Phonetic Alphabets Used by Police--apologies to the elephant

[LoyalTubist]

I used to love to watch Adam 12 with Martin Milner and Kent McWhirter (McCord). Jack Webb always did a fine job with Dragnet--all THREE versions in which he created (radio, 1950s TV, and 1960s). Don't get me started on the syndicated New Dragnet from the 1980s or the more recent L.A. Dragnet which was a slap in Jack Webb's face after they actually retired Joe Friday's 714 badge number when Jack Webb died and brought it back for this show.

On the cop shows they used a phonetic alphabet, which I learned is different in different police departments.

Now I learned the military alphabet and used it well when I was in the Army over two decades ago. We spelled A Alfa where I was but everything else was the same.

Here is the police alphabet used by the Los Angeles Police Department:
A--Adam
B--Boy
C--Charles
D--David
E--Edward
F--Frank
G--George
H--Henry
I--Ida
J--John
K--King
L--Lincoln
M--Mary
N--Nora
O--Ocean
P--Paul
Q--Queen
R--Robert
S--Sam
T--Thomas
U--Unit
V--Victor
W--William
X--X-Ray
Y--Young
Z--Zebra

[windshieldbug]

"Sam Ida Thomas, Boy Ocean Young!" Over.

[Chuck(G)]

Here's the phonetic alphabet used by airline pilots and NATO and many other organizations:

Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whiskey Xray Yankee Zulu

Here's Telcom B (used by telephone operators in Israel):

Alfred Benjamin Charles David Edward Frederick George Harry Isaac Jack King London Mary Nellie Oliver Peter Queen Robert Samuel Tommy Uncle Victor William Xray Yellow Zebra

Here's the British "A" alphabet:

Amsterdam Baltimore Casablanca Denmark Edison Florida Gallipoli Havana Italia Jerusalem Kilogramme Liverpool Madagascar New_York Oslo Paris Quebec Roma Santiago Tripoli Uppsala Valencia Washington Xantippe Yokohama Zurich

Here's one from a Bombay (or should I say "Mumbai") telephone book:

Army Brother Cinema Doctor English Father Gold Hotel India Jam King Lady Mother Navy Orange Paper Queen Raja Sister Table Uncle Victory Water X-ray Yellow Zero

Used by NYC PD:

Adam Boy Charlie David Edward Frank George Henry Ida John King Lincoln Mary Nora Ocean Peter Queen Robert Sam Tom Union Victor William X-ray Young Zebra

Used by Nassau Couny, LI PD:

Adam Boston Chicago Denver Edward Frank George Henry Ida John King Lincoln Mary Nancy Ocean Peter Queen Robert Sam Thomas Union Victor William X-ray Young Zebra

Used by San Diego PD:

Adam Boy Charles David Edward Frank George Henry Ida John King Lincoln Mary Nora Ocean Paul Queen Robert Sam Tom Unit Victor William Xray Yellow Zebra

This one's used by the Berkeley PD:

http://users.cs.dal.ca/~jamie/Words/alphabet.html

[TUBAMUSICIAN87]

THE TUBENET PHONETIC ALPHABET
A- Alexander
B- Bloke
C- Chisham
D- Dillon
E- Effie
F- Fuba
G- Gregson
H- Holton
I- ?
J- Jacobs
K- Kaenzig
L- ?
M- Meinl
N-?
O- Oystein
P- Piggy
Q-?
R-?
S- Sheridan
T- Tubby
U-?
V- VMI
W- Wilson
X-?
Y- Yamaha
Z-?

any ideas for those last remaining few

[Tubaryan12]

THE TUBENET PHONETIC ALPHABET
A- Alexander
B- Bloke
C- Chisham
D- Dillon
E- Effie
F- Fuba
G- Gregson
H- Holton
I- ?
J- Jacobs
K- Kaenzig
L- Lidl or Lacquer
M- Meinl
N-?
O- Oystein
P- Piggy or Piston
Q-?
R-Rotor
S- Sheridan or Silver
T- Tubby
U-?
V- VMI
W- Wilson
X-?
Y- Yamaha
Z-?

any ideas for those last remaining few?

[windshieldbug]

THE TUBENET PHONETIC ALPHABET
A- Alexander
B- Bloke
C- Chisham
D- Dillon
E- Effie
F- F tuba
G- Gregson
H- Holton
I- Inversion
J- Jacobs
K- Kaenzig
L- Lidl or Lacquer
M- Meinl
N- Nirschl
O- Oystein
P- Piggy or Piston
Q- Quintet
R- Rotor
S- Sheridan or Silver
T- Tubby
U- Uncompensated
V- VMI
W- Willson
X-?
Y- York
Z- Zoebisch

any ideas for those last remaining few?

[LoyalTubist]

... is it Viet Nam or Vietnam? I have seen it both ways, with one being an older version, but I can never keep this straight.)

In English, it's Vietnam, but in Vietnamese, it's Viet Nam. The reason is that Vietnamese is a language that is made up of one and two syllable words. So when they get to two syllables, they start a new word. (I spent this past Christmas in Saigon...)

So kids, here are some Vietnamese words to help you so you wont starve to death:

boga = hamburger

soco la = chocolate

kem = ice cream

(These words are based on English... if you look hard you can find it!)

[Chuck(G)]

So kids, here are some Vietnamese words to help you so you wont starve to death:

boga = hamburger

soco la = chocolate

kem = ice cream

(These words are based on English... if you look hard you can find it!)

I've always maintained that knowing two phrases in any language will take care of your immediate needs:

"I want a beer"

"Where's the bathroom?

[XtremeEuph]

X= .......errmmm

<----------------------

[LoyalTubist]

I've always maintained that knowing two phrases in any language will take care of your immediate needs:

"I want a beer"

"Where's the bathroom?

You don't want to use the public facilities in Saigon. I managed to stay close to my hotel. And people give you beer without asking.

[Rick F]

My signature is drawn from the version that I was taught in the Army. It is slightly different now, from what I understand. But I do not know about that. What Chuck has listed at the one in use by the airlines is what we were taught to use.

I was a systems specialist with the FAA for 30 years. The one Chuck posted for airlines, NATO etc. is the one I used for those 30 years. Your signature line is current to today's phonetic alphabet. There were a few that were different in WW-II... Able instead of Alpha, Baker instead of Bravo. Maybe a few more were different too.