This posting supersedes the one of 21 March 1997. There are two new alphabets: one Greek and one Turkish. I have agreed to take over maintenance of this collection from Brian Kelk. Any comments or suggested changes may be sent to me at . Thanks are due to Mr. Kelk and to the many contributors, not all of whom are acknowledged below. In my capacity as the editor of this collection I have no objection to the further electronic distribution of this posting in full in circumstances where it is likely to be of interest, and where a document of this length is acceptable; in the case of Web pages I ask that care be taken, as it is easy to mangle something. There is a brief version of this collection. I don't intend to post it to the newsgroups unless I get requests for it. Both the full and brief versions may be found on the World Wide Web at: The full version is at a number of other sites, including: You could also try: Editorial comments are in square brackets []. Gwillim Law gwil@mindspring.com 1 May 1997 ***** ENGLISH ***** The NATO phonetic alphabet: 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 [This alphabet dates from about 1955 and is approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the FAA and the International Telecommunication Union; note that different bodies prefer different spellings, so one also sees: Alfa Juliett Juliette Oskar Viktor] [The alphabet above is from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. An alphabet with Alfa X-ray can be found in The U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary of Military Terms. Alfa Juliett X-ray, which is the ICAO version, appears in A Concise Dictionary Of Slang And Unconventional English and also a Langenscheidt dictionary] [UK police use Indigo(???) instead of India. German army handbook 90/91: Alfa Foxtrott Juliett. Italian version: Alfa Charly FoxTrot Giuliet Romio Wiskey. An Indonesian phrase book: Beta Ultra Volvo Whisky X-ray. A precursor of the present alphabet (1952?) had: Alfa Coca Metro Nectar Siera Union Whisky Extra] Phonetics for digits (from an amateur radio FAQ): zero one two tree fower fife six seven eight niner From the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language: zero wun too tree fower fife six seven ait niner 'Telecom B': [Note similarity to Apples Butter Charlie] 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 [Found also in Swedish, Dutch, Hungarian telephone directories. An 'analogy alphabet' in a Kenyan directory has Charlie and no Y. A Swiss directory: Andrew Charlie Lussy Queenie Sugar. French/German vocabulary books: Andrew Charlie Lucy Mike Nelly Sugar Xmas. English phrase books for Spanish/Italian speakers: Charlie. A 'British English' alphabet in a Langenscheidt dictionary: Andrew Charlie Lucy Queenie Sugar Xmas] [Used as an English alphabet by telephone operators in Israel] 'British A': 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 [An 'international' alphabet in a Dutch telephone directory has: Danemark. A 'French' alphabet in a Hungarian directory has: Cassablanka Danemark Que'bec Upsala Zu"rich. An 'international' alphabet in a business book for French has: Italy Kilogram Zu"rich; the corresponding book for German has: Italy Kilogram Xanthippe Zu"rich. An 'international' alphabet in a Langenscheidt dictionary: Danemark Madagaskar Que'bec Upsala Xanthippe Zu"rich] [West Berlin telephone directory 1965: Danemark Je'rusalem Madagaskar Que'bec Upsala Xanthippe Zu"rich. Santa Fe (Argentina) 1955: Dinamarca Habana Jerusale'n Kilogramo Nueva_York N~andubay Upsala Wa'shington Xantipo Yokoama. Azores 1966: Danemark Ita'lia Jerusale'm New-York Que'bec Upsala Yokoham] [Used as a French alphabet by telephone operators in Israel] Bombay telephone directory 1962 (also a later source): 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 Kenyan and Tanzanian telephone directories 1966: Africa Bombay Charlie Durban England Freddie George Harry India Japan Kenya London Mombasa Nairobi Orange Peter Queen Robert Sugar Tanga Uganda Victory William X-Ray Yellow Zanzibar Johannesburg telephone directory 1965: [Note similarity to Alfred Benjamin] Arthur Betty Charlie David Edward Frederick George Harry Isaac Jane Kate Lucy Mary Nellie Olive Peter Queen Robert Simon Thomas Union Violet William X-Ray York Zero Malayan telephone directory 1964: Australia Bombay China Denmark England Fiji Ghana Hongkong India Japan Kedah London Malacca Norway Osaka Penang Queensland Russia Singapore Turkey Uganda Victoria Wales X'Ray Yokohama Zanzibar Used by police in New York City: [Note similarity to ARRL and Western Union] 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 [Variants: Eddie Larry Nancy Thomas Yankee Yellow] Used by police in Nassau County, Long Island, New York: 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 police in San Diego, California: 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 Used by police in Hutchinson, Kansas: Adam Boy Charles David Edward Frank George Henry Ida John King Lincoln Mary Nora Ocean Paul Q.. Robert Sam Tom Union Victor William X-ray Yankee Zebra Alternative phonetics sometimes used unofficially in amateur radio: America Boston Canada Denmark England France Germany Honolulu Japan Kilowatt London Mexico Norway Ontario/Ocean Pacific Radio Santiago/Spain Tokyo United Victoria Washington Yokohama Zanzibar [Also: Amsterdam, Baltimore, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Finland, Geneva, Greece, Guatemala, Hawaii, Italy, Kentucky, King, Luxembourg, Montreal, Nicaragua, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Texas, Uruguay, Venezuela] The ARRL (American Radio Relay League) alphabet (1948): [Note similarity to Western Union and Able Baker] Adam Baker Charlie David Edward Frank George Henry Ida John king Lewis Mary Nancy Otto Peter queen Robert Susan Thomas union Victor William x-ray young zebra [Nowadays the ARRL endorses the NATO/ICAO/ITU alphabet] Pre-1954 U.S. Navy Radio Alphabet: (Communications Handbook, 1945) [Note similarity to Able Buy Cast] Able Baker Charlie Dog Easy Fox George How Item Jig King Love Mike Nan Oboe Peter Queen Roger Sugar Tare Uncle Victor William X-ray Yoke Zebra [formerly used by IBM engineers for hex digits and pin positions] "Used by Armed services of USA & GB" (ARRL Handbook, 1945) Able Baker ... Easy ... Tare ... Allied Services 1945: Able Baker ... Edward ... Tape ... From a book entitled "The Complete Morse Instructor..." (1944): Able Baker ... Easy ... Tare ... RAF 1943-56: Able-Afirm ... Item/Interrogatory ... Jig/Johnny ... Nab/Negat ... Peter/Prep ... [In similar alphabets: affirm, cast, hypo, inter, negat, option, over, prep] RAF 1942-43: Apple Beer Charlie Dog Edward Freddy George Harry In Jug/Johnny King Love Mother Nuts Orange Peter Queen Roger/Robert Suga Tommy Uncle Vic William X-ray Yoke/Yorker Zebra [cf. aircraft in Dambusters raid: A-Apple B-Baker C-Charlie E-Easy F-Freddie G-George H-Harry J-Johnny K-King L-Leather (officially L-London) M-Mother N-Nuts O-Orange P-Popsie S-Sugar T-Tommy W-Willie Y-York Z-Zebra] Western Union: Adams Boston Chicago Denver Easy Frank George Henry Ida John King Lincoln Mary New_York Ocean Peter Queen Roger Sugar Thomas Union Victor William X-ray Young Zero British Army 1927: Ack Beer Charlie Don Edward Freddy George Harry Ink Johnnie King London Monkey Nuts Orange Pip Queen Robert Sugar Toc Uncle Vic William X-ray Yorker Zebra RAF 1924-42: Ac Beer Charlie Don Edward Freddie George Harry Ink Johnnie King London Monkey Nuts Orange Pip Queen Robert Sugar Toc Uncle Vic William X-ray Yorker Zebra Royal Navy 1917: Apples Butter Charlie Duff Edward Freddy George Harry Ink Johnnie King London Monkey Nuts Orange Pudding Queenie Robert Sugar Tommy Uncle Vinegar Willie Xerxes Yellow Zebra U.S. Army 1916: Able Buy Cast Dock Easy Fox George Have Item Jig King Love Mike Nap Opal Pup Quack Rush Sail Tape Unit Vice Watch X-ray Yoke Zed British forces 1904: Ack Beer C D E F G H I J K L Emma N O Pip Q R Esses Toc U Vic W X Y Z [The OED has a reference for Beer and Emma dated 1891] ***** FRENCH ***** [style: A comme Anatole] Contributor: Erik Tjong Kim Sang anatole bernard c'ecile denise 'emile fran5cois g'erard henri isidore jean kl'eber louis marcel nicole oscar pierre quital robert suzanne th'er`ese ursule victor wagon xavier yvonne zo'e Contributor: Rudolf Lais (Swiss telephone directory 1993) Anna Berthe Ce'cile Daniel Emile Franc,ois Gustave Henri Ida Jeanne Kilo Louise Marie Nicolas Olga Paul Quittance Robert Suzanne The're`se Ulysse Victor William Xavier Yvonne Zurich [also Geneva directory 1966] (OUP vocabulary book) Anatole Berthe Ce'sar De'sire' Euge`ne E'mile Franc,ois Gaston Henri Irma Joseph Kle'ber Louis Marcel Nicolas Oscar Pierre Que'bec Robert Suzanne The're`se Ursule Victor William Xavier Yvonne Zoe' (Berlitz phrase book) Anatole Berthe Ce'lestin De'sire' Euge`ne Franc,ois Gaston Henri Irma Joseph Kle'ber Louis Marcel Nicolas Oscar Pierre Quintal Raoul Suzanne The're`se Ursule Victor William Xavier Yvonne Zoe' Similar alphabets: Collins vocabulary book: Bertha business book: E'mile Cassel business book: Zoe" BBC business book: Emile (for e-acute) Nicholas telephone French book: Rene' Collins phrase books: Victor/Viktor Pitman business book: E'mile (for e-acute) (also Loire-Atlantique telephone directory 1966) ***** GERMAN ***** [style: A wie Anton] [some alphabets have phonetics for umlauts, ch, sch, ss] Contributor: Hermann Schumacher (official alphabet for emergency services, from "KatS-Dv 810 - Sprechfunkdienst", 1977) Anton Berta C"asar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Samuel Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zacharias "Arger Charlotte "Okonom Schule "Ubermut [also Langenscheidt Standard German Dictionary 1993 and West Berlin telephone directory 1965] Contributor: mrosa@eso.org (Michael Rosa) Anton Berta