It is commonly known as the Fighting Falcon. Then there is the F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft. Air Force personnel as “BUFF” which is short for “Big Ugly Fat F*****” or to some, Big Ugly Fat Fellow. Because of its massive size, the B-52 has a nickname among U.S. The B-52 is quite large with a length just over 159 feet long and a wingspan 185 feet wide. This behemoth of the sky has other unofficial nicknames given by the pilots that flew them.

The B-52 is officially known as the Stratofortress. The military may have an official name for each plane, but that does not stop the aircrew community from attributing their own. We’ve even heard of a pilot with the last name of Holmes who got the call sign “Mobile” for mobile homes. How about a play on a person’s name like the pilot whose real name is Michael Keaton and gets pegged by other pilots as “Batman”. It could be based on physical appearance like a pilot called “Inch” who is only 5’4” inches tall. One pilot earned the name “Berlin” because he turned his aircraft into a wall as he was taxiing. They most likely come from a pilot’s “buddies” who may see the pilot do something odd, funny, or even stupid. A pilot may want to be referred to as “Shooter” or “Maverick”, but call signs are often not as cool as one might expect. A small, quick kid may be “Squirrel” and big stocky kid “Tank”. If you had your choice, would you be Tiny, Hercules, Knuckles, or something different like Dabo? Let’s face it, nicknames are more often a result of what others choose for us.

What’s in a nickname? If you had a chance to give yourself a nickname what would it be? Would your nickname be a result of shortening your given name? For instance, Abby may be short for Abilene, Cal for Calvin, Annie for Anastasia, or Bill for William.

Us air force tank carrier