Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 9.djvu/613

 12 s. ix. DEO. 24, i92i.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 503- CIRCUS. The Circus was the name always given to the band of multicoloured and very fast j small scouting machines led by Richthofen, | the leading German airman, from the begin- i ning of 1917 until his death in 1918. The j machines, which generally made their appearance fifteen or twenty at & time, were painted with all the colours of the rainbow, red, blue, green, in stripes, stars, and Futur- istic effects, and the picture they presented as they appeared from behind a cloud on a fine summer's day, while terrifying to the last degree, was certainly striking enough to justify the name of the " Circus." COCKPIT. The observer's compartment in an aeroplane, with its machine-gun, ammuni- tion, Very light, pistol, and other fighting paraphernalia, was called the cockpit. COLD (YOU LEAVE ME). You annoy me. COMIC BUSINESS. Plying. CONK OUT (TO). To give out, to fail. An aero- plane engine never failed, it always " conked out." CONTOUR CHASING. Flying very low. COUGH IT UP. Speak out. DATE (TO HAVE A). To have an appointment. DEATH WARMED UP (TO FEEL LIKE). To feel ill. DECK (OFF THE). Leaving the ground. DEEP END (TO GO OFF THE). To get excited or angry. DOG-FIGHT. A fight between large numbers of scout machines, during which, owing to the terrific speed and high manoeuvring powers of their craft, the pilots often found them- selves obliged to devote all their time and efforts to avoiding collisions, rather than to bringing down the enemy. Collisions were, indeed, only too frequent in the course of these " scraps," and accounted for many casualties. With so large a number of machines manoevring at high speed in so small a space, bullets too were apt to reach friend instead of foe. FAGGOT, YOU ! (YOU OLD). You silly old woman. FLAMING ONIONS. An anti-aircraft device of the Germans, the precise nature of which, or its means of propulsion, seems never to have been clearly established. Its object was clearly to set fire to the machine. Seen from close quarters this projectile appeared to take the form of a sequence of green flaming spheres ; by the manner in which they followed each other up and then fell after reaching the top of their trajectory many pilots and observers thought that they were joined together, and some indeed claimed to have seen the string or wire. In any case, they must have been very dis- appointing to the Germans, for there was never an authenticated instance of a machine having been brought down by them. FLIP. A flight (or, to fly). LYING KITE. Aeroplane. rora-FLUSHEB. A cheat or " swanker." rADGET. Almost any instrument or device on an aeroplane was, and probably still is, a gadget. GROUND-WALLAHS. The term by which those officers of the corps whose duties, either technical or administrative, did not take them into the air, were known. In the words of a leading light of the Royal Flying Corps, " They loop not, neither do they spin." GUBBINS. Stuff, personal belongings, stores. &c. HARRY TATE. R.E.8 aeroplane. HECTIC SHOW. Dangerous flying. HOT AIR. Not war slang, as it was used before 1914, but very frequently heard in the corps in reference to the reports of those pilots or observers who were inclined to report rather more important enemy move- ments on the ground than they had actually observed. HUN. Applied to the enemy, of course, but more usually understood in the Royal Flying Corps to apply to an officer undergoing a course of instruction as a pilot. JOY-BIDE. A flight undertaken for purposes of pleasure (sic) or sight-seeing. JOY-STICK. In simple language, the lever which was pulled back if the machine were required to go up, and pushed forward if it were required to go down. LAD OF THE VILLAGE. Cheery companion. MANGLE. An affectionate (or otherwise) nick- name for a machine-gun. MUTTON-FISTED. Heavy on controls of plane. OFFICE. The pilot's seat. With its many in- struments, writing-pad, speaking-tube, &c., the name was an apt one. ONE OF THE BOYS. Cheery companion. j OUTFIT. Squadron. PANCAKE LANDING (TO). To lose flying speed and drop vertically. (Vide inf. : Pile up one's bus.) PASS our (TO). To die. PILE UP ONE'S BUS (TO). To crash. Owing to him losing Owing to his engine his prop he pan- stopping (propeller caked landing, and ceasing to revolve) piled up his bus, he did not have with the result that flying speed and he went bar-poo and dropped vertically, was wonky for a crashing his aero- long time afterwards. plane, with the result that he lost his nerve and didn't thorough- ly regain it for a long time afterwards. PROG. Food. QUIRK. The name given to the B.E. type of machine, which, while stable, was a very slow and stately sort of craft. ROLL (TO). To turn the machine completely over sideways. A side-loop. RUMBLE TO IT (TO). Grasp the meaning of. SNAFFLED. Caught. SNIP. Easy. until the machine automatically loses flying speed and falls out of control. . Often done unintentionally with disastrous consequences. SPOT OF BOTHEB. A little trouble. STOUT FELLOW. A brave man. STUNTING. Elaborate flying. THRUSTER. A zealous or keen person. Often applied to a strafing colonel or general. TAXI-DRIVER. Pilot. i WRITE-OFF. A complete and hopeless crash, by which the machine was placed absolutely beyond all hopes of any further use, and its
 * STALL (TO). To keep the nose pointing upwards