Caesar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Karl Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zeppelin A"rger O"dipus U"bel More recent replacements: Konrad Zacharias Contributor: Erik Tjong Kim Sang anton bertha c"asar dora emil friederich gustav heinrich ida julius kaufmann ludwig martha nordpol otto paula quelle richard samuel theodor ulrich viktor wilhelm xanthippe ypsilon zacharias "arger charlotte "okonom schule "ubermut Contributor: Rudolf Lais (Swiss telephone directory 1993) Anna Bertha Ca"sar Daniel Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Jakob Kaiser Leopold Marie Niklaus Otto Peter Quelle Rosa Sophie Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xaver Yverdon Zu"rich [also Geneva directory 1966] Contributor: Christof A Neumann (issued by Deutsche Bundespost) Anton Bertha Caesar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Jakob Konrad Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xantippe Ypsilon Zeppelin Schule Contributor: Steve Dunham Anton Berta Caesar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Johann Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula quer Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xaver Ypsilon Zeppelin Eszett (OUP vocabulary book) Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Konrad Ludwig Martin Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanten Ypsilon Zeppelin A"rger O"konom U"bel (Collins vocabulary book) Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Jerusalem Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Samuel Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zacharias (Cassel business book) Anton Berta Caesar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zacharias A"rger O"konom Schule U"bel (BBC business book) "standard phone alphabet" Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried/Samuel Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zeppelin/Zacharias A"rger Charlotte O"konom Schule U"bermut (BBC business book) Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zeppelin A"rger O"konom scharfes_s Schule U"bermut (Berlitz phrase book) Anton Berta Caesar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Samuel Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zacharias A"rger Charlotte O"konom Schule U"bel (Austrian telephone directory) Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Konrad Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xaver Ypsilon Zu"rich A"rger O"sterreich scharfes_S Schule U"bel (Collins phrase book) Anton Berta Caesar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Konrad Ludwig Martin Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Victor Wilhelm Xanten Zeppelin Eszett (Vienna telephone directory) Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Konrad Ludwig Martha Norbert Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xaver Ypsilon Zacharias A"rger Christine O"sterreich U"bel (BBC language book) Anton Berta Ca"sar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodor Ulrich Victor Wilhelm Xanthippe Ypsilon Zeppelin Contributor: Anno Siegel Arno Borvaselin Coburg-Gotha Doria Ernst Friedrichsroda Gomorrha Herrenzimmer Ida Jawohl_Odol Kolberg_Ost Leonidas Motor Nora Oekonom Per_Motorrad Quohnsdorf_bei_Forst Revolver Sabine Tod Uniform Verbrennungstod Weltnordpol Xolabaphon York_Yellowstone Zoroaster oe Oekonomie ue Ueberkonto [This alphabet provides mnemonics for Morse code: a syllable corresponds to a dash if it contains 'o', a dot otherwise.] For another alphabet of this nature see ***** DUTCH ***** [style: A van Anna] Contributor: Erik Tjong Kim Sang anna bernhard cornelis dirk eduard ferdinand gerard hendrik izaak jan karel lodewijk marie nico otto pieter quotient rudolf simon teunis utrecht victor willem xantippe ij: ijmuiden ypsilon zaandam [Berlitz phrase book: bernard quadraat] (Collins phrase book) Amsterdam Bravo Charlie Dirk Edam Freddie goed help Isaac Jaap kilo lasso moeder Nico Otto paard Quaker Rudolf suiker tafel uur vogel wind xylofoon Yankee zout A Morse code mnemonic alphabet can be found at ***** FLEMISH ***** Contributor: Erik Tjong Kim Sang arthur brussel carolina desire emiel frederik gustaaf hendrik isidoor jozef kilogram leopold maria napoleon oscar piano qualite robert sofie telefoon ursula victor waterloo xavier yvonne zola ***** SPANISH ***** [style: A de Antonio] (BBC business book, Collins and Berlitz phrase books) Antonio Barcelona Carmen Chocolate Dolores Enrique Francia Gerona Historia Ine's Jose' Kilo Lorenzo Llobregat Madrid Navarra N~on~o Oviedo Pari's Querido Ramo'n Sa'bado Tarragona Ulises Valencia Washington Xiquena Yegua Zaragoza Contributor: Paul Driessen (used in ministries in Madrid in the 1960s) Alicante Bilbao Ca'diz Dinamarca Espan~a Francia Girona Huelva Italia Jae'n Kilo Lugo LLamar Madrid Navarra Oviedo Portugal Queso Roma EreDoble Sevilla Toledo U'nico Valencia UveDoble equis Yugoslavia Zaragoza (business book) "The telephonist's alphabet" Antonio Barcelona Carmen Domingo Espan~a/Enrique Francia Gerona Historia Italia/i_latina Jose'/Jaen Kilo Le'rida Llave Madrid Navarra N~ando Oviedo Portugal/Pari's Queso Ramo'n/Roma Sevilla Tarragona/Toledo Ursula/Ubeda Valencia Washington Xilofo'n Yegua Zaragoza (Berlitz phrase book) [Latin American] Amalia Beatriz Carmen Domingo Enrique Federico Guatemala Honduras Ida Jose' Kilo Lima Llave Me'xico Nicaragua N~on~o Olimpo Pablo Quito Rafael Santiago Teresa Uruguay Venezuela Washington Xilo'fono Yucata'n Zorro ***** PORTUGUESE ***** [style: A de/como Aviero] (Berlitz phrase book) Aveiro Braga Coimbra Dafundo E'vora Faro Guarda Horta Ita'lia Jose' Kodak Lisboa Maria Nazare' Ovar Porto Queluz Rossio Setu'bal Tavira Unidade Vidago Waldemar Xavier York Zulmira [Azores telephone directory 1966: Braganc,a Kilograma Wilson] (Collins phrase books) Alexandre Banana/Bastos Carlos Daniel Eduardo Franc,a Gabriel Holanda Ita'lia Jose' Lisboa Maria Nicolau O'scar Paris Quarto Ricardo Susana Teresa Ulisses Venezuela Xangai Zebra ***** ITALIAN ***** [style: A come Ancona] Contributor: ebuie@sed.csc.com (Elizabeth Buie) ebuie@starlab.csc.com Ancona, Bologna, Como, Domodossola, Empoli, Firenze, Genova, Hacca, Imola, Jolly, Kappa, Livorno, Milano, Napoli, Otranto, Pisa/Palermo, Quartomiglio, Roma, Savona/Siena, Torino, Udine, Venezia, Wagner, Xilofono, York, Zara Contributor: Rudolf Lais (Swiss telephone directory 1993) Anna Battista Carlo Davide Ernesto Federico Giovanni acca Isidoro i_lungo cappa Luigi Maria Nicola Olga Pietro Quintino Rodolfo Susanna Teresa Umberto Vittorio vu_doppia ics ipsilon Zurigo [also Geneva directory 1966] (Cassel language book) Ancona Bologna Cagliari Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel Imola Jolly Kappa Londra Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo Quarto Roma Sondrio Torino Udine Vicenza Vdoppio X Yugoslavia Zagabria (Cassel business book) Ancona Bologna Como Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel Imola I_lunga Kursaal Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Padova Quarto Roma Savona Torino Udine Venezia Washington Ics York/yacht Zara (BBC language book) Ancona Bologna Como Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel Imola Jersey Kilo Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo Quaderno Roma Savona Torino Udine Venezia Washington ics York Zurigo Contributor: Salvatore Innaimi Ancona Bari Como Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Acca Imola Jolly Cappa Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo Quartomiglio Roma Siena Torino Udine Venezia Walter Ics York Zurigo (Berlitz phrase book) Ancona Bari Catania Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel Imperia i_lunga kappa Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo cu Roma Sassari Torino Udine Venezia v_doppia ix i_greca zeta (Collins phrase book) Ancona Bari Catania Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel Imperia Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo quarto Roma Savona Torino Udine Venezia (Collins phrase book) Ancona Bari Como Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel Imola Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo Quarto Roma Savona Torino Udine Venezia Zara (Pitman business book) Ancona Bologna Como Domodossola Empoli Firenze/Forli` Genova (acca) Imola (i_lunga) (cappa) Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo (cu) Roma Savona Torino Udine Venezia Washington (ics) (ipsilon) Zara ***** ROMANSH ***** [aka Rumansh] Contributor: Rudolf Lais (Swiss telephone directory) Anna Berta Carla Dora Emil Flurin Guido Hugo Ida Judit Kilo Luisa Maria Nesa Otto Paula Quirin Rita Silvia Toni Ursin Victor Willi Xaver Yvonne Zita ***** DANISH ***** (Berlitz phrase book) Anna Bernhard Cecilia David Erik Frederik Georg Hans Ida Johan Karen Ludvig Marie Nikolaj Odin Peter Quintus Rasmus Soeren Theodor Ulla Viggo William Xerxes Yrsa Zacharias ae: Aegir o-slash: Oeresund a-circle: Aase [Copenhagen telephone directory: Cecilie Nikolai] Contributor: "Per K. Nielsen" The Danish military use the following additions to the NATO alphabet: Aegir Oedis Aase ***** NORWEGIAN ***** Contributor: seem@oslonett.no (Terje Trane) (telephone directory) Anna Bernhard Caesar David Edith Fredrik Gustav Harald Ivar Johan Karin Ludvig Martin Nils Olivia Petter Quintus Rikard Sigrid Teodor Ulrik Enkel-V Dobbelt-V Xerxes Ynling Zakarias ae: Aerleg o-slash: Oern a-circle: Aase [Berlitz phrase book: enkelt-V dobbelt-V Yngling Aerlig] [Oslo directory 1965: enkelt-v Yngling Aerlig Oesten] [the forms Ynling and Aerleg are considered incorrect] ***** SWEDISH ***** Contributors: simon@dront.nada.kth.se (Simon Tardell) Jonas Wallgren m8509@sparc2.abc.se (Thomas Green) [also used officially in Finland] Adam, Bertil, Cesar, David, Erik, Filip, Gustav, Helge, Ivar, Johan, Kalle, Ludvig, Martin, Niklas, Olof, Petter, Quintus, Rudolf, Sigurd, Tore, Urban, Viktor, Wilhelm, Xerxes, Yngve, Z{ta, ]ke, [rlig, \sten where { is a with dots ] A with ring [ A with dots \ O with dots Sometimes used: Fredrik, Olle, Rikard Stockholm police use Kryss (meaning cross) for X. ***** FINNISH ***** Contributors: Jukka Rahkonen Kaita Seikku Aarne Bertta Celsius Daavid Eemeli Faarao Gideon Heikki Iivari Jussi Kalle Lauri Matti Niilo Otto Paavo Kuu Risto Sakari Tyyne Urho Vihtori Viski [ks{ Yrj| Tseta ]ke [iti \ljy Uppercase Lowercase ] } a with circle (Swedish) [ { a with dots \ | o with dots (Berlitz phrase book) Anna Bertta Cecilia Daavid Erkki Faarao Gabriel Heikki Iivari Jaakko Kalle Lauri Mikko Niilo Otto Pekka Quintus Risto Sakari Tauno Urho Va"ino" kaksin/kertainen_v Xeres Yrjo" Zeppelin ruotsalainen_o a"iti o"ljy Morse code: .