Pompholoogopaphlasmasin was an expression used during
World War II by a
Royal Navy captain in a signal reporting on an action in the
Mediterranean.
The action
In November 1942
HMS ''Lotus'' was operating in support of
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
. 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.
The signal
The expression ''pompholoogopaphlasmasin'' is derived from the play
The Frogs, by the 5th century BC playwright
Aristophanes.
(
Classical 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)
:"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
Postwar analysis credited ''Lotus'' and ''Poppy'' 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-77'' (which survived, with little damage) while ''U-605'' had been destroyed on a different occasion the following day.
[Kemp p95-96]
Notes
References
*
Aristophanes, trans. Fitts, Dudley : ''The Frogs'' (1957) ISBN (none)
*
* {{cite book, last = Niestlé, first = Axel, title = German U-boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction, year = 1998, isbn = 978-1-85367-352-8
*
Stephen Roskill
Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill, (1 August 1903 – 4 November 1982) was a senior career officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War and, after his enforced medical retirement, served as the official historian of the Royal ...
: ''The War at Sea 1939-1945 Vol II'' (1956) ISBN (none)
Royal Navy
Naval signals