The Navy Department Library
U.S. Naval Abbreviations
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
--B--
Note: Where the same abbreviation has more than one meaning, the several meanings have been arranged alphabetically. Abbreviations preceded by an asterisk (*), other than Navy numbers, may never be used singly; those preceded by the symbol for number (#) are the Bureau of Personnel Condensation Code for use in dispatch orders to personnel.
B -- First letter in the Navy aircraft designation, indicating a bomber plane
B -- Beech Aircraft Company (manufacturer's symbol)
B -- Biplane
B -- Boeing Aircraft Company (manufacturer's symbol)
B -- Boeing Aircraft of Canada, Ltd. (manufacturer's symbol)
B -- Boilermaker
B -- Bomber Field
B -- Built for British (suffix to plane designation, as: F4F-4B)
B -- Budd Manufacturing Company (manufacturer's symbol)
IVB -- Classified Civil Service Worker
B -- Ship Symbols preceded by B represent Lend-Lease vessels for Royal Navy; e.g.: BAm is British Minesweeper
B -- Butcher
B-314 -- "Clipper"; four-engine Navy Transport (VR (HS)), seaplane, manufactured by Boeing; formerly Pan-American "Clipper")
BA -- Balboa, Canal Zone
BA -- British Admiralty
BA -- British Army
BABS -- Blind Approach Beam System (radar)
BAC -- British Air Commission (Washington)
BACC -- British-American Coordinating Committee (Turkey)
BAD -- British Admiralty Delegation (Washington)
#BAGAIR -- (Total pounds) baggage authorized while in an air travel status
BAGR -- BuAer General Representative (formerly, General Inspector of Naval Aircraft)
BAGR, ED -- BuAer General Representative, Eastern District
BAGR, CD -- BuAer General Representative, Central District
BAGR, WD -- BuAer General Representative, Western District
BAIRES -- Buenos Aires
BAK -- Cargo Ship (Lend-Lease to Great Britain)
BAKA (foolish) -- Allied name for Japanese Oka (rocket propelled one man guided missile); earlier, called "Viper"
Baker -- "B" in the phonetic alphabet
*BAKS -- Barracks
BAL -- Balance
BALDNY -- Ballistic Density
BALWND -- Ballistic Wind
BAM -- British Air Ministry
BAm -- Mine Sweeper (Lend-Lease to Great Britain)
BAMO -- Bureau of Aeronautics Material Officer
BAMRO -- Bureau of Aeronautics Maintenance Repair Officer
BAMRRO -- Bureau of Aeronautics Maintenance Resident Representative Officer
BAMS -- Broadcast to Allied Merchant Ships
BAMSR -- British Admiralty Maintenance and Supply Representative
BAR -- Browning Automatic Rifle
BAR -- Bureau of Aeronautics Representative (formerly Inspector of Naval Aircraft)
BARDay -- Bureau of Aeronautics Representative, Dayton, Ohio
BARM -- British Admiralty Repair Mission
BARR -- Bureau of Aeronautics Resident Representative
BARS -- Salvage Vessel (Lend-Lease to Great Britain)
BaseFor -- Base Force
BaseServUnit -- Base Service Unit
Bat -- Battalion (USMC)
*BAT -- Battle, Battleship
BAT -- Oceangoing Tug (Lend-Lease to Great Britain)
BatCruLant -- Battleships and Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet
BatCruPac -- Battleships and Cruisers, Pacific Fleet
BatDiv -- Battleship Division
BatFor -- Battle Force
BatLant or BatShipsLant -- Battleships, Atlantic Fleet
BatPac or BatShipsPac -- Battleships, Pacific Fleet
BatRon -- Battleship Squadron
BATSHIP -- Battleship, Battleforce
BatshipsBatForPac -- Battleships, Battle Force, Pacific Fleet
BAVG -- Aircraft Carrier Escort (lend-Lease to GB)
BAYONGRU -- Bayonne Group
B/B -- Baby Incendiary Bomb
BB -- Battleship