-.- a-umlaut .- -.- a-circle - - -. o-umlaut ***** CZECH ***** (phrase book) Adam Boz~ena Cyril David 'Dumbier Emil Frantis~ek Gustav Helena Ivan Josef Karel Ludvi'k L'ubochn~a Marie Norbert Oto Petr Quido Rudolf R~ehor~ Svatopluk S~imon Toma's~ T'epla' Urban Va'clav dvojite'_ve' Xaver ypsilon Zuzana Z~ofie ***** SLOVAK ***** Contributor: Martin Votruba (telephone directory) Adam, Boz~ena, Cyril, C~adca, Da'vid, D~umbier, Emil, Frantis~ek, Gusta'v, Helena, CHrudim, Ivan, Karol, Ludvi'k, L~ubochn~a, Ma'ria, Norbert, N~ - Nitra, Oto, Peter, Quido, Rudolf, Sva"topluk, S~imon, Toma's~, T~ - Tepla', Urban, Va'clav, W - dvojite' ve', Xaver, Ypsilon, Zuzana, Z~ofia ***** POLISH ***** Contributor: Michal Jankowski (Warsaw telephone directory) Adam Barbara Celina Danuta Ewa Franciszek Genowefa Henryk Irena Jadwiga Karol Leon L/ukasz Maria Natalia Olga Pawel/ Roman Stanisl/aw Tadeusz Urszula Wl/adysl/aw Xantypa Ygrek Zygmunt Contributor: Gyo:ngyo:si Jo'zsef (used by radio hams) Adam, Bozena, Celina, Dawid, Ewa, Franek, Grazyna, Henryk, Irena, Janusz, Kilo, Ludwik, Maria, Natalia, Olga, Pawel/, Quido, Roman, Stefan, Tomasz, Urban, Violeta, Wanda, Xawer, Y-grek, Zygmunt (Berlitz phrase book) Adam Barbara Celina Dorota Ewa Franciszek Grazyna Henryk Iwona Jan Karol Leon L/ukasz Maria Natalia Olga Piotr Quiz Roman Stanisl/aw Tadeusz Urszula Violeta Wacl/aw Xymena Ypsylon Zenon ***** HUNGARIAN ***** (telephone directory) Andra's Be'la Cecil Do'ra Eleme'r Ferenc Gizella Hajnalka Istva'n Ja'nos Katalin Luca Ma'tya's Na'ndor Olga Piroska Queen Ro'bert Sarolta Ti'mea Ubul Vilmos Walter Xe'nia Ypsilon Zolta'n Contributor: Gyo:ngyo:si Jo'zsef (used by radio hams) Antal, Be'la, Cecil (Ce'za'r), De'nes, Eleme'r, Ferenc, Ge'za, Hele'n, Ibolya (Imre), Ja'nos, Ka'roly, La'szlo', Ma'ria, Nelli, Olga, Pe'ter, Kvelle, Ro'bert, Sa'ndor, Tama's, Ubul, Viktor (Vilmos), dupla-ve' (dupla-Vilmos, "viszki"), "x-es", "ipszilon" (jenki), Zolta'n (Berlitz phrase book) Alada'r A'gota Bala'zs Ceci'lia De'nes Erzse'bet E'va Ferenc Ga'bor Hele'n Ilona Jo'zsef Ka'roly La'szlo' Mo'nika Na'ndor Olga O:do:n Pe'ter Ku' Ro'bert Sa'ndor Tivadar Ubul U:ro:m Vilma duplave' iksz ipszilon Zora'n ***** CROATIAN ***** Contributor: Ivan.Drzanic@gbcon.g-box.fido.hr (Ivan Drzanic) Adria, Biokovo, Cavtat, Dubrovnik, Europa, Frankopan, Gospic, Hrvatska, Istra, Jadran, Karlovac, Lika, Mostar, Novska, Osijek, Pula, Q, Rijeka, Split, Trogir, Ucka, Vukovar, W, X, Y, Zagreb ***** SERBO-CROAT ***** (phrase book) Avala Beograd Cetinje C~ac~ak C'uprija Dubrovnik Djakovo Dz~amija Evropa Foc~a Gorica Hercegovina Istra Jadran Kosovo Lika Ljubljana Mostar Nis~ Njegos~ Osijek Pirot Rijeka Skopje S~ibenik Titograd Uros~evac Valjevo Zagreb Z~irovnica Kvadrat Duplo_V Ipsilon Iks ***** ROMANIAN ***** (phrase book) Ana Barbu Constantin Dumitru Elena Florea Gheorghe Haralambie Ion Jiu kilogram Laza~r Maria Nicolae Olga Petre qu Radu Sandoo Tudor T,ara~ Udrea Vasile dublu_V Xenia I_grec zaha~r ***** MODERN GREEK ***** (AA phrase book) Ale'xandros Vasi'lios Geo'rgios Deme'trios Ele'ne Zoe' Erakle's Theo'doros Ioa'nnes Konstanti'nos Leoni'das Mene'laos Niko'laos Xenofo'n Odusse'as Perikle's Ro'dos Sote'rios Timole'on Upsela'ntes Fo'tios Chre'stos Psa'ltes Ome'ga ***** TURKISH ***** Contributor: Gorkem Cetin ankara bursa ceyhan CankIrI denizli edirne fatsa giresun hopa Isparta izmir jale kayseri lUleburgaz manisa nazilli ordu OdemiS pazar rize samsun SarkOy trabzon urfa Unye van yalova zonguldak (Berlitz phrase book) adana balIkesir ceyhan Corum diyarbakIr edirne fatsa giresun hatay Irmak istanbul jandarma kastamonu lUleburgaz manisa nazilli ordu OdemiS pazar quebek rize samsun trabzon urla Unye van dubel_v xavier yozgat zonguldak Contributor: Fuat C. Baran (1982 diary) "standard" for telephone ankara bursa ceyhan Canakkale denizli edirne fatih giresun hakkAri Ilgaz izmir japonya kayseri lUleburgaz malatya nevSehir ordu OdemiS polatlI rize sivas Sile trabzon uSak Unye van yozgat zonguldak (AA phrase book) adana bursa cide Canakkale denizli edirne fethiye giresun hatay Isparta izmir lUleburgaz malatya nevSehir ordu Oren pamukkale rize sinop Sirvan tokat urfa UskUp van yozgat zonguldak ***** HEBREW ***** (phrase book) (phonetics for Roman alphabet) Affula Binyamina Carmel Dalia Eretz France Gedera Haifa Israel Jaffa Karkur Lod Moledet Naan Ogen Pardes Queen Rishon Sefer Tveria Urim Vered Wingate Express Yavniel Zikhron [used by telephone operators in Israel] Contributor: Alon Tal Aleph Boaz Gimel David Hagar Vav Ze'ev Hava Tiach Yona Carmel Lea Moshe Nesher Samekh A'in Pesel Tsipor Korakh Ruth Shamir Telem ***** RUSSIAN ***** Contributor: tom@systemtechnik.tu-ilmenau.de (Thomas Planke) Aleksej Boris Vasilij Grigorij Dmitrij Elena Zhenja Zoya Ivan Ivan_Kratkij Kilowatt Leonid Maria Nikolai Olga Pavel Roman Sergej Tatjana Uljana Fjodor Hariton Zaplja Chelovek Shura Schuka Tviordiy_Znak Igrek Miagkiy_Znak Emilija Yuri Jakow Contributor: "Oleg.A.Chernozyomov" (currently used in amateur radio) Anna Boris Vasiliy Galina Dmitriy Yelena Yozh Zhuk Zinaida Ivan Ivan_Kratkiy Konstantin Leonid Maria Nikolay Olga Pavel Roman Sergey Tamara Ul'yana Fyodor Hariton Tsentr Chelovek Shura Shchyuka Tvyordy_Znak Yery Myagkiy_Znak Ekho Yuliana Yakov Variants: Anton Grigoriy Yolka Zhenya Zoya Irina/Igor Yot Kilowatt Lyubov Mikhail Nadezhda/Nina Oleg Polina Radio Semyon Tatyana Tsaplya Znak/Iks Igrek Znak/Iks Used informally: Borya Vasya Grisha Galya Dima Zina Kostya Kolya Lyonya Lyuba Misha Masha Nadya Pasha Roma Sasha Tanya Fedya Yulya Yasha Morse code is as follows: A B W G D E E V Z I J K L M N O P R S T U F H C /- - -./- - - -/ Q X Y X /..-../..- -/.-.- and the same mapping provides a system of phonetics for Roman letters (used in parallel with Alpha Bravo). [The mapping is similar to KOI-7 but not identical] ***** SWAHILI ***** (phrase book) Aali Bibi Cyprus Daniel Elfu Fiwi Gombe Henry Ida Jinja Kenya Leso Mtu Nairobi Olga Paul Quebec Robert Sana Tanga Unga Victor William Xavier Yatima Zanzibar ***** KWANYAMA ***** [South-western Bantu; northern Namibia] Contributor: jouni@ling.gu.se (Jouni F Maho) (school book) Anna Beata Cesilia David Eva Feni Gerson Hosea Immanuel Johanna Kayosho Lamek Maria Nande Otto Pauli Quini Rauha Simon Tuuli Ulania Vilho Wilkka Xokulu Yoleni Zola ***** NDONGA ***** [South-western Bantu; northern Namibia] Contributor: jouni@ling.gu.se (Jouni F Maho) (school book) Anna Beata Cesilia David Eva Feni Gerson Hosea Immanuel Johanna Kayoso Lamek Maria Nande Otto Pauli Quini Rauha Simon Tuuliki Ulania Vilho Wilika Xerxes Yoleni Zola ***** AFRIKAANS ***** (Johannesburg telephone directory 1965) Andries Boetie Christo Dawid Eva Fanie Gert Hendrik Isak Jan Karel Lena Marie Nellie Oom Pieter Queenie Roos Sannie Tom Unie Venter Willem X-straal Yster Zoeloe ***** CHINESE ***** The Chinese armed forces use the following in connection with Romanised Mandarin: Aiya Boli Ciqi Desheng Egu Fuzhuang Geming Heping I: Yifu J.. Keren Leguan Mofan Nali Ouyang Polang Q.. Riguang Sixiang Tebie U: Weida V: Wudao W: Wuzhuang X.. Yisheng Zidian ***** ESPERANTO ***** Contributors: Edmund.Grimley-Evans@cl.cam.ac.uk David Lane (Yearbook of Universala Esperanto-Asocio 1995) Asfalto Barbaro Centimetro \^Cefo Doktoro Elemento Fabriko Gumo \^Girafo Hotelo \^Haoso Insekto Jubileo \^Jurnalo Kilogramo Legendo Ma\^sino Naturo Oktobro Papero Rekordo Salato \^Silingo Triumfo Universo Universo-hoko Vulkano Zinko [An earlier version had Omnibuso instead of Oktobro] Non-Esperanto letters: q = kuo w = \^germana vo x = ikso y = ipsilono Morse code (approved by UAE and FCC in 1963): ^c -.-.. ^g - -.-. ^h -.- -. ^j .- - -. ^s ...-. ~u ..- - ***** END ***** Do your skin a favor! No more shower itch Get rid of dry skin We have the pure castile soaps you will love. