Pompholoogopaphlasmasin
Encyclopedia
Pompholoogopaphlasmasin was an expression used during World War II
by a Royal Navy
captain in a signal reporting on an action in the Mediterranean.
was operating in support of Operation Torch
. On 13 November she and HMS Poppy made an ASDIC contact on a submerged U-boat
off the coast of Algeria
. They attacked with depth-charges and were rewarded with sounds of the vessel breaking up underwater. Lt. HJ Hall, the captain of Lotus, described this sound in his report with the Greek expression pompholoogopaphlasmasin, quoting "an onomatopeic line from Aristophanes
". When the Admiralty received this they were taken with it, and had the report circulated with the appropriate explanation.
, by the 5th century playwright Aristophanes
.
(Classical Greek
)
(transliteration)
(English
)
(which survived, with little damage) while U-605 had been destroyed on a different occasion the following day.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
captain in a signal reporting on an action in the Mediterranean.
The action
In November 1942 HMS LotusHMS Lotus (K130)
HMS Lotus was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy.She was built by Henry Robb Limited, of Leith, Scotland and launched on 16 January 1942. Originally named HMS Phlox, she was renamed in April 1942 after the previous HMS Lotus was transferred to the Free French Navy...
was operating in support of Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
. On 13 November she and HMS Poppy made an ASDIC contact on a submerged U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
off the coast of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. They attacked with depth-charges and were rewarded with sounds of the vessel breaking up underwater. Lt. HJ Hall, the captain of Lotus, described this sound in his report with the Greek expression pompholoogopaphlasmasin, quoting "an onomatopeic line from Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
". When the Admiralty received this they were taken with it, and had the report circulated with the appropriate explanation.
The signal
The expression pompholoogopaphlasmasin is derived from the play The FrogsThe Frogs
The Frogs is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus, in 405 BC, and received first place.-Plot:...
, by the 5th century playwright Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
.
(Classical Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
)
- "ή Διος φεύγεντες ομβρον
- ενύδρον εν Βύφο χορειαν
- αιολαν εφθεγςαμεσθα
- πομφολύγοπαφλασμασιν"
(transliteration)
- "he Dios pheugentes ombron
- enudron en Bupho choreian
- aiolan ephthegxamestha
- pompholugopaphlasmasin"
(English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
)
- "Or when fleeing the storm, we went
- Down to the depths and our choral song
- Wildly raised to a loud and long
- Bubble-bursting accompaniment"
The outcome
Post war analysis credited Lotus and Starwort with the destruction of U-605. However this assessment was later changed, as further research determined in 1987 that the attack on 13 November had been directed at U-77German submarine U-77 (1940)
German submarine U-77 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine built by the Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack. The boat was sunk on 28 March 1943 east of Cartagena, Spain, in position by four depth charges and one bomb from two British Lockheed Hudson aircraft.-Ships sunk or...
(which survived, with little damage) while U-605 had been destroyed on a different occasion the following day.