Was perusing a book that has all of MvR's combat reports but not in it's original German but English translations - my German is weak from years of disuse since my mother passed.

In one of his reports, don't know why I never noticed this before now, the word "archie" is used for AA artillery.
As we all know "archie" is a British slang term from the phrase "Archibald, certainly not!" - a line from a period play or song - I forget which.

Anyway I must presume this was a addition from a English translator? I can't imagine the Germans used the term "archie" in their reports or conversation for AA artillery.
On that subject what would the formal German word be for AA artillery?
Did they have a slang term for it like the British?

And since the Americans did everything the French way what was the French term for it for our French speakers? Did they also have a slang name they used?
I am trying to remember from the American first person accounts as I type and I do not remember. I think they also used the word "archie" but I am not sure at this moment.

.

Duke, you may find this thread of interest: Flak

I learned I was wrong in the course of this discussion so for me it was most useful.

.

Very interesting.
Guess we got the English and Germans (mostly) covered.
How about the French? We have a couple of French members here.

Hey, Duke - Lou was faster; I would have led you to the same thread.

Here is an excerpt from German WIKIPEDIA about the development of that weapon:

"Als Hauptziel sahen militärische Taktiker zunächst weniger das gegnerische Flugzeug,
sondern den Fesselballon oder das Militärluftschiff, daher setzte sich anfänglich die
Bezeichnung BAK für Ballonabwehrkanone durch.
Sie wurde im Mai 1916 in Flugabwehrkanone geändert."

"The military tacticians first regarded less the enemy aircraft as the main targets,
but the observation balloon(s) or the military airship(s); so initially the term
'BAK' for 'Ballonabwehrkanone' won through.
It was changed into "Flugabwehrkanone" in May 1916."

I have no remember for a slang used by the french for this. They called it "Batterie contre Avions", "Artillerie contre Avions", and I recently read in an Escadrille diary a "Victoire homologuée par l' AAA" (Victory confirmed by the Artillerie Anti-Aérienne).

Thanks Olham and actionjoe.

.

actionjoe, I have run across various French slang for artillery but, like the examples you've given, these tend to be for the field pieces themselves and not the actual explosions that appear in the sky around intruding aeroplanes. In most of the contemporary French readings, as well as those from shortly after the war, the term generally used by the French pilotes for the AA bursts is "obus", which reads "shell" or "shells" in English. To the slang terms I mentioned earlier they are as follows:

75mm - distribution
77mm - miaules
120mm - pétard, or pipes
150mm - gros noir
210mm - intendance, métro, or ravitaillement
280mm - Charles Humbert
305mm - train de permissionnaire
420mm - marmite

Given the above slang you might think that WWI French fliers would have referred to AA as either "distribution" or "miaules" as 75mm and 77mm were the standard German AA guns at the time, but I've never seen either term used in that context. I should add that I have seen some of these terms used in writings that mention the observer's notes on the damage seen being caused during a bombardment. Also, I believe these terms were used by the men in the trenches who identified the calibre of incoming shells by the unique sounds they made, (in addition to the amount of dirt each could kick up).

.

I did a Google search in German and found the following 1916 entry in the diary of a German general:

"Ich war in Ostende beim Flak-Kurs." (I was in Ostend on a AA course.")

Think that clinches it.

"Flak-Kurs".
Interesting. In fact I am very curious now. Of course I don't have my books in front of me but I notice the German AA units seem to have different names. One unit was called a "KFlak" (Flak-Kurs?) followed by the unit number - in this case "KFlak 98"
What's up with the different unit names? All AA but different roles? Different calibers? AA but different weapon types?

"K Flak" seems to have been used for anti-aircraft guns mounted on vehicles.
"K" stands for "Kraftwagen" (vehicle).
So a K Flak unit would have been the crew for and with such a vehicle with an AA gun.

Here is a link - don't blame me for the website; it just offered the explanation.

Kaiserbunker-Website

What's wrong with the website? Unless I missed something. Everyone likes a dog!
Anyway in the photo of the crew with their gun you can see the chalkboard sign that they are displaying. I think it says KFlak Batt 188"? Interesting. Thanks Olham.
One could make a hobby out of the study of the various AA units for both sides and their weapons.

In reading loss reports for both sides AA was not to be taken lightly and was quite a killer.

EDIT: Hey Lou you should go to the main page. Quite a few photos of period Allied uniforms under "RFC"

Maybe nothing is wrong with it - I didn't check it out; I only saw the thing we wanted
to know, and posted it. I just wrote that to not be made responsible, if there should
be any irritating contents.

Ah!
I do understand sir.

.

Duke, I have been using the Kaiser's Bunker as a reference source for quite a few years now, but thank you for the heads-up. Nice to know you're looking out for me Sir.

.

Checked the site again and remembered it from my early CombatAce days.
Seems it is not a German site, despite the name.
And a guy who loves his Dachshund so much, cannot be a bad person really.

official language use did also know "Bak" (Ballon Abwehr Kannone) as in 1914 the air defence units often had their old designations of beeing anti-balloon troops. Richthofen used the general word "Abwehrgeschütze" in the german text, just for pointers on language..

Thanks. Looks like the Germans used a whole lot of words for the various types of AA.

To complete the words list: when they spoke about AA puffs, they called them "Sprengwölkchen" (blast puffs).

A song.

Archibald; Certainly Not!

Salute

Can't remember which book it was, and I have looked for about an hour now, but one German Pilot called them "Sprengpunkte" or exploding points/dots.

did a quick look through that link given by Lou about FLAK.
Found JFM's document and read the last lines. It says that the enemy has moved his AA Battery/elements/ even closer to the front and that the "Flakfeuer" is more intense now at yperen.

So to me, after reading the report, it sounds like Archie/Flak is being called Flakfeuer (Flakfire)[u][/u]

and that makes sence as it is just that, Flak-fire, and as it is one word its easy to enough to say. I could also imagine that after weeks/months of filling in reports that tired pilots (and clerks) would just shorten the thing to "Flak" and assumed everyone knows whats being meant.