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colonial Soap Making. Its History and Techniques. Introduction This booklet will provide persons interested in the ways of early American life some information about soap and soap making. Soap making is a homestead skill often forgotten in discussions of colonial days. Soap was of great value in keeping the household a far better place to live and work. The manufacture of soap by the hard-working colonists from wood ashes and waste fats give testimony to early American self-sufficiency and resourcefulness. Soap, an easy item for us to obtain, was produced by boiling wood ash lye and fats together. Soap's desirability and procurement wrote its own pages in the history of early America. The soap, in use during the years when the United States was a colony of England and then a young republic, was made from potash or pearlashes. This soap, which was potassium based, was generally the only kind made from the first discovery of soap making until the first half of the 19th century. Then the LeBlanc method of obtaining caustic soda, a sodium based alkali, from a brine solution was implemented on the industrial level. Through out the centuries, there have been other times when people were able to make soap using a form of sodium alkali as is done presently. The Egyptians are thought to have employed local soda deposits for their source of alkali as the Spaniards did during the 8th century. Also people in various coastal regions burned seaweed producing sodium based barillia for their alkali. But by far the most common soap was made from potash and pearlash. Potash and pearlash are forms of the potassium based alkali present in plant and wood material. Potash and pearlash soaps were used by everyone from the reigning monarchs to the peasant or cottager, who made their own soap from the waste fats and ashes they saved. Most people who have made soap down thru the centuries had no idea what occurred. They just made soap by trial and error, by having lots of luck, and believing in many superstitions in how to make soap. When people learned that saponification was the reaction that made soap, we will tell you later. The First Soap This certainly cannot be documented; but it is quite possible soap could have been discovered even in prehistoric times. Early people cooking their meats over fires might have noticed after a rainstorm there was a strange foam around the remains of the fire and its ashes. They might have even noticed when water was put in a pot that had been used for cooking meats and then got ashes in it, which often happens with outdoors cooking, also had this strange foamy substance. This women, most likely who was doing the washing, might have also observed the pot became cleaner or at least her hands became cleaner then usual. It is recorded that the Babylonians were making soap around 2800 B.C. and that it was known to the Phoenicians around 600 B.C. These early references to soap and soap making were for the use of soap in the cleaning of textile fibers such as wool and cotton in preparation for weaving into cloth. The Romans and Celtics The first definite and tangible proofs of soap making are found in the history of ancient Rome. Pliny, the Roman historian, described soap being made from goat's tallow and causticized wood ashes. He also wrote of common salt being added to make the soap hard. The ruins at Pompeii revealed a soap factory complete with finished bars. While the Romans are well known for their public baths, generally soap was not used for personal cleaning. To clean the body the Greeks and then the Romans would rub the body with olive oil and sand. A scraper, called a strigil, was then used to scrape off the sand and olive oil also removing dirt, grease, and dead cells from the skin leaving it clean. Afterwards the skin was rubbed down with salves prepared from herbs. Throughout history people were also known to take baths in herb waters and other additions to the bathing medium thought to be beneficial. It is well known that Cleopatra, who captivated the leaders of the Roman world, attributed her beauty to her baths in mare's milk. During the early century of the common era soap was used by physicians in the treatment of disease. Galen, a 2nd century physician, recommended bathing with soap would be beneficial for some skin conditions. Soap for personal washing became popular during the later centuries of the Roman era. The Celtic peoples are also though by some historians to have discovered soap making and were using it for bathing and washing. Maybe do to increased contact with the Celtics by the Romans, using soap for personal washing care became popular. It is also important to remember when writing a history of life styles there are no grand trends that get disseminated throughout the globe via mass communications such as we have today. Usage and knowledge of common skills and arts can vary from one locale to the next. When they are starting to use soap in the public baths in 3rd century A.D. in the major cities, the people in small villages are likely to be using the olive oil, sand, and strigil method. The Celtics might have been washing their faces daily with soap long before the Romans even went over the Italian Alps. Dates can be exact when dealing with events such as battles, births, and deaths. But not usage of every day items. "The state of the art" varies depending both on time and location. There is an interesting legend surrounding the discovery of soap making. This legend accords the discovery of soap to the Romans so it must be a Roman legend to confront the Celtic claim to soap making. Probably both of these inventive peoples discovered soap making independently. The legend says soap was first discovered by women washing clothes along the Tiber River at the bottom of Sapo Hill. The women noticed the clothes became cleaner with far less effort at that particular location. What was happening? The ashes and the grease of animals from the sacrificial fires of the temples situated on the top of Sapo Hill mixed with the rain, making soap which ran down the slope in the streams of rain water giving the women a wash day bonus. You can see at a glance saponification, the chemical name for the soap making reaction, bears the name of that hill in Rome long ago, which caused one Roman washer women to comment to another, "My wash is cleaner than yours". The European Dark Ages After the fall of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, there was little soap making done or use of it in the European Dark Ages. In the Byzantine Empire, the remains of the Roman world in the eastern Mediterranean area, and in the expanding Arab world soap was made and used. Around the 8th century soap making was revived in Italy and Spain. By the 13th century, France also became a producer of soap for the European market. During the 14th century, soap making was started in England. Soaps produced in the south of Europe, Italy, Spain, and the southern ports of France (Marseilles and Castle soaps) were made from olive oils. These soaps made using olive oils were of a higher quality than those made by the soap producers of England and northern France. These northern soap makers, not being able to obtain the olive oil, made their soaps with only animal fats. Tallow, the fat from cattle, was the chief fat used. Northern European soap makers even resorted to making soap from fish oils. Soaps made from the poor quality animals fats and oils, while adequate for laundry and textile usage, were not desirable for bathing and washing. The soap from southern Europe with their olive oils were superior. This resulted in a lively trade of exporting fine soaps from southern Europe. Wait a minute you say, people did not take baths in the Middle Ages. That is a popular misconception. They did. There were public bath houses, called stews, where the patrons bathe in large wooden tubs and were given bars of soap to use. Nobles and rich merchants had their own private baths. It was during the later Medieval Times, when bathing fell out of favor. Public baths were closed because the authorities of the time thought these baths promoted the spread of the Plague. In general people of the Renaissance moved away from the idea of keeping the body clean. They preferred to cover the body with heavy scents. Soap, however, did remain a useful item for cleaning and washing clothes. Soap also was still used for personal washing as well but by our standards far less frequently than was needed. The fact that soap was a valuable item in the 17th and 18th centuries even though the idea of bathing was not popular is shown by the efforts the settlers to the New World took to make it. While maybe bathing the whole body was out of fashion keeping you and your surroundings clean was not. Soap in the American Colonies At first the earliest settlers simply brought a plentiful supply of soap along with them. The Talbot, a ship chartered by the Massachusetts Bay Company to carry persons and supplies from England to its colonies at Naumbeak now known as Salem and Boston, listed among its cargo 2 firkins of soap. A firkin is an old measurement which was a wooden, hooped barrel of about nine gallon capacity. John Winthrop, who was to become the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when writing to his wife in 1630 from Boston included soap in a list of necessities to be brought on her crossing to the New world. After the colonists were settled and had been able to survive the first years of hardships, they found it more advantageous to make soap themselves using the copious amount of wood ashes, a natural result of their homesteading activities. With also a plentiful supply of animal fat from the butchering of the animals they used for food, the colonists had on hand all the ingredients for soap making. They did not have to rely on waiting for soap to be shipped from England and waste their goods or few pieces of currency in trade for soap. Soap with some work and luck could be made for free. Soap making was performed as a yearly or semiannual event on the homesteads of the early settlers. As the butchering of animals took place in the fall, soap was made at that time on many homesteads and farms to utilize the large supply of tallow and lard that resulted. On the homes or farms where butchering was not done, soap was generally made in the spring using the ashes from the winter fires and the waste cooking grease, that had accumulated throughout the year. The Chemistry of Soap Before we discuss the soap making process we should explain what soap is and the chemical reaction that makes soap. No, this is not a chemical textbook. Some understanding of the chemistry involved, however, will enhance the story of soap's history. Soap, in very simple chemical terms, is the sodium or potassium salt of a fatty acid. Sounds simple. And it is. What is a salt? Common salt, which we all know as table salt, is not the only salt in the chemical world. There are many salts all being the result of an acid and an a alkali reacting together. What is an acid or an alkali? Acids are