List of aviators by nickname
This is a list of aviators by nickname.
A
- "Aggy" – Noel Agazarian, British, Battle of Britain ace
 - "Assi" – Hans Hahn, German fighter pilot during World War II
 
B
- "Bake" – V. H. Baker, British pilot and aircraft designer[1]
 - "The Balloon Buster" – Frank Luke, American World War I fighter ace
 - "Bam" – C. S. Bamberger, British RAF World War II pilot
 - "Barron" – John Worrall, British World War II RAF pilot
 - "Beazle" – Hugh John Beazley, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Bee" – Roland Beamont, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Ben" – George Bennions, Battle of Britain ace
 - "Big Joe" – Joe McCarthy, RAF Bomber Command pilot (617 Squadron) in the Second World War
 - "Bing" – K. B. B. Cross, British World War II RAF pilot
 - "Bird" – Herbert Carmichael Irwin, Irish commander of British airships including R101[2]
 - "Black Swallow of Death" – Eugene Bullard, African-American World War I fighter pilot
 - "The Black Devil"(Russ.), "Bubi"(Ger.) – Erich Hartmann, German fighter ace[3]
 - "Blondie" – Arnold Walker, British World War II RAF pilot
 - "Bo" – Elwyn King, Australian World War I fighter ace
 - "Bobbi" – Evelyn Trout, American aviator
 - "Bomber" – Arthur T. Harris, British commander of RAF Bomber Command during World War II[4]
 - "Bomber George" – Harold L. George, USAAC precision bombing specialist (to distinguish him from "Fighter" George)
 - "Boom" – Hugh Trenchard, British World War I Royal Flying Corps general and founder of the Royal Air Force (for his loud voice)[5]
 - "Boy" 
- Peter Mould, British Second World War fighter ace
 - Geoffrey Wellum, British Second World War fighter pilot[6]
 
 - "Bubi" (German, "young boy", "kid") 
- Erich Hartmann, German fighter ace[3]
 - Alfred Schreiber, German jet ace
 
 - "Buck" – Robert McNair, Canadian fighter ace
 - "Bud" – George E. Day, American POW
 - "Bully" – Emil Lang, World War 2 Luftwaffe fighter ace
 - "Bunny" – Christopher Currant, British RAF fighter ace in World War II
 - "Butch" 
- Arthur T. Harris, British commander of RAF Bomber Command during World War II (from "butcher"; affectionately given by his men)
 - Edward O'Hare, American World War II fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient
 
 - "Butcher" – Arthur T. Harris, British commander of RAF Bomber Command (Air Chief Marshal) during World War II (affectionately given by his men)[7]
 - "Buzz" 
- Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., American aviator and astronaut
 - George Beurling, Canadian RAF fighter ace (a nickname he never acknowledged)
 
 
C
- "Cats Eyes" – John Cunningham, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Chappie" – Daniel James, Jr., American Air Force general[8]
 - "Chuck" – Charles Elwood Yeager, World War II USAAF fighter ace and first pilot to break the sound barrier in level flight
 - "Cobber" – Edgar J. Kain, Second World War RAF fighter ace
 - "Cobra" – Ronald Stein, USAF fighter ace
 - "Cocky" – Hugh Dundas, British Second World War RAF fighter ace[9]
 - "Cowboy" – Howard Peter Blatchford, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Crow" – Denis Crowley-Milling, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Cloudy" – Werner Christie, Norwegian fighter ace
 
D
- "Demon of Rabaul" – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service fighter ace
 - "Dizzy" – H. R. Allen, RAF fighter ace and author[10]
 - "Dogs" – John Dundas, RAF Battle of Britain fighter ace[11]
 - "Dogsbody" – Douglas Bader, RAF fighter ace (radio callsign while Wing Commander of Tangmere)
 - "Dolfo" – Adolf Galland, German fighter ace
 - "Dookie" – Jenna Dolan, first woman to fly the AV-8B Harrier II in combat[12]
 - "Dutch" – Petrus Hugo, South African WW2 pilot
 
E
- "The Eagle of Crimea" – Pavel V. Argeyev, Russian World War I flying ace
 
F
- "Fighter George" – Harold George, USAAC fighter ace (to distinguish him from "Bomber" George)
 - "Fighter of Libau" – Erich Rudorffer, World War II German ace
 - "Fish" – Herman Salmon, American test pilot[13]
 - "Flotte Lotte" – Charlotte Möhring, German female pilot[14]
 - "Flying Knight of the Northland" – Clennell H. Dickins, Canadian pioneer bush pilot
 
G
- "Gabby" – Francis Gabreski, American Army Air Force fighter ace
 - "Ginger" – James Lacey, British fighter ace
 - "Grumpy" - George Unwin, British fighter ace, Battle of Britain
 
