war. In fact the need for aircraft due to the expansion of the Luftwaffe meant they were brought into use before the war, and more built. The term 'shadow program' came to be used for anything built in advance of wartime needs, such as the Japanese programme of 'Shadow Carriers', merchant ships built ready for easy conversion into light carriers.

TBR - Torpedo, Bomber, Reconnaissance. A class of plane used by most navies in these three roles. Bombing was normally level bombing with light bombs, although some aircraft like the Swordfish could dive bomb at shallow dive angles.

Twins - or the twins, the two German Battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

USS - United States Ship (USA)

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Information on the next book in this series may be found at

http://www.AstroDragon.co.uk/Books/TheWhaleHasWings.htm

Book 3, World War, is due for publication in the Autumn of 2013. This will cover the spreading of the war to the Pacific, and the actions of the allies against Imperial Japan, as well as continuing to show what is happening to the rest of t
he world.