solutions that tend to burn or smart. Acids range from weak ones like acetic acid, the chief ingredient in vinegar, to hydrosulfuric acid, an extremely strong and dangerous acid in the battery of your car. Alkali also called bases are solutions that corrode rather than burn. They too range from weak to strong. An example of a weak one is sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, used to settle your upset stomach caused by your over active stomach acid. A strong alkali is sodium hydroxide which is the chief ingredient in oven and drain cleaners. Actually oven and drain cleaners work by doing the very reaction we are discussing. They convert the grease blocking your drain or messing up your oven into soap so that you can flush or wipe it away. What is a fatty acid? Now let's go back to those fatty acids. Fatty acids are found in foods we call fats and oils. Today we hear much about fatty acids, as they are the substances effecting the nature of the fats and oils we eat and the action these foods have on our health. Modern Soap Most products on the market today are not real soaps by the true definition but rather are detergents which have been created from petroleum based products. Other products, which called themselves soap, contain ingredients found in nature; but these ingredients have been radically changed by high energy processes. The resulting soap bears little similarity to the soap made historically down thru the ages. A Chemical Reaction Soap is not found in nature; but it can be created by very simple processes. In this way it is similar to bread, wine, glass, cheese, and pottery, other useful items produced by early peoples most likely by accident at first then by design. Saponification is a very big chemical word for the rather complex but easy to create soap making reaction. Saponification is what happens when a fatty acid meets an alkali. When fats or oils, which contain fatty acids are mixed with a strong alkali, the alkali first splits the fats or oils into their two major parts fatty acids and glycerin. After this splitting of the fats or oils, the sodium or potassium part of the alkali joins with the fatty acid part of the fat or oils. This combination is then the potassium or sodium salt of the fatty acid. As we said at the start, this is soap. Soap Making Takes Three Basic Steps. Making of the wood ash lye. Rendering or cleaning the fats. Mixing the fats and lye solution together and boiling the mixture to make the soap. First Let's Make The Lye. In making soap the first ingredient required was a liquid solution of potash commonly called lye. The lye solution was obtained by placing wood ashes in a bottomless barrel set on a stone slab with a groove and a lip carved in it. The stone in turn rested on a pile of rocks. To prevent the ashes from getting in the solution a layer of straw and small sticks was placed in the barrel then the ashes were put on top. The lye was produced by slowly pouring water over the ashes until a brownish liquid oozed out the bottom of the barrel. This solution of potash lye was collected by allowing it to flow into the groove around the stone slab and drip down into a clay vessel at the lip of the groove. Some colonists used an ash hopper for the making of lye instead of the barrel method. The ash hopper, was kept in a shed to protect the ashes from being leached unintentionally by a rain fall. Ashes were added periodically and water was poured over at intervals to insure a continuous supply of lye. The lye dripped into a collecting vessel located beneath the hopper. Now The Fats Are Prepared. The preparation of the fats or grease to be used in forming the soap was the next step. This consists of cleaning the fats and grease of all other impurities contained in them. The cleaning of fats is called rendering and is the smelliest part of the soap making operation. Animal fat, when removed from the animals during butchering, must be rendered before soap of any satisfactory quality can be made from it. This rendering removes all meat tissues that still remain in the fat sections. Fat obtained from cattle is called tallow while fat obtained from pigs is called lard. If soap was being made from grease saved from cooking fires, it was also rendered to remove all impurities that had collected in it. The waste cooking grease being saved over a period of time without the benefits of refrigeration usually became rancid, This cleaning step was very important to make the grease sweeter. It would result in a better smelling soap. The soap made from rancid fats or grease would work just as well as soap made from sweet and clean fats but not be as pleasant to have around and use. To render, fats and waste cooking grease were placed in a large kettle and an equal amount of water was added. Then the kettle was placed over the open fire outdoors. Soap making was an outside activity. The smell from rendering the fats was too strong to wish in anyone's house. The mixture of fats and water were boiled until all the fats had melted. After a longer period of boiling to insure completion of melting the fats. The fire was stopped and into the kettle was placed another amount of water about equal to the first amount of water. The solution was allowed to cool down and left over night. By the next day the fats had solidified and floated to the top forming a layer of clean fat. All the impurities being not as light as the fat remained in water underneath the fat. You can observed this today in your own kitchen. When a stew or casserole containing meat has been put in the refrigerator, you can see the next day the same fat layer the colonists got on the top of their rendering kettle. Finally The Soap Making Can Begin. In another large kettle or pot the fat was placed with the amount of lye solution determined to be the correct amount. This is easier said than done. We will discuss it more later. Then this pot was placed over a fire again outdoors and boiled. This mixture was boiled until the soap was formed. This was determined when the mixture boiled up into a thick frothy mass, and a small amount placed on the tongue caused no noticeable "bite". This boiling process could take up to six to eight hours depending on the amount of the mixture and the strength of the lye. Soft and Hard Soap Soap made with wood ash lye does not make a hard soap but only a soft soap. When the fire was put out and the soap mixture was allowed to cool, the next day revealed a brown jelly like substance that felt slippery to the touch, made foam when mixed with water, and cleaned. This is the soft soap the colonists had done all their hard to produce. The soft soap was then poured into a wooden barrel and ladled out with a wooden dipper when needed. To make hard soap, common salt was thrown in at the end of the boiling. If this was done a hard cake of soap formed in a layer at the top of the pot. As common salt was expensive and hard to get, it was not usually wasted to make hard soap. Common salt was more valuable to give to the livestock and the preserving of foods. Soft soap worked just as well as hard and for these reasons the colonists, making their own soap, did not make hard soap bars. In towns and cities where there were soap makers making soap for sale, the soap would be converted to the hard soap by the addition of salt. As hard bars it would be easier to store and transport. Hard bars produced by the soap maker were often scented with oils such as lavender, wintergreen, or caraway and were sold as toilet soap to persons living in the cities or towns. Hard soap was not cut into small bars and wrapped as soap is sold today. Soap made by the soap makers was poured into large wooden frames and removed when cooled and hard. The amount of soap a customer wanted was cut from the large bar. Soap was sold usually by the pound. Small wrapped bars were not available until the middle of the 19th century. Another thought to remember is the soap making procedure described is not only how the homesteading colonial women made their soap. Soap making was generally a task the women did. This was essentially the method used by all soap makers of the period. Soap making was always considered one of the most difficult jobs on the farm or homestead. Difficulties in Making Soap The hardest part was in determining if the lye was of the correct strength, as we have said. In order to learn this, the soap maker floated either a potato or an egg in the lye. If the object floated with a specified amount of its surface above the lye solution, the lye was declared fit for soap making. Most of the colonists felt that lye of the correct strength would float a potato or an egg with an area the size of a ninepence (about the size of a modern quarter) above the surface. To make a weak lye stronger, the solution could either be boiled down more or the lye solution could be poured through a new batch of ashes. To make a solution weaker, water was added. The difficulties in making soap the colonists endured arose from the lack of knowledge of the chemical processes involved and the inability to obtain lye's of known and dependable strengths. There were many superstitions which the colonist believe caused success or failure. For making good soap, the tide and the phases of the moon among other things were taken in account. A Pennsylvania Dutch recipe carefully warned that a sassafrasas stick was the only kind of implement suitable for stirring the soap and the stirring must be done always in the same direction. In later colonial times, when the trade of soap making was well established in the cities and towns, many of these trades people became very astute observers of the process and were able to produce their soap with dependable high quality. However, many house holders, particularly in rural areas, made their own potash soap until