H
- "Hamish" – T. G. Mahaddie, Bomber Command pilot, Pathfinder Force
 - "Hap" – Henry H. Arnold, American Army Air Forces commanding general
 - "Hasse" – Hans Wind, Finnish fighter ace
 - "Hilly" – Mark Henry Brown, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Hipshot" – Danny Hamilton, US Air Force Reserve
 - "Hoagy" – Peter Carmichael, British fighter pilot
 - "Hooter" – Steve Rainey, American test pilot[15]
 - "Hoppy" – Colin Hodgkinson, British fighter pilot
 
I
- "Igo" – Ignaz Etrich, Austrian aviator and aircraft builder
 - "Illu" – Ilmari Juutilainen, top Finnish World War II fighter ace
 
J
- "Jack" – John Frost, South African Air Force pilot
 - "Jake" – Leon Swirbul, co-founder of Grumman Aircraft
 - "JB" – James Brown, American test pilot[16]
 - "Jimmy" – John S. Thach, American Navy fighter ace[17]
 - "Johnnie" – James E. Johnson, British RAF fighter ace[5]
 - "Johnny" – George L. Johnson, British WW2 RAF bomber navigator
 
K
- "Kaos" – Art Nalls, American test pilot and air show pilot[18]
 - "Killer" – Clive Caldwell, Australian RAAF flying ace
 - "Kinch" – Iven Kincheloe, American test pilot
 
L
- "Little Dragon" – Muhammad Mahmood Alam, Pakistani fighter ace
 - "Lock" – Ormer Locklear, American stunt pilot
 - "Lucky Breeze" – George Scott, British Royal Naval Air Service pilot and airship pilot
 
M
- "The Mad Major" – Christopher Draper, British World War I fighter ace
 - "Mick" – Edward Mannock, British World War I fighter ace
 - "Mouse" – Gordon Cleaver, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Mutt" – Joseph Summers, British test pilot
 - "Miketop" – Mike Tendino, test pilot
 - "Mover" – C.W. Lemoine, American author, former military aviator, and YouTuber
 
O
- "One Armed Mac" – James MacLachlan, a British World War 2 ace who flew with a prosthetic arm
 
P
- "Paddy" 
- Hubert Adair, Battle of Britain pilot
 - Brendan Finucane, Irish World War II RAF fighter ace
 - W. H. Harbison, British RAF officer[19]
 
 - "Pancho" – Florence L. Lowe, American pioneer aviator
 - "Pappy" 
- Greg Boyington, American World War II U.S. Marine Corps fighter ace[20]
 - Paul Gunn, American World War II Army Air Force bomber pilot
 
 - "Pete" 
- Frank K. Everest, Jr., American test pilot
 - Marc Mitscher, American World War II carrier admiral
 - Elwood R. Queseda, American fighter ace
 
 - "Petit Rouge" (French: Little Red) – Manfred von Richthofen, German fighter ace
 - "Pick" - Percy Charles Pickard, well known in England during the Second World War, KIA during the Amiens prison raid
 - "Pritzl" – Heinz Bär, German fighter ace, because of his affection for Pritzl candy bars.
 - "Punch" – Clennell H. Dickins, Canadian pioneer bush pilot
 
R
- "Ratsy" – George Preddy, P-51 Mustang ace
 - "Red" – Eugene Tobin, American who flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain
 - "The Red Baron" (German, der Rote Baron) – Manfred von Richthofen, German fighter ace
 - "The Red Battle-flyer" (German: der rote Kampfflieger) – Manfred von Richthofen, German fighter ace
 - "The Red Knight" – Manfred von Richthofen, German fighter ace
 - "Reeste" – Heinz Bär, German fighter ace
 
S
- "Sailor" – Adolph Malan, South African RAF fighter ace[21]
 - "Sandy" – Brian Lane, RAF Battle of Britain pilot, Squadron Leader and fighter ace
 - "Sexy Rexy" – Ola Mildred Rexroat, Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) aviator[22]
 - "Shorty" – Vernon Keogh, American who flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain (named for diminutive height)[23]
 - "The Silver Fox" – Robert L. Stephens, record-setting American test pilot[24]
 - "Skip" – Jean Ziegler, American test pilot on Bell X-1 program
 - "Slew" – John S. McCain, Sr., American naval aviator and chief of Bureau of Aeronautics
 - "Snort" – Dale Snodgrass, American naval aviator, demonstration pilot, and commander of Fighter Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet
 - "Snow Eagle" – Clennell H. Dickins, Canadian pioneer bush pilot
 - "Spig" – Frank W. Wead, U.S. Navy aviator and screenwriter
 - "Spuds" – Theodore Ellyson, pioneer U.S. Navy aviator
 - "Stan" – Roderic Dallas, top Australian fighter ace of World War I
 - "Stapme" – Gerald Stapleton, British Battle of Britain fighter ace
 - "Strafer" – Geoffrey Warnes, No. 263 Squadron RAF
 - "Stuffy" – Hugh Dowding, British commander of RAF Fighter Command from before the war into the Battle of Britain[21]
 - "Sawn Off Locky" – Eric Lock, Battle of Britain pilot
 
