Space-Age Acronyms: Abbreviations and Designations

485 Pages·1969·11.74 MB·English

by  Reta C. Moser (auth.)

SPACE·AGE ACRONYMS
ABBREVIATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS
SPACE·AGE ACRONYMS
ABBREVIATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS
SECOND EDITION
Revised and Enlarged
By
Reta C. Moser
With a Foreword by
Bill M. Woods
Executive Director
Engineering Index, Inc.
IFI/ PLENUM
New York - Washington - London
1969
ISBN-13: 978-1-4615-9596-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4615-9594-6
001: 10.1007/978-1-4615-9594-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 69-14416
© 1964 Plenum Press, New York
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N. Y.10011
© 1969 IFI / Plenum Data Corporation,
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1969
A Subsidiary of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N. Y.10011
United Kingdom edition published by
Plenum Publishing Company, Ltd.
Donington House, 30 Norfolk Street, London W.C. 2, England
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
form without written permission from the publisher
FOREWORD
Acronym agglomeration is an affliction of the age, and there are
acronym addicts who, in their weakness, find it impossible to resist them.
More than once in recent months my peers have cautioned me about my
apparent readiness to use not only acronyms, but abbreviations, foreign
isms, codes, and other cryptic symbols rather than common, ordinary
American words. Many among us, though, either have not received or have
chosen to ignore such advice. As a consequence, what we write and speak
is full of mystery and confusion.
It is then for the reader and listener and for the writer and speaker
that Reta C. Moser has compiled this guide. Its effective application to
the art of communication is urged. Such use should help avoid many of the
misunderstandings involving terminology which occur daily. Although such
misunderstandings are certainly crucial in humanistic and social situations,
they are often of immediate import and the trigger to disaster in scientific,
technical, and political situations.
Some 15,000 acronyms and 25,000 definitions are provided (a 50- and
47 -percent increase over the 1964 edition!), with due credit to Miss
Moser's diligence in making the compilation and with the acknowledgment
that the acronymical phenomenon is very much with us. This edition, like
the first, is certain to be of value to writers, librarians, editors, and
others who must identify and deal with acronyms.
"AA is for Access Authorization."
Bill M. Woods
Executive Director
Engineering Index, Inc.
PREFACE
How important is knowing the definition of an acronym? It is as im
portant as the time lost searching for or the consequence of not finding it.
The purpose of this book is to offer to those in the space and defense
industry a central acronymic reference source, one that can be updated,
and one that can be used as a standard in the business. Great effort has
been made to go to the source for the correct, original definition. For
instance, MMRBM is often defined as Mobile Medium Range Ballistic
Missile. The MMRBM is an Air Force project and, according to the Air
Force official abbreviation manual, MMRBM is Mobile Mid-Range Ballistic
Missile.
The acronyms contained in this book were created by the men and
women of the space age to save time and space and eliminate unnecessary
repetition and wordage. The sophistication and complexity of today's
projects, systems, and equipment have necessitated descriptive, sentence
length nomenclature that is not only long but burdensom~. The use of an
acronym can reduce this nomenclature to a few, easy-to-remember letters
without loss of its communicative value.
Acronymic appeal and acceptance have been so universal within the
industry that now the easy-to-remember acronym is getting hard to re
member with the thousands in daily use and their even more numerous
multiple meanings. In order to maintain the communicative value of the
here-to-stay acronym, we have "Space-Age Acronyms-Abbreviations and
Designations. "
Reta C. Moser
Venice, California
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
A book of this nature cannot be compiled without the help of many
people. I want to thank all the technical librarians (it would take an
appendix to mention them all individually) throughout the country who
supplied me with acronyms and abbreviations peculiar to their companies.
I am deeply indebted for the information and assistance given for the
first edition by the military information officers. specifically Captain
Barbara M. Boyd. of the Marine Corps Representative Armed Forces
Information Office; Chief Journalist Joseph J. Brazan. of the Eleventh
Naval District Public Information Office. Los Angeles Branch; Colonel Dan
Biondi, of the United States Army Office Chief of Information. Los Angeles
Branch; and Lt. Colonel William G. Thompson. of the Air Force Office
of Information of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. Los Angeles
Branch.
':..:nt:: EZ:..:gg:es. :: tnt:: '\atlona:-\erona:..:t,~ 5 ane SpaCe .-\dmllllstration
',\,,"~t::rn Operatlons Oftke, Public Information Division. was of particular
assistance with the NASA acronyms.
The second edition has been greatly benefited by five particularly
conscientious men. Mr. G. Bengeser, Assistant Director of Administra
tion. European Space Data Centre (ESDAC). Darmstadt. GermiIny.
supplied me with acronyms peculiar to the European Space Research
Organisation (ESRO). Mr. Richard J. Smith and Mr. Hugh Vorees, Tech