the middle of the 19th century. There the difficulties and the related folklore still existed around the soap making process. From the diary of Elizabeth Ranch Norton, a niece of President John Adams, written in 1799, we learn how an exasperating job soap making could be. On one occasion Mrs. Norton had to make three batches of soap before she was able to make one barrel of soap fit for her family's needs. Not Always Done Down On The Farm. Soap making as a trade had grown in direct proportion with the growth of the colonies. Even in the very early days there were tradesmen making and selling soap, who were called soapboilers. Since tallow was the main ingredient for both soap and candles, many tradesmen were producers of both. These tradesmen were called chandlers. The first soapboilers arrived with the settling of Jamestown in 1609. In New England also, we find signs of the early soap making trade. Christopher Gipson, who landed at Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630, and then later in 1649 was elected Surveyor of the Highways of the Town of Boston, was a soapboiler. It is logical to conclude since it probably required then as now a source of money and influence to engage in politics Mr. Gipson's soap trade was keeping him in a comfortable style. Potash and Pearlash Trade Soap making and the manufacture of potash and pearlashes were closely related trades of colonial America. Pearlash, purified potash, because of its many industrial uses, was an important item of export for the colonies. Pearlash, in addition to soap making, it was used for making glass both in the colonies and in Europe. Potash and later also pearlash were valuable items of the export trade to England being one of the few items produced by the American colonies that could be traded directly to England for cash. Most other items of colonial export were traded to the other British Colonies in the West Indies for an second item of greater value that then could be traded for a wanted item from England itself. This is the so called triangular trade system of the colonial era. Pearlash was such a valuable article to the economy that the British government when forcing its policy of colonial financial dependence to England listed pearlash as an enumeration commodity. Under this Act commodities listed could not be exported by the American colonies to ports outside the British realm. There are other references to support the important of potash and pearlash to the economy. The Governor of Massachusetts in 1765 is recorded to have stated the best business ventures for the colonies were the production of potash and hemp, and the transporting of lumber to England. In 1755 the Massachusetts General Court had recognized the importance of these items by establishing a code for assaying and standardization of potash and pearlash. The young United States also understood the value of potash and pearlash manufacture. The first patent awarded by the United States Patent Office was to Samuel Hopkins for his technique of preparing pearlash. Potash is the residue remaining after all the water has been driven off from the lye solution obtained from the leaching of wood ashes. Pearlash is then made from the potash by baking it in a kiln until all the carbon impurities were burned off. The fine, white powder remaining was the pearlash. Peddlers would travel from village to village collecting potash made on the farms and homesteads. For many homesteaders the only cash they received all year would be for the sale of their wood ashes or potash. Then the peddlers would sell the potash to manufactures who converted it to pearlash at their factories known as "ashies". In early times many manufacturers of pearlash bought their own wood and made their own supply of potash. At these factories in addition to the kiln for converting potash to pearlash, there was a structure called an ashery for burning large quantities of wood. These small structures were made of stone including a roof with a hole in it. There were two openings. One was in the middle of one side for adding the wood to the fire and the other was at the bottom for racking out the ashes. The structure was preferred over outside burning to produce ashes that had a high content of alkali. In the middle of the 18th century, many "ashies' dotted the countryside. There were at least two "ashies" located at Newport, Rhode Island. In Massachusetts there were several towns that were sites for "ashies". Two of these towns were Haverhill and Charlestown. From "A Typographical and Historical Description of Boston written in 1794, we learn that there was much manufacture of potashes and pearlashes in Boston and been established there for about 40 years before the Revolution. The End of an Era When wood became scarcer as the tide of westward movement crept over New England during the end of the 18th century, potash and pearlash manufacture became a decreasing industry. It still remained an important industry on the American frontier until the end of the first third of the 19th century. All during this period pearlash stayed a chief article of American export. When caustic soda could be obtained cheaper and easier from brine using the LeBlanc process, the need for American potash and pearlash began to decrease until it was no more. The availability of sodium hydroxide, this is what the LeBlanc process produced, changed the soap making industry in a dramatic way. Sodium alkalis make hard soap without the having to add common salt to effect the change. These hard soaps were of a firmer quality. The other big advantage was the alkali needed for soap making no longer required the arduous task of cutting acres of trees, burning the wood, leaching the ashes, evaporating the water from the wood ash lye, and finally burning off all the impurities in an kiln. The whole business of soap making became much easier and thus soap became more available to more people. The natural result being more and more people took to using soap, particularly the toilet soaps. The habit of bathing came back into fashion and the consumption of soap increased tremendously in the 19th century. Soap became of age in the Victorian times and the soap making industry turned from part craft and mystery to a fully developed industry. With the demise of the potash industry ended the manufacture of potash and pearlash soaps. Soap whose soapboilers included among their numbers Josiah Franklin, the father of Benjamin Franklin. Soap that was used by all the famous women of America's early history from Priscilla Mulliens to Dolly Madison. In the middle of the 18th century when pearlash soap was in its heyday ads like the following one from the Boston Gazette were plentiful. "TO BE SOLD BY EDWARD LANGDON, IN FLEET STREET, NEAR THE OLD NORTH MEETING HOUSE, A QUANTITY OF HARD SOAP BY THE BOX, SOFT SOAP BY THE BARREL". Bibliography A Book of Country Things, Barrows Mussey Stephen Greene Press, 1965 A Long, Deep Furrow, Howard S. Russell University Press of New England 1982 Colonial Craftsmen, Edwin Tunis The World Publishing Company, 1965 Colonial Days and Ways, Helen Evertson Smith The Century Company, 1900 Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, George Frances Dow Home Life in Colonial Days, Alice Morse Earle The MacMillan Company‚ 1899 Over the Counter and on the Shelf, Laurence A. Johnson Charles E. Tuttle Comapny Publishers 1961 Professional and Industrial History of Suffolk County, The Boston History Company The Arts and Crafts in New England, Da Carpo Press 1967 The Seasons of America's Past, Eric Sloane Wilfred Funk, Inc. For further reading Making Soaps and Candles, Phyllis Hobson Storey Communications, Inc. 1973 Soap, Ann Bramson Workman Publishing Company 1975 The Art of Soap Making, Merilyn Mohr Camden House Publishing 1979 About the Author This booklet has been prepared by The Soap Factory, a small soap making company dedicated to making fine Castile soaps using the traditional methods of the 19th century. Marietta Ellis, the owner and president of the Soap Factory, has researched soap making techniques and the history of soap making for over 30 years. She first got involved with soap making as a member of VITA (Volunteers in Internationl Technical Assistance). She still works with VITA by providing persons in developing countries with soap making information. Marietta and her husband, Arthur Ellis, sell their soaps at craft shows, and thru mail order. Their soaps are also for sale in several retail stores. The Ellises both members of SWEAT (Society of Workers in Early Arts and Trades) are available for lectures or demonstrations on soap making and its history. The drawings were done by Arthur Ellis. