Phonetic Alphabet

Introduction

In the early period of human aviation history, the method of communication with the people on aircraft was by shouting and displaying large visual signals on the ground. However, this seems impractical as aircraft flew higher and higher.

The phonetic alphabet came into use during World War II when flying increased at so great a rate. The Royal Air Force began using alphabets to identify aircraft.

During WW II most radio transmissions were made on low frequency wave-length bands. These frequencies, which are capable of long-range transmission, are generally somewhat unclear and will pick up static, lightning, and other interference. Therefore, it was difficult to understand many of the messages. Late in the war, high frequency with greater clarity was introduced. However, the problems of weak transmission from long distance and poor enunciation by many pilots made it imperative that this system be continued.

Letters

Letters pronounced on the radio can be difficult to understand due to the similarity of the sound of many letters. To avoid confusion, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had adopted a system of words, one representing each letter of the alphabet.

Numbers

Numbers are used in almost every radio call. Except for whole hundreds and thousands, pronounce each digit of a number separately. when a number has a decimal point in it, say the word decimal at the proper place. To avoid misunderstandings, the pronunciation of some digits differs from that used in normal conversation.