Nautical terms and naval slang
Aboard – On or in a vessel
Action Stations – A signal to prepare for battle and assigned positions
Admiralty – The authority in charge of the Royal Navy
Aft – Part of a vessel towards the stern (rear)
Afternoon Watch – Period of duty between 12:00 to 16:00 hours
Aldis Lamp – Electronic lamp that sends Morse code messages
All Hands – Entire ship’s company
Aloft – In the rigging of a mast
Amidships – The middle section of a ship
Auxiliary Ship – Support vessel for warships
Articles of War – Regulations that govern naval forces
AWOL – Absent With-Out Leave
Battle Honours – Badge to recognise military achievements
Battlecruiser – A form of battleship used in WWI
Battleship – A large, heavily armoured warship
Beaufort Scale – Grades of wind strength
Bells – RAN slang for ship’s cells
Berth – A place where vessels moor when not at sea
Block Ships – Boat deliberately sunk to block a waterway
Boatswain – A non-commissioned officer responsible for sails, ropes and boats
Boiler Room – A compartment containing a vessel’s boiler or furnace
Boom – Mast or yards, that lay on board in reserve
Bow – Front of a vessel
Buoy – A floating marker often designating a mooring or a channel
Bridge – A structure above the weather deck housing the command centre
Bugger Boys – RAN slang for homosexual sailors
Bugle Calls – Musical notes denoting various commands
Bulkhead – Dividing walls between compartments
Burial at Sea – Disposal of human remains in a canvas shroud at sea
Cabin – An enclosed room on a deck or flat
Cable – Wire rope
Capital Ship – The biggest and most important warships, usually battleships
Carley Float – Large canvas emergency life raft
Chain Locker – Storage for anchor chains
Clinker Launch – Cabin cruiser made of Huon pine
Collier – a vessel used to haul coal to power WWI warships
Convoy – A group of ships sailing together for mutual protection
Corvette – Smallest class of warship
Court Martial – Military tribunal that rules on charges following a breach of discipline
Cruiser – Armoured warship smaller than a battleship
Deport Ship – Mobile or fixed base to support other ships
Derrick – Lifting device with a mast and boom
Destroyer – A fast and manoeuvrable warship
Diamond Formation – Anti-aircraft naval manoeuvre
Dockyard – A facility where boats are built and repaired
Dog Watch – A short watch between 16:00 and 20:00 hours
Dreadnought – An early form of battleship
Drill Hall – Place where military training is conducted
Engine Room – Machinery space containing the vessel’s main engine
Ensign – Flag indicating nationality
Fathom – A unit of naval measurement equal to six feet
Ferry – A boat that carries people and goods over a short distance
Flag Officer – Formal rank conferred on senior officers in command of a squadron or port
Flagship –-A vessel used by the commanding officer of a squadron
Fleet – A number of squadrons or task forces/groups or flotillas
Flotilla – Two or more ships, usually destroyers, minesweepers or submarines
Funnel – A smokestack on a vessel
Gangway – An opening in the bulwark of a ship to allow passengers to board
G-Bugle – A bugle built in the key of G for signalling various stations and watches
Graving Dock – a form of dry dock
Hammock – Canvas sheets slung from deckhands in mess decks in which seamen sleep
Hanging From The Yardarm – death by strangulation using a rope pulled by the crew
Harbour – A place where ships can shelter from a storm
Hatch – A covered opening in a ship’s deck
HMS – Her Majesty’s Ship
HMAS – Her Majesty’s Australian Ship
HMAT – Her Majesty’s Australian Transport
Hoist – Mechanical lifting device
Jetty – Barrier against sea tides and erosion
Kin’s Regulations – Orders that guide discipline and personal conduct in the military
Knot(s) – Unit of speed: 1 nautical mile equals 1.15 miles per hour
Ladder – All stairs on vessels
Liberty (men) – Sailors allowed shore leave
Lower Deck – The deck immediately above the hold
Lumpers – Dock side workers who load and unload ships
Master-at-Arms – A non-commissioned officer responsible for discipline
Matelot – Slang for sailor
Merchant Navy – Fleet of commercial cargo ships
Mess Deck – An eating and sleeping place for seamen on a warship
Midships – The middle section of a vessel
Midshipman – An officer cadet
Mine – An underwater explosive device designed to sink vessels
Minesweeper – A vessel designed to lay and clear mines
Mole – A breakwater
Moor – To attach a boat to a mooring buoy or post
Morse Code – Electronic encoded messaging scheme
Ordinary Seaman – A seaman of one to two years’ experience: the lowest rank
Overboard – Falling into the sea
Paravane – An underwater glider to cut mine cables
Passageway – Hallway on a ship
Paymaster – Officer responsible for all money matters and provisioning
Pennant – A long, thin triangular flag flown from the masthead of a warship
Picket Boat – 50 foot harbour patrol boat
Pier – Vessel landing structure
Piping – Whistle sound used to signal commands on a warship
Port – The lefthand side of a vessel facing the front (a red light at night)
Porthole –-A window on a ship, usually round
Prisoner’s Friend – Defence counsel in a court martial
Quarterdeck – The aftermost deck on a warship
Radar – Acronym for Radio Detection And Ranging
Rating – A junior enlisted sailor in the Royal Navy; also called a ‘bluejacket’; also a performance review of officers and ratings
Regatta – A series of boat races
Rig – Sailors uniform
Scuttlebutt – Slang for gossip
Shore Leave – Free time give to officers and crew of a vessel in port
Sickbay – The compartment reserved for medical treatment
Squadron – Two or more capital ships (battleships, cruisers or aircraft carriers)
Starboard – The right side of a vessel facing forward (a green light at night)
Station – A naval area under a commander in chief
Stern – The rear of a ship
Stokers – A marine engineering rating
Stoke Hold – A boiler and furnace compartment
Submarine – An underwater boat that usually fires torpedoes and lays mines
Submarine Tender – A vessel designed to support submarines
Tanker – A ship that carries fuel for other vessels
Task Force – A group of ships formed for a specific mission
Tiller – Lever used to steer a boat
Torpedo – An underwater self-propelled weapon with an explosive warhead
Troopship – A vessel designed to carry soldiers
Tug – Vessel used to manoeuvre a warship
Turret – An enclosed armoured mount housing cannons
Wake – Turbulence of a vessel
Wardroom – Living area for commissioned officers
Wash – The waves created by a vessel
Wharf – Dock for ships to load and unload
Winch (Wynch quoted in Mutineers) – Device used to adjust tension of a rope of wire cable