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress - Chapter 1 Preliminary Development History Last revised: 29 May 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Boeing B-52 Stratofortress - Chapter 2: XB-52, YB-52 The B-52 Stratofortress has been the backbone of the Air Force's manned bomber strategic deterrent for the last 35 years. The B-52 entered service with the Strategic Air Command in 1955, and by 1958 it represented the most important component of America's strategic deterrent. At peak strength in 1963, SAC operated 650 B-52s, divided up among 42 squadrons at 38 different air bases. However, intercontinental ballistic missiles assumed a greater role in the strategic deterrent, but the B-52 remained important even after missiles had assumed the primary responsibility for the deterrent. The B-52 had been designed for the strategic nuclear bombardment role, but it was to assume an important conventional role in two wars -- the Southeast Asian War of 1965-1972 and Desert Storm of 1991. The Stratofortress has been periodically been upgraded over the years to make it a more capable weapons delivery platform, and had swapped roles from high-altitude nuclear bomber to low-level strike aircraft and cruise-missile carrier. By now, budgetary limitations imposed by the end of the Cold War as well as treaty restrictions have relegated most of the B-52 fleet to the bone-yards or to museums, and many of them have been scrapped. However, the B-52H version still remains in service in substantial numbers and will remain so until the end of the century. It is possible that the B-52 could end up serving in its primary combat role for fifty years, which will probably be some sort of record for a combat aircraft. The development of the B-52 can be said to begin back in June of 1945, at a time when the war in the Pacific was still going on. Assuming that the war in the Pacific would soon be over, the Army Air Forces directed the Air Material Command to begin the formalization of requirements for the characteristics of a new generation of postwar bombers. The seizure of forward island bases for B-29 operations against Japan at the cost of so much blood and treasure being quite recently in mind, chief among the requirements for a postwar long-range strategic bomber would be the ability to carry out its mission without the need for the reliance on advanced or intermediate bases controlled by other countries. On November 23, 1945, a series of specifications were issued calling for a bomber with an operating radius of 5000 miles and a speed of 300 mph at 34,000 feet. The crew was to be five, plus gunners for an undetermined number of 20-mm cannon turrets. A 10,000 pound bombload was specified, as well as provisions for a 6-man relief crew. What was sought was fundamentally a second-generation intercontinental bomber to replace the Convair B-36, which had still not yet made its maiden flight. On February 13, 1946, the new bomber project was submitted to the aviation industry, with invitations to bid on the military characteristics laid down in the November specification. Three manufacturers -- the Boeing Airplane Company, the Glenn L. Martin Company, and the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation -- submitted cost quotations and preliminary design data. The Boeing proposal was the Model 462. It looked a lot like a scaled-up B-29, being a fairly conventional monoplane with a shoulder-mounted straight wing with a span of 221 feet and an area of 3250 square feet. The circular-section fuselage was 161 feet 2 inches long. Power was to be provided by six Wright XT35 Typhoon turboprop engines, each offering 5500 shaft horsepower and driving six-bladed propellers. The decision to use turboprop engines rather than pure jets was a result of the fact that the jet engines of the day were notorious fuel hogs and would make it difficult if not impossible to meet the range requirements. The four main wheels of the nose wheel undercarriage each retracted separately into the four inner engine nacelles. Gross weight was 360,000 pounds. Although the Model 462 fell far short of meeting the range requirement, Boeing was informed on June 5, 1946 that it had won the competition. In mid-June, the Boeing design was assigned the designation XB-52. The letter contract issued to Boeing on June 28 (W-33-03A-ac-15065) asked for a full-scale mockup of the XB-52, plus preliminary design engineering, and the supplying of test data. In October of 1946, less than three months after Boeing had received the Letter Contract, the USAAF was already beginning to experience misgivings about the XB-52. It was concluded that the aircraft that had been proposed by Boeing was simply too large and expensive, that it offered few performance advantages over the B-36, and that it did not offer very much in the way of growth potential. Maj. Gen. Earle E. Partridge, assistant chief of Air Staff for operations, bluntly pointed out to Boeing that the Model 462 simply did not meet the range requirement. Undaunted, Boeing went back to the drawing board and came up with the Model 464. It was a much smaller version of the Model 462, with only four Wright XT35 turboprops and a gross weight of only 230,000 pounds. Maj. Gen. Laurence C. Craigie, chief of the USAAF Engineering Division, recommended that the new Model 464 design be adopted. However, in November of 1946, General Curtis E. LeMay, then Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development, pointed out that the Model 464 was still not good enough. He thought that the future B-52 should have a higher cruising speed as well as a longer range. In December, the USAAF requested that a study be carried out for a four-engined bomber with a range of 12,000 miles, a cruising speed of 400 mph, and the ability to carry and drop the atomic bomb. Boeing came up with two separate proposals -- Models 464-16 and 464-17. Both were still powered by four Wright XT35 turboprops, but these engines now promised a significantly higher power output than was offered for the earlier 464 version, and a better performance was anticipated. The new proposals were also significantly larger and heavier than the earlier 464 version. Gross weight was now estimated at 400,000 pounds, wingspan was 205 feet, wing area was 3000 square feet, and length was 156 feet. Effective range was extended by the use of large external tanks underneath the outer wings. Top speed was estimated at 440 mph at 35,000 feet. The difference between the two models was that the 464-16 was a "specialized" version (i.e. intended for the delivery of nuclear weapons) that could carry only a 10,000 pound bombload over a long range and the 464-17 was optimized for conventional warfare and was capable of carrying a bombload as high as 90,000 pounds over a much more restricted range. The USAAF clearly could not afford to fund both projects simultaneously, and they opted for the conventional-warfare Model 464-17. Apart from the range, the Model 464-17 appeared to meet the requirements. However, with the advent of mid-air refuelling, the shortfall in range did not now appear to be all that critical a disadvantage. However, General LeMay was still not happy, since he felt that this version of the XB-52 would still be too large and costly -- perhaps limiting procurement to only 100 aircraft. To make matters worse, General Craigie was now solidly against the project, claiming that it offered little improvement over the B-36, and that the B-52 would likely be obsolete before it could enter service. Consequently, the Model 464-17 was shelved. That would ordinarily have been the end of the line for the B-52, but General LeMay urged caution, and suggested a 6-month grace period before the final decision on the future of the B-52 could be made. Boeing designers went back to work again, and went through a succession of designs during the first few months of 1949, before they settled on the Model 464-29. This version had the same four XT35 turboprops of previous versions, but now featured a sharply tapered wing with 20 degrees of sweepback. An extended dorsal fin was provided. The wingspan remained at 205 feet and the weight at 400,000 pounds. A major change was the adoption of a centerline landing gear underneath the fuselage similar to that fitted to the B-47 but with forward and aft units much closer together, plus a set of outrigger wheels which retracted into the outer engine nacelles. The estimated maximum speed was 445 mph. In the latter half of 1947, the Air Force was still looking for more effective means of delivering nuclear weapons. A Heavy Bombardment Committee was established to explore alternatives. Speed and altitude were found to be crucial qualities required of an aircraft capable of delivering the atomic bomb. This was particularly true when the bomber reached the combat zone. A new set of requirements was drawn up, calling for a special-purpose bomber with an 8000-mile range and a 550-mph cruising speed. These new requirements were officially issued on December 8, 1947, although at that time the cruising speed requirement was lowered to only 500 mph. Under the new set of requirements, both the range and speed of the Model 464-29 would clearly be inadequate. During the winter of 1947-48 things looked so unpromising that the entire B-52 project was on the verge of cancellation. On December 11, 1947, the Air Materiel Command had actually been directed to cancel the Boeing contract, but a protest from Boeing chairman William M. Allen persuaded Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington to grant a stay of execution. Nevertheless, in January of 1948 Symington informed Boeing that the existing proposal was not suitable, but that no final decision would be made until other possibilities (such as the Northrop YB-49 flying wing) had been explored. During this period of uncertainty, Boeing engineers had been at work in attempting to improve the performance of their design. The result was the Model 464-35, which first appeared in January 1948. It had the same four Wright XT35 turboprops, but the engines now drove a set of coaxial propellers. The wingspan was reduced to 185 feet, wing area to 2600 square feet, and length to 131 feet 4 inches. Considerable attention had been paid to weight reduction, and gross weight was now down to 280,000 pounds. Maximum speed was estimated at 500 mph at 41,000 feet. Maximum range was 11,635 miles. The performance of the Model 464-35 now appeared to be closer to what the Air Force wanted. In April 1948, Boeing presented a complete Phase II proposal for the design, development and testing of two XB-52s based on the Model 464-35. Although the Model 464-35 was still not all the Air Force wanted, the blockade of Berlin by Soviet forces which began in late June gave a new sense of urgency, and the Air Force endorsed Boeing's Phase II proposal in July. The B-52 project was now well on its way, and work began on a mockup. However, things were to