BBB -- Basic Boxed Base
BBC -- Bombenzyl Cyanide
BBH -- Battalion Beachhead (Army)
BBL -- Barrel
BC -- Battery Commander (Army)
BC -- Battle Cruiser (GB)
BC -- United States East Coast to Society Islands (routing designation)
BCD -- Bad Conduct Discharge
BCDD -- Base Construction Depot Detachment
Bcn -- Bombardment calling wave
BCRA -- Bureau Centrale de Renseignements et d'Action (Free French)
BD -- Bomb Disposal
BD-# -- "Havoc"; twin-engine Navy bomber (VB), manufactured by Douglas
BdD&M -- Board of Decorations and Medals
BDE -- Escort Vessel (Lend-Lease to GB)
BDGC -- Bad conduct discharge, general court martial, after confinement in prison
BDGI -- Bad conduct discharge, general court martial, immediate
BDGP -- Bad conduct discharge, general court martial, after violation of probation
BDI -- Bearing Deviation Indicator (Sonar)
BDSI -- Bad conduct discharge, sentence of summary court martial, immediate
BDSP -- Bad conduct discharge, summary court martial, after violation of probation
"Bearcat" -- See F8F-#
Benef -- Beneficiary
B Eng -- Basic Engineering
"Bermuda" -- See SB2A-#
BerSeaPat -- Bering Sea Patrol
Beth -- Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
BEW -- Board of Economic Warfare
BF -- Brought Forward
BFM -- Basic Field Manual (Army)
Bfo -- Beat frequently oscillator
BG -- British Guiana
BG-# -- Single-engine Navy bomber (VB), biplane, manufactured by Great Lakes
BGM -- Basegram
BGM -- Buglemaster
Bgmstr -- Buglemaster
BGPP -- Beneficiary Government Production Program
BHO -- Branch Hydrographic Office
BHQ -- Brigade Headquarters (Army)
BI -- Bermuda Islands
BI -- Biographical inventory
BIGOT -- British Messages Replanning and Direction of Major Operations
BIM -- Basic Industrial Materials (Program)
BIO -- Branch Intelligence Officer
BIS -- Board of Inspection and Survey
BJM -- Bluejacket's Manual
BJSM -- British Joint Staff Mission
BJU -- Beach jumper Unit
BK -- Yardarm Blinker
BKR -- Baker
Bks -- Barracks
BKT -- Blinker Tube
B/L -- Bill of Lading
BL -- Bomb Line
"Black Widow" -- See FT-#
BLADING -- Bill of Lading
BlimpHedron -- Blimp Maintenance Squadron
BlimpRon -- Blimp Squadron
BLO -- Bombardment Liaison Officer
BLO -- British Liaison Officer
Block -- Airborne television system
*BLP -- Bombing landplane
BLT -- Battalion Landing Team (Army)
BL&T -- Blind Loaded and Traced
BM -- Boatswain's Mate
BM1 -- Boatswain's Mate 1st class
BM2 -- Boatswain's Mate 2nd class
B-M -- Boilers, Propulsion Division of Engineering Department aboard a carrier
BMCBB -- Boatswain's Mate, Construction Battalion, Boatswain
BMCBS -- Boatswain's Mate, Construction Battalion, Stevedore
BMD -- Base Maintenance Division
BMG -- Browning Machine Gun
BMKR -- Boilermaker
BMM -- Boatswain's Mate A (Master-at Arms)
BMR -- Beachmaster
BMSM -- British Merchant Shipping Mission
BMSRC -- Boatswain's mate, Ship Repair, Crane Operator
BMSRR -- Boatswain's Mate, Ship Repair, Rigger
BMSRS -- Boatswain's Mate, Ship Repair, Canvasman
Bmstr -- Bandmaster
Bn -- Battalion
BN -- Brazilian Navy
BNAS -- British Naval Air Service
BnHQ -- Battalion Headquarters (USMC)
BNLO -- British Naval Liaison officer
BNP -- Bureau of Naval Personnel Publications
BNPCL -- Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular Letters
BNYD -- Boston Navy Yard
BO -- Base Order
"BOATS" -- A Boatswain's Mate
"Bobcat" -- See JRC-#
BODU -- Bureau of Ordnance Design Unit
*BOI -- Boiler
*BOM -- Bombing
BomCom -- Bomber Command (Army)