nical Literature Section. United States Atomic Energy Commission
(USAEC). Oak Ridge, Tennessee. prOVided the Atomic Energy Commission
acronyms. Mr. P. V. Brown. Head of the Aircraft Section, North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO). Brussels. Belgium, sent acronyms used by
NATO. Mr. A. W. Febrey. of the Department of the Navy Public Affairs
Office. Washington. D. C .• gave me additional information for the ship
designations.
Without the help of these people. this book would not have been possible.
CONTENTS
ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS" • • • • . . • • . • • . . . . • • . • . • • • • 1
MISSILE, ROCKET, PROBE, AND DRONE DESIGNATION
SYSTEM. • • • • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • • • . . . • • • . • . • 515
AIRCRAFT DESIGNATION SYSTEM. . • • • • • • • • . • . • • • . • . . • 518
SHIP DESIGNATIONS. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • 523
COMMUNICATION ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DESIGNATION
SYSTEM. • • • • • . • • • • • • • . • . • • . • • . • . . • • . . • 529
Set or Equipment Designation System ..••..••••.•.•• 529
Component Designation System • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • . • • 531
A - Absolute
- Acceleration
- Air Force
- Airplane
- Alaskan Standard Time (see AST)
- Alpha
- Alternate
- Altimeter
- Ampere
- Amphibian
- Angstrom
- Arctic
- Area
- Argon
- Arm
- Army
- As Applicable
- Asbestos
- Astragal
- Attack
A- - Atomic
AA - Absolute Altitude
- Access Authorization
- Air-to-Air
- Antiaircraft
- Apollo Applications Program (formerly AES; also AAP and
AFM)
- Arithmetic Average
- Armature Accelerator
- Arrival Angle
- Astronautica Acta
- Atomic Absorption
- Audible Alarm Panel
- Auxi-Atome (France)
AI A - Air Abort
1
• A/A
A/A - Airborne Alert
- Any Acceptable
A-A - Air-to-Air
AAA - Active Acquisition Aid
- Anti-Air ATABE
- Antiaircraft Artillery
- Army Audit Agency
AA-A - Antiaircraft Assistant
AAAA - Army Aviation Association of America
AAAIS - Advanced Army Airborne Indicating System
- Antiaircraft Artillery Information Service
AAAOC - Antiaircraft Artillery Operations Center
AAAS - American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAB - Aircraft Accident Board
- Antiaircraft Balloon
AABM - Australian Association of British Manufacturers
AABY - As Amended By
AAC - Aeronautical Advisory Council
- Aeronautical Approach Chart
- Air Approach Control
- Alaskan Air Command
- Antiaircraft Cannon
- Automatic Approach Control
AACB - Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board
.-\.-\CC - American Automatic Control Council
- .-'iutom:nic A;Jprc,ac!: Contrc·~ CUil::>:er
AACFT - Army Aircraft
AACOM - Army Area Communications (see AACOMS)
AACOMS - Army Area Communications System (see AACOM)
AACR - American Association for Cancer Research
AACS - Airways and Air Communications Service
AACSM - Airways and Air Communications Service Manual
AACSR - Airways and Air Communications Service Regulation
AAD - Admission and Disposition
- Army Air Defense
AADA - Advanced Air Depot Area
- Antiaircraft Defended Area
- Army Air Defense Area
AADC - American Air Defense Command
- Army Air Defense Command
- Army Air Defense Commander
AADCP - Army Air Defense Command Post
AADIS - Army Air Defense Information Service
AADOO - Army Air Defense Operations Office
AADP - Antiaircraft Defended Point
AADS - Army Air Defense System
AAE - Aerospace Ancillary Equipment
- Army Aviation Element
- Army Aviation Engineers
AAEC - Australian Atomic Energy Commission
2
AAP.
AAEC - Attitude Axis Emergency Control
AAEE - Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment (British)
AAF - Army Airfield
AAFB - Army and Air Force Base
- Auxiliary Air Force Base
AAFC - Antiaircraft Fire Control
AAFCE - Allied Air Forces, Central Europe (NATO)
AAFCWF - Army aM Air Force Civilian Welfare Fund
AAFEMPS - Army and Air Force Exchange and Motion Picture Service
AAFES - Army and Air Force Exchange Service
AAFMPS - Army and Air Force Motion Picture Service
AA FNE - Allied Air Forces, Northern Europe (NATO)
AAFPS - Army and Air Force Postal Service
AAFSE - Allied Air Forces, Southern Europe (NATO)
AAFSS - Advanced Aerial Fire Support System
AAFWB - Army and Air Force Wage Board
AAG - Air Adjutant General
AAGMC - Antiaircraft Guided Missile Center
AAGMS - Antiaircraft Guided Missile School
AAGR - Air-to-Air Gunnery Range
AAHA - Awaiting Action of Higher Authority
AAI - Aircraft Armaments, Incorporated
- Air-to-Air Identification
- Angle of Attack Indicator
- Asociacion Argentina Interplanetary
AAIA - Army Area Analysis Intelligence Agency
AAIC - Allied Air Intelligence Center
AAIE - American Association of Industrial Editors
- American Association of Industrial Engineers
AAL - Aircraft Approach Light
- Ames Aeronautical Laboratory
- Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory
AALO - Antiaircraft Liaison Officer
AAM - Air-To-Air Missile
- Antiaircraft Missile
- Army Aircraft Maintenance
AAMG - Antiaircraft Machine Gun
AAMI - Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
AAMID - Accomplishment of Assigned Mission Impeded by Deadline
AAML - Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory
AAMM - Anti-Antimissile Missile
AAMS - Army Aircraft Maintenance Shop
AANP - Aircraft Accident Notification Procedures and Bureau Respon-
sibilities
AAO - Anti-Air Output Program
- Astronaut Activities Office
AAOC - Antiaircraft Operations Center
AAOD - Army Aviation Operating Detachment
AAP - Aerodynamics Advisory Panel
- Allied Administrative Publication
- Anti-Air Processing Program
3