By Any Other Name?

[von Baur 54]

In Olham's thread about German family names NS13Jarhead mentioned the use of comical pilot names. Rather than muck up that discussion I thought I'd start a new one for that. Here are some that I made up my throw-away pilots (quick combats, etc.). Different names for different nationalities, of course:

 

British-Percy Goodfellow is a long-standing favorite, although sometimes I'll use Edmund Blackadder. And when I don't feel like flying Sgt. Lawrence (Larry or Lorry) Driver will fire up the Model T or hop on his bicycle.

German-I currently live in the rural south and thus was born Fritz Gritz. Say hello, Fritz..."Guten tag, y'all."

French-Pierre le Poo-poo, after what my first wife called Pepe le Peu when she was a child.

American-Captain Peter "Worng-way" Peachfuzz, and a tip of the hat to the first person who identifies the origin of that one.

 

How about the rest of you?

[MikeDixonUK 5]

My main test Pilot is called "Sopwith de Havilland", and a British knock off version of the Red Baron called "Manfield Vaughn Rich-Haughton"

[Ras 0]

Once when flying for the French, I used French Fry for the name and for the Germans I used Horst Radish once. Must have had some food on my mind

[Olham 164]

I use my family name, or my Forum nickname in variations. My family name Mahlo.

My first name begins with a "D", so I keep that.

 

British pilot is David Oldham; if he is Scottish, he is Douglas McMarlowe.

My French pilot is mostly Didier de St.Malo;

the American (after Chandler's detective) Dennis Philip Marlowe.

 

I never use totally silly names - somehow never felt right for me, for this field.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

von Baur, as one who can remember watching not only Rocky and Bullwinkle but also their predecessor, Crusader Rabbit, I know exactly who Captain Peter Wrongway Peachfuzz is. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go check up on my Upsidasium mine as I fear Gidney and Cloyd may be helping themselves to that most rare mineral.

 

.

[themightysrc 5]

Good topic!

 

As a British pilot, I've been Willy Coppitt, Vic Timm and I.P. Knightly, with nods to Arthur Putey (not one of mine, I should admit). If I fly French, I'm invariably Emile Fortou, when German, I'm Kurt Remarx, Ernst Remarx (presumably the Remarx brothers) or Axel Griese. I've not come up with a truly witty (only to me, I hasten to add!) name for an American pilot, probably because so many American surnames are derived from other nationalities.

 

As you may have noticed, I rather like daft names, even if I try to treat the flying more seriously.

[Burning Beard 14]

I have a US pilot that flies for the British and the French (expat) and of course the Americans. Second Lieutenant Misbegotten Jones and his half brother Jesse Smithorjones. My German pilot is always Otto Ubering.

 

Beard

[Olham 164]

mighty: (presumably the Remarx brothers)

 

 

What about Capt. Cal Amity? Private Pit Spitter? Lt. Dick Drillwinkle? (OMG - my brain must have evaporated - 37° is rare here!)

Edited July 3, 2010 by Olham

[Duce Lewis 3]

British-Percy Goodfellow is a long-standing favoriteHow about the rest of you?

von Bauer were you inspired by Sir Percy Goodfellow, the hero of Old Rhinebeck?

He and his ally Pierre de Loopdeloop oppose the evil plots of der Black Baron

 

All my Campaign pilots have serious names

But the triplets, Frenchie, Britsy, and Testy Test do stellar work in QC

 

On the serious side, Emil Senger is one of my fav German names

He was the 1st resident of Seymour , CT (my childhood haunt) to die in WWI

Ironic he died fighting the country of his heritage

The local American Legion Post is named after himl

[tranquillo 10]

My current British pilot is an Italian by the name of Pilota di Prova and when I fly for the other side my pilot is Hans Off.

[Rickitycrate 10]

French - Guy Nie Pique

 

British - Ritchie Teacrate

 

German - Frank N. Stein

 

American - Harry Toughnut

 

others I don't recall just now.

[carrick58 23]

Count Disel Oil, Dirty Oil, The Baron Auto-matic

 

Tom Slick, Dirty Stick Red Robin, Ned Buntline, Fearless Fostdick. Stick Shift, Lug Nuts, Ragland The Tiger

 

Loose Cannon, Bunny Hop, Cecil Hardwick, Cecil Parker, Hyde Out, Rufus The Firefly

 

Clueless Cluesole Pepe dedunk, Emile Chardonay, N. Boneapart

 

[Bullethead 12]

All my English-speaking pilots have the surname Bullethead. All my German pilots have the surname Geschosskopf. All my French pilots have a Cajun surname like Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, Hebert, Landry, etc., because I see them going to France and then being confounded because the Cajun and Parisian French are mutually unintelligible.

 

Every new pilot's 1st name starts with the next letter of the alphabet. US pilots have cowboy names like Abiliene, Brazos, and Cody. My Brit pilots are mostly Borderers so have 1st names like Dumfries, Teviot, etc. My German pilots have ironic, fatalistic names like Massengrab, Nachgeschmack, Opfertodt, etc. My French pilots have common French 1st names but all have the middle name Joseph, as was the Cajun tradition of the time.