BOMID -- Branch Office, Military Intelligence Division (War Department)
BomRon -- Bombing Squadron
BOQ -- Bachelor Officers Quarters
BORU -- Boat Operating and Repair Unit
BOS -- Boston, Massachusetts
BOSN -- Boatswain (Warrant)
BosGrp -- Boston Group
BOU -- Boat Operating unit
BP -- Base Pay
BB -- Base Planning Board
BPFILO -- British Pacific Fleet Intelligence Liaison Officer
BPFLO -- British Pacific Fleet Liaison Officer
BPO -- Base Post Office (Army)
BPR -- Bridge Plotting Room
B&Q -- Barracks and Quarters (Army)
BQM -- Base Quartermaster (USMC)
BR -- Bomber Reconnaissance Aircraft
BR -- Bremerton, Washington
BR -- Briefing Room
BRAL -- Bureau de Renseignements et d'Action, Londres (Free French)
BrancHydro -- Branch Hydrographic Office
Braso -- Branch Aviation Supply Office
BREM -- Bremerton, Washington
BRG -- Bearing
BrgBln -- Barrage Balloon
Brig -- Brigade
BRIGEN -- Brigadier General (USMC)
BrigGen -- Brigadier General
BRIT -- British
BRL -- Bomb Release Line
BRO -- British Routing Office
BrQM -- Brigade Quartermaster (USMC)
BRR -- Bridge Receiving Room
BRU -- Boat Repair Unit
BRUSA -- British-United States Agreement (Circuits)
BS -- Battleship Squadron
BS -- Boston (Navy Yard)
BS -- Busch Sulzer (ship engines)
BSC -- Balkan Supply Center
BSerBn -- Base Service Battalion (USMC)
BSI -- British Solomon Islands
BSN -- Boston, Massachusetts
BSO -- Base Supply Officer
BSO -- Bomb Safety Officer
BSO -- British Supply Office
BSR -- Boilermaker, Ship Repair
BSU -- Base Service Unit
BT-# -- Single-engine Navy bomber (VB), manufactured by Northrop
BT -- Bahia to Trinidad (routing designation)
BT -- Bathythermograph (sonar)
BT2C -- Twin-engine Navy fighter (VF(M)), manufactured by Curtiss
BTCA -- Basic Tables of Commissioning Allowances (now Tables of Basic Allowances--TBA)
BTD-# -- Single-engine Navy scout bomber (VSB), manufactured by Douglas
BTE -- British Troops in Egypt
BTM-# -- Twin-engine Navy fighter (VF(M)), manufactured by Martin
Btry -- Battery
*BU -- Bureau
BuAer (BuAero) -- Bureau of Aeronautics
BUAER -- Chief, Bureau of Aeronautics
BUCon -- Bureau of Construction and Repair (to 1940)
BuC&R -- Bureau of Construction and Repair (to 1940)
BuDocks -- Bureau of Yards and Docks
BUDOCKS -- Chief, Bureau of Yards and Docks
BuEng -- Bureau of Engineering (to 1940)
BuExp -- Bureau Express (boiler)
"Buffalo" -- See F2A-#
BUG -- Bugler
BuMed -- Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
BUMED -- Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
BuM&S -- Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
BuNav -- Bureau of Navigation (to 1942)
BuOrd -- Bureau of Ordnance
BUORD -- Chief, Bureau of Ordnance
BuPers -- Bureau of Naval Personnel
BUPERS -- Chief, Bureau of Naval Personnel
BUPS -- Beacon, Ultra Portable "S" Band
BuSandA -- Bureau of Supplies and Accounts
BUSANDA -- Chief, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts
BUSCI -- British-United States Convoy Instructions
BuShips -- Bureau of Ships
BUSHIPS -- Chief, Bureau of Ships
BUSRA -- British-United States Routing Agreement
"Buttress" -- Mine Recovery Vessel
BuY&D -- Bureau of Yards and Docks
BUZZ BOMB -- V-1 (Pilotless Flying Bomb)
B&W -- Babcock and Wilcox (boilers)
B&W -- Black and White (film)
B&W -- Bread and Water
BWC -- Board of War Communications
BWI -- British West Indies
BWP -- Basic War Plan
BX -- Boston to Halifax (routing designation)
BY -- Bayonne, New Jersey
BYMS -- British Yard Motor Minesweepers