change yet again, this time even more drastically. In May of 1948, the USAF asked Boeing to explore the possibility of switching to jet engines for the B-52. The Air Force had always been interested in jet power for long-range bombers, but up to now had always ruled them out on the basis of their high fuel consumption. In response to the Air Force request, in late July of 1948, Boeing came up with the Model 464-40. The Model 464-40 was broadly similar to the Model 464-35, but was powered by eight Westinghouse XJ40-13-12 turbojets in underwing podded pairs. Gross weight was 280,000 pounds, and dimensions were wingspan 185 feet and length 130 feet 9 inches. The performance was nominally better than that of the Model 464-35, especially at high altitude -- maximum speed was now 507 mph at 47,000 feet. The Boeing engineers took the Model 464-40 study to the Air Force Project Officer, who was favorably impressed, especially since he had already been thinking along similar lines. Nevertheless, the government was still concerned about the high fuel consumption rate of the jet engines of the day, and directed that Boeing still use the turboprop-powered Model 464-35 as the basis of its two XB-52s. Although he agreed that turbojet propulsion was definitely the wave of the future, General Howard A. Craig, Deputy Chief of Staff for Material, was not very keen on a jet-powered B-52, since he felt that the jet engine had still not progressed sufficiently far to permit the skipping of the intermediate turboprop stage. However, Boeing was encouraged to continue with turbojet studies even though no commitment to jet propulsion could be expected at present. Within only a couple of months, everything was to change. On October 21, 1948, a group of Boeing engineers arrived at Wright Field to confer with Air Force officials about the future of the turboprop-powered B-52. The Boeing team had arrived with reams of drawings and figures in preparation for discussions on the progress of their design. They were shocked when Col. Henry Warden of the Wright Air Development Center told them that the turboprop design should be scrubbed and that the turbojet was definitely the way to go. Warden had been pushing Pratt & Whitney to develop the JT3 (J57), a pure jet adaptation of the 10,000 hp T45 turboprop, as a powerplant for the B-52. Pratt & Whitney had not been a pioneer in jet engine development, the US government having chosen not to divert this manufacturer from its primary task of making its fine series of air-cooled piston engines. P & W's first successful effort in the field of turbine propulsion had been the PT2, which had evolved as the successful T34 turboprop. In 1947, a contract had been given to Pratt & Whitney for the development of a 10,000 hp PT4 (T45) turboprop as a possible powerplant for the B-52 in case the Wright T35 engine did not work out. The PT4 had a dual axial flow compressor of 13 stages, and could easily be converted to a pure turbojet should the need arise. After giving the idea consideration throughout the afternoon and evening of October 21, the Boeing team called Col. Warden the next morning and told him that they would have a fresh proposal ready by the next Monday. The team went back to the Van Cleeve Hotel in Dayton and worked around the clock all weekend long. Their colleagues back in Seattle were told to stand by to provide data by phone if needed. The Model 464-49 was the result. It featured eight J57 engines in the podded arrangement first proposed for the 464-40. The wingspan remained at 185 feet, but the angle of sweep was increased a further 15 degrees to 35 degrees and the wing area was increased 1400 square feet to 4000 square feet, larger than any previous B-52 submission. Estimated maximum speed was 565 mph at 46,500 feet, and combat radius with a 10,000 pound bombload was estimated at 3550 miles. Gross weight was estimated at 330,000 pounds. It was felt that the use of jet engines would eliminate the need to tackle the unsolved problems with propeller aerodynamics and control, and a jet-powered B-52 would probably be available almost as quickly as the turboprop variant then under development. An engineer converted this new design into model form by using balsa wood purchased from a local hobby shop. On Monday morning, the Boeing team delivered their new proposal to the Air Force. Colonel Warden was immediately convinced, and decided that the B-52 would henceforth proceed as a jet-powered aircraft. Boeing immediately halted all work on the Model 464-35 mockup, which was then almost ready. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney was instructed to proceed with the J57 engine. After a final evaluation in January 1949, the Board of Senior Officers gave the new idea their approval, and decided to continue work on the Boeing proposal as a jet-powered aircraft. Boeing was informed on January 26 that the work on the jet-powered B-52 would proceed under the original contract. Although the jet-powered B-52 showed considerable promise, the severe budgetary squeeze enforced by the Truman administration on the Defense Department in late 1948 endangered the whole B-52 program. There was also some internal Air Force resistance to the project at several levels, since the decision to proceed with a jet-powered B-52 had leapfrogged over powerplant, armament and propeller divisions at Wright Field. The swept-wing turbojet-powered XB-52 mockup was inspected on April 26-29, 1949. The Air Force still had some reservations about the range, since the J57 engine at its current stage of development promised a combat radius of only 2700 nautical miles. General Orville R. Cook, the AMC Director of Procurement and Industrial Planning, was very unhappy about the low range and favored a review of the entire program and perhaps the scheduling of another competition. However, General LeMay, now the commander of the Strategic Air Command, was now thoroughly convinced and strongly backed the B-52, and suggested that the answer to the range problem lay in engine development and that it was unnecessary to accept inferior performance in either speed or range. In November 1949, convinced that the inadequate range of the Model 464-49 could seriously jeopardize the future of the entire project, Boeing undertook an effort to improve the range. As an answer, Boeing offered a heavier version known as the Model 464-67. The wing remained the same, but the length of the fuselage was increased to 152 feet 8 inches, offering more space for fuel. Gross weight was estimated at 390,000 pounds. Combat radius was estimated at 3500 miles. The Model 464-67 was looked upon favorably by SAC personnel, including General LeMay. On January 26, 1950, a conference was held at USAF Headquarters to consider once again the future of the B-52. Alternatives were considered once again, including new proposals from Douglas and Republic, Fairchild Aircraft Corporation's idea for a rail-launched flying wing, the swept-wing Convair YB-60, a Rand turboprop aircraft, two new designs based on the B-47, plus several missile aircraft. Although the meeting adjourned without reaching any firm decision, General LeMay still backed the B-52 as providing the best solution for SAC's strategic mission. In February 1950 the Air Staff requested performance and cost data for all the strategic vehicles so far proposed. In the same month, however, General LeMay asked the Board of Senior Officers to accept the Boeing 464-67 in lieu of the Model 464-49. This choice was approved by the Board on March 24, 1950, but there was still no definitive commitment to production. It was not until early 1951 that the decision was finally taken to commit the B-52 to production. By this time, the Korean War was in full fury, and the relations between the USA and the USSR were at a new low. General LeMay forcefully argued for the modernization of the strategic bombing force with the B-52. On January 9, 1951, USAF Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg approved a proposal that the B-52 be acquired as a replacement for the B-36. Letter Contract AF33(038)-21096, signed on February 14, 1951, was the first contract authorizing production. It called for an initial batch of 13 B-52As (with serials 52-0001/0013), with first delivery slated for April of 1953. Still more controversy broke out among the USAF hierarchy as to whether the B-52 would be better employed as a bomber or a reconnaissance aircraft. SAC wanted a dual-role aircraft which could accommodate a pod-mounted set of reconnaissance sensors that were easily removable so that the aircraft could quickly be reconfigured as a straightforward bomber. USAF Headquarters wanted the B-52 to concentrate on the reconnaissance role with the exclusion of everything else. In October of 1951, the Air Staff issued an order that all aircraft would be RB-52 reconnaissance aircraft. This directive was actually misleading, since it was agreed that the aircraft would retain the ability to be converted for bombardment operations. Early in 1951, General LeMay told Boeing that he thought that the tandem seating arrangement featured by the XB-52 mockup was poor. General LeMay believed that side-by-side seating of pilot and copilot was superior, since it allowed more room for flight instrumentation and permitted the copilot to be a better assistant to the pilot. In August 1951, it was decided that the Air Force would adopt the side-by-side arrangement, but that some of the early production B-52s would still retain the tandem seating arrangement. This was later amended to stipulate that only the two prototypes would retain the tandem seating arrangement, with all production machines having side-by side seating for pilot and copilot. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Boeing B-52 Stratofortress - Chapter 2: XB-52, YB-52 you are a bozo