 

 

[NS13Jarhead 6]

As I mentioned in the original thread, I try to keep the same name (due to my lack of originality). Both of my regular names reflect my somehwat pessimistic attitude about being able to keep my pilots alive for an extended period.

 

German - Otto Treiharder

British - Willie Maykett

 

I'm not a fan of SPADs or Nieuports, so I've not developed personalities for American or French, yet.

 

 

[von Baur 54]

So Percy Goodfellow was previously taken? I didn't know that, at least not consciously, though it may have been rattling around in the back of my noggin somewhere. Actually, Duce, the name is a composite. Percy comes from Ernie Kovacs's fruity poet, Percy Dovetonsils, and Goodfellow is derived from hearing the phrase, "there's a good fellow" in so many British movies. And I agree with you that all campaign names are serious...von Baur (German) or Bower (English or American) and either my father's (for bomber campaigns, as he flew B-17's and B-24's in WWII ) or my first name. Haven't flown any French campaigns yet, except LE, so I used my American name. Anyone know the French word for "farmer"?

 

Lou, leave it to you to be the first to ID Capt. Peachfuzz. I don't see a *tips hat* smiley over there, so . Used to love Rocky and Bullwinkle. Fortunately Cartoon Network ran it until they went modern (meaning crap), so I was able to introduce my son to "moose and squirrel" before the movie (also crap) came out. Although I could never figure out whether the line was "There's something you don't see every day, Jonesy" or "There's something you don't see every day, Chauncey". Hey ! Another name...Chauncey Jones! British, I think. To go with the new American pilot, Rocky N. Bullwinkle. Now if OFF can develop a Russian campaign I can use Boris Badenov.

[Olham 164]

Rickitycrate: German - Frank N. Stein

 

Bullethead: All my German pilots have the surname Geschosskopf. ...

... My German pilots have ironic, fatalistic names like Massengrab, Nachgeschmack, Opfertodt,etc.

 

Cripes, we really seem to have a sinister and fatalistic appearance in your common memories.

But there were pilots with such light names like Wilhelm Sommer or Carl Holler; the latter

even was an entertainer, who sang songs, accompanied by his own guitar playing.

But worldwide common memory makes us still rather look like this guy:

 

 

 

PS: the director of the movie "Frankenstein" with Boris Karloff - James Whale - tried to ban his

WW1 nightmare in that mask: a British officer had been in the wasteland forward of their trenches.

Returning, he got shot dead, and hung in barbed wire. They couldn't get near him to bring him back

and burry him; so he stuck there dead, staring at them. From day to day, he began to look worse,

and showed a very pale face with violett shaded eyes. Whale told the make-up artist, how Karloff

should be looking for the movie. So, what we saw in the movie, was the face of a dead WW1

officer - although not a German one.

Edited July 4, 2010 by Olham

[Capitaine Vengeur 263]

An airman character in a French comics is named Curtis Hawke, and in the same way of plane models, you could have a Douglas McDonnell, or a Wolf f***e...

[Creaghorn 10]

also friedrich murnau, the director of the B/W movie nosferatu, was a fighterpilot. he landed due to engine problems or on purpose in the neutral switzerland, where he got internated. because his lover fell at the eastern front, some people say that his nosferatu movie was also therapy for him. he tried to catch the dull fear of the things he experienced in the great war and show it visually on canvas

[Doublestop 0]

My British pilot is called Major Miles Taune and my German pilot is Heimlich Mann-Ouvre

 

I can't fly for the Americans or French because I haven't thought up any daft names for them yet.

 

Doublestop

[Bullethead 12]

Before I fell into the run outlined above (which makes it easier to keep track of pilots), I used a few daft names myself. For instance, I once I had an Indochinese pilot flying for France, named Hung-Wei Lo. There were also Brits named Wescott Fitz-Pourley, Myles Longcrank, Reuben Redpole, and Dick Lovelady.

 

 

[Olham 164]

Some more possible Americans: Bud Wyser, Carl Cornflake, Frederick "French" Fry

And some more French: Gregoire Gourmand, Pierre Passepartout, Adrien de l'Amour-Toujours

[GHunter 0]

Good Lord! Somebody remembers who Ernie Kovacs is?!

 

German: Otto Krashenburn, Karl Brokenstrutt

 

Britt: Willy Groundloop

 

Had some French and Yanks on my mind but am suffering brain fade...need coffee. They'll come to me.

[von Baur 54]

Good Lord! Somebody remembers who Ernie Kovacs is?!

 

 

Was, sadly. Victim of driving drunk.

 

BTW, the third monkey in the Nairobi trio, the one with the oversized drumsticks, was Jack Lemmon (some rumors, unsubstantiated afaik, of Frank Sinatra on at least one occassion).

 

And the song played behind his blackouts was "Mack, the Knife" in, I believe, Hangarian.

 

*edited for spelling*

Edited July 9, 2010 by von Baur