T
- "Taffy" – Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Fighter Command Group commander during the Battle of Britain
 - "Tex" – David L. Hill, American fighter pilot
 - "Tim" – John Elkington, Battle of Britain pilot
 - "Timbertoes" – Sydney Carlin, Battle of Britain gunner who lost a leg in World War I
 - "Titch" – George Palliser, Battle of Britain pilot
 
U
- "Uncle Wiggly Wings" – Gail S. Halvorsen, American Air Force officer[25]
 
W
- "Wop" – Wilfrid R. May, Canadian pioneer bush pilot
 - "Whitey" – Edward L. Feightner, American fighter ace and Blue Angels solo[26]
 - "White Eagle" – Clennell H. Dickins, Canadian pioneer bush pilot
 - "Willie" – Hugh Wilson, RAF aviator
 - "Winkle" – Eric Brown, British naval aviator and test pilot
 - "Wrong Way" – Douglas Corrigan, American aviator (from having to lie to Civil Aeronautics Board to fly the Atlantic)
 
Z
- "Zulu" 
- Albert Lewis, Battle of Britain pilot
 - George Lloyd World War I pilot
 
 
See also
- Nickname
 - Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
 
References
- ^ Valentine Henry Baker funeral brochure. Martin-Baker Co. 1942.
 - ^ Long, Patrick (2009), "Irwin, Herbert Carmichael", in McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.), Dictionary of Irish Biography, vol. 4, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 921–922
 - ^ a b Erich Hartmann
 - ^ Saward, Dudley (1984). "Bomber" Harris : the story of Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir Arthur Harris, Bt, GCB, OBE, AFC, LLD, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Bomber Command, 1942-1945. London: Buchan & Enright. OCLC 11082290.
 - ^ a b Johnson, Johnny E. (1964). Full Circle: The Story of Air Fighting. London: Chatto and Windus. OCLC 2486377.
 - ^ Wellum, Geoffrey (2002). First Light. New York: Viking Books. ISBN 0-670-91248-4.
 - ^ Hastings, Max (1979). Bomber Command. New York: Dial Press/James Wade. OCLC 5170758.
 - ^ "National Museum of the USAF - Photos". Archived from the original on 2010-09-05. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
 - ^ The Most Dangerous Enemy, p.362.
 - ^ Allen, Hubert Raymond "Dizzy" (1974). Who Won the Battle of Britain?. London: Barker. ISBN 978-0-213-16489-8. OCLC 1092232.
 - ^ Kershaw, Alex (2008). The Few: July-October 1940. Penguin. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-14-101850-8.
 - ^ Kellner, Tomas (November 13, 2012). "What We Need To Win: GE Hires 1,000 Vets In 2012, Hits Its Goal". GE Reports. Fairfield, Connecticut: General Electric. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
 - ^ Caidin, Martin. Thunderbirds.; Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame (retrieved 29 January 2019)
 - ^ Gernoth, Jo (15 October 2015). "Die flotte Lotte". derwesten.de (in German). Funke Mediengruppe. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
 - ^ Reynolds, Linda KC (February 6, 2015). "Lockheed Martin pilot hits 1,000 hours in Raptor". Aerotech News and Review. 28 (44). Lancaster, California: Aerotech News and Review, Inc.: 1. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
 - ^ *Reynolds, Linda KC (April 13, 2012). "Lockheed chief test pilot hits 1,000 hours in Raptor" (PDF). Aerotech News and Review. 28 (11). Lancaster, California: Aerotech News and Review, Inc.: 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
 - ^ Wikipedia, John Thach
 - ^ Johnson, Jenna (January 2, 2008). "Flying Back in Time, In His Own Warplane". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
 - ^ Copp, Tara (May 25, 2015). "Inside old log book, memories of heroism". The Washington Examiner. Washington, D.C. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
 - ^ Boyington, Gregory (1958). Baa baa, black sheep. New York: Putnam. OCLC 2124961.
 - ^ a b Deighton, Len (1977). Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain. London: Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-01422-9. OCLC 3388095.
 - ^ staff, Nick Penzenstadler Journal (11 November 2010). "Last surviving South Dakota WASP, 'Sexy Rexy,' recalls World War II service". rapidcityjournal.com.
 - ^ "Battle of Britain London Monument – P/O V C KEOUGH". Bbm.org.uk. 1941-02-15. Archived from the original on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
 - ^ Williams, Phillip (August 21, 1999). "Airport renamed for "Fox" Stephens". The Gilmer Mirror. Vol. 122, no. 67. Gilmer, Texas. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
 - ^ "National Museum of the USAF - Photos". www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
 - ^ Veronico, Nicholas A. (2005). The Blue Angels: A Fly-By History: Sixty Years of Aerial Excellence (Illustrated ed.). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint. p. 46. ISBN 0-7603-2216-3.