The Dive Bomber (11 page)

rudder:
a device used to steer ships or aircraft. A rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern or tail. In typical aircraft, pedals operate rudders via mechanical linkages.
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rumble:
rumble seat; an upholstered exterior seat in the back of a car with a hinged lid that opens to form the back of the seat when in use.
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Scheherazade:
the female narrator of
The Arabian Nights,
who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories.
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Sing Sing:
a maximum security prison approximately thirty miles north of New York City in the town of Ossining. The name comes from the original name of the town that was “Sing Sing.”
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slipstream:
the airstream pushed back by a revolving aircraft propeller.
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stall:
a situation in which an aircraft suddenly dives because the airflow is obstructed and lift is lost. The loss of airflow can be caused by insufficient airspeed or by an excessive angle of an airfoil (part of an aircraft's surface that provides lift or control) when the aircraft is climbing.
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struts:
supports for a structure such as an aircraft wing, roof or bridge.
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superstructure:
cabins and rooms above the deck of a ship.
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tab trim:
the adjustment of the tab, a small, adjustable hinged surface, located on the trailing edge of the aileron, rudder or elevator control surface. It is adjusted by the pilot to maintain balance and to help stabilize the aircraft in flight.
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tarmac:
airport runway.
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tars:
sailors.
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terminal velocity:
the constant speed that a falling object reaches when the downward gravitational force equals the frictional resistance of the medium through which it is falling, usually air.
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thirty-thirty:
.30-30; a cartridge approximately .30" in diameter, originally having a powder charge of 30 grains, which is the source of its name.
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three-mile limit:
the outer limit of the area extending three miles out to sea from the coast of a country, sometimes considered to constitute the country's territorial waters.
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Tommy gun:
Thompson submachine gun; a light portable automatic machine gun.
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tracer:
a bullet or shell whose course is made visible by a trail of flames or smoke, used to assist in aiming.
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Treasury Department:
an executive department of the US federal government, which in addition to administering the treasury of the US government also carries out certain law enforcement activities, including investigating and prosecuting smugglers, gun law violators and other threats to national security.
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under the hammer:
for sale at public auction.
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under weigh:
in motion; underway.
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well deck:
the space on the main deck of a ship lying at a lower level between the bridge and either a raised forward deck or a raised deck at the stern, which usually has cabins underneath.
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Western Front:
term used during World War I and II to describe the “contested armed frontier” (otherwise known as “the front”) between lands controlled by the Germans to the East and the Allies to the West. In World War I, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches stretching from the coast of the North Sea, southward to the Swiss border that was the Western Front. This line remained essentially unchanged for most of the war. In 1918 the relentless advance of the Allied armies persuaded the German commanders that defeat was inevitable and the government was forced to request armistice.
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whipstall:
a maneuver in a small aircraft in which it goes into a vertical climb, pauses briefly, and then drops toward the earth, nose first.
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windsock:
a fabric tube or cone attached at one end to the top of a pole to show which way the wind is blowing.
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wingover:
also known as the Immelmann turn; an aerial maneuver named after World War I flying ace Max Immelmann. The pilot pulls the aircraft into a vertical climb, applying full rudder as the speed drops, then rolls the aircraft while pulling back slightly on the stick, causing the aircraft to dive back down in the opposite direction. It has become one of the most popular aerial maneuvers in the world.
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Yank:
Yankee; term used to refer to Americans in general.
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