In WW2, the B-24 aircrews were flying in the Europe and Pacific Theaters.
While flying in the Pacific Theater, the young men were scanning for enemy aircraft (Japanese fighters) who would attack the formation.
As they scanned the skies over the Pacific for danger someone would call out “Shit Man Fuck!” over the intercoms.
Whenever someone heard this call, the appropriate reply was “Fuck Man Shit!”
When they were in the war, the average age was 20 years old. As these young men saw their friends shot out of the air, they built a language of slang that was all their own.
The generation that fought the war are leaving us now. So, if you ever hear someone call over a Radio or Intercom:
“Shit Man Fuck!”
The correct reply is:
“Fuck Man Shit!”
If you are a pilot, or you want to be PC (politically correct) you would use the phonetic alphabet. That would be called out as: “Sierra Mike Foxtrot!” and the reply would be: “Foxtrot Mike Sierra!”
Whoever failed to give the appropriate reply was buying the next round. Now you know!
Cheers,
William
NOTE: Thank you to Neil Gotschall for giving me the background on this historic call sign!