Naval Alphabets

USS Rankin (AKA-103)

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Naval Alphabets

This shows the various forms in which the alphabet is expressed in the U.S. Navy.

The phonetic expression is that used by NATO and many international organizations. The phonetic words are designed to be easily pronounced and easily understood by people who speak different languages.

The signal flags are from the International Code of Signals, used by ships the world around.

The semaphore signals are those used by many navies.

The Morse Code is shown in the most frequently spoken form, where "dit" is shortened to "di," except at the end of the character. A "di" or "dit" is often called a dot. A "dah" is often called a dash. When sent by signal light, radiotelegraph, or other method, a "dah" should be three times the length of a "dit."

At the end of each line is the phonetic expression used by the Navy during WWII and the Korean Conflict. It was replaced by the international version around 1957.

Letter & Phonetic Expression

Signal

Flag

Sema-

phore

Morse Code

Pre-1957