[REF] Official Military Abbreviations

Hi guys,

I just thought that this thread might be useful for researching units, reading after-action reports or indeed writing reports up about past events on the WWII Forum .

This post begins the series, and looks at general abbreviations. These are official US military abbreviations as used during WW2:

General Abbreviations:

A - Arch or arroyo
abut - Abutment
b - Brick
BS - Blacksmith Shop
bot - Bottom
Br - Branch
br - Bridge
C - Cape
cem - Cemetery
con - Concrete
cov - Covered
Cr - Creek
cul - Culvert
DS - Drug Store
E - East
Est - Estuary
f - Fordable
Ft - Fort
GS - General Store
gir - Girder
GM - Grist Mill
i - Iron
I - Island
Jc - Junction
kp - King-post
L - Lake
Lat - Latitude
Ldg - Landing
LSS - Life-Saving Station
LH - Lighthouse
Long - Longitude
Mt - Mountain
Mts - Mountains
N - North
nf - Not Fordable
p - Pier
pk - Plank
PO - Post Office
Pt - Point
qp - Queen-post
R - River
RH - Roundhouse
RR - Railroad
2d - Second
S - South
s - Steel
SH - Schoolhouse
SM - Sawmill
Sta - Station
St - Stone
str - Stream
TG - Tollgate
3d - Third
Tres - Trestle
tr - Truss
WT - Water Tank
WW - Waterworks
W - West
w - Wood

I hope this is of some use,
Ben.

P.S. As a footnote, the official ordinal suffix for any number ending in 2 or 3 was simply "d", and not "nd" and "rd" respectively. So for example, officiaily during WW2 the 82nd Airborne Division should be written as 82d Abn Div.

The abbreviations listed below are authorized for use in combat orders, messages, records, and reports in the field. Typically they would be written without spacing, and usually a single word is represented by a single capital letter, or by a capital and lower case:

Acting - Actg
Adjutant General - AG
Adjutant's (section) - Adj (Sec)
Adjutant (1st staff section, brigades and lower units) - S-1
Adjutant General's Department - AGD
Administrative (orders) - Adm (O)
Advance - Adv
Advanced Guard - Adv Gd
Advance Message Center - Adv Msg Cen
Afternoon (i.e. from 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight) - PM
Aide-de-camp - ADC
Air base - AB
Air Corps - AC
Aircraft Warning Service - AWS
Air Defense Command - AD Comd
Airdrome - Adrm
Air District - A Dist
Air Force - AF
Air Force Combat Command - AFCC
Air Intelligence (section) (officer) - A Int (Sec) (O)
Airplane - AP
Airship - Ash
Ambulance (Company) (Company, Motor) (Section) - Amb (Co) (CoM) (Sec)
Ambulance Loading Post - ALP
American Expeditionary Force - AEF
Ammunition (Company) (Distribution Point) (Train) - Am (Co) (DP) (Tn)
Animal (animal-drawn) - Anl-d
Antiaircraft - AA
Antiaircraft Artillery - AAA
Antiaircraft Artillery Intelligence Service - AAAIS
Antiaircraft Intelligence Server - AAIS
Antimechanized - AMecz
Antitank - AT
Appendix - App
April - Apr
Armorer - Armr
Artificer - Artif
Armored (car) - Armd-C
Armored Force - Armd F
Army Air Forces - AAF
Army Engineer Service - A Engr Serv
Army Headquarters - AHQ
Army Medical (Laboratory) (Service) - A Med (Lab) (Serv)
Army Post Office - APO
Army Regulations - AR
Artillery (Brigade) (Horse) (Liaison Officer) - Arty (Brig) (H) (Ln O)
Assistant - Asst
Assistant Chief of Staff - AC of S
Assistant Chief of Staff for personnel - G-1
Assistant Chief of Staff for military intelligence - G-2
Assistant Chief of Staff for operations and training - G-3
Assistant Chief of Staff for supply - G-4
Attached - Atchd
Attack - Atk
Auxiliary - Aux
August - Aug
Automatic - Auto
Aviation - Avn
Axis or Axes of Signal Communication - Ax Sig Com

That concludes A!

Definately some useful stuff in there. Out...