[Ads-l] antedating "wilco"

[Peter Reitan]

The December 1941 example from the Sunday Oregonian uses "Roger" differently from how I learned it in the Navy in the 1980s.  But an an Army Air Corps radio procedure manual from March 1941 also uses "Roger" a little differently from what I learned.  The same technical manual also describes the use of "Wilco".  The radio procedures outlined in the manual suggest that "Over" and "Out" were not yet in use.  "Roger" was used where I might have expected "Over" to be used - to signal the end of a transmission, but not the end of the conversation.


United States War Department Technical Manual, Radiotelephone Procedure Air Corps, March 21, 1941<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3241799;view=1up;seq=5>, on HathiTrust.


"Example landing instructions" on page 19 of the manual include "Wilco" and "Roger":


Ship [airship]: "Chanute tower from eight five zero six, answer."

Tower: "Eight five zero six from Chanute tower, go ahead."

Ship: "Fifteen miles north of Tuscola at two thousand feet, contact landing at Chanute Field, go ahead."

Tower: "Eight five zero six from Chanute tower, Roger."

. . .

Tower: "Nine five zero six from Chanute tower, the P-40 is now on the ground, you are now first to land, go ahead."

Ship: "Wilco."

End of citation.


The usage of "WILCO" and "ROGER" are described in paragraphs 11., 12. and 13. on page 4 of the manual.


11. Acknowledgment of receipt. - The word "ROGER" will be utilized by a receiving station to acknowledge receipt of a radio-telephone message.


[Example] Army Eight Five Zero Six . . . From . . . Scott Army Air-Ways . . . Roger.


12. Advice of compliance. - The phrase contraction "WILCO" (Will Comply) will be utilized to indicate that the receiving station will comply wiht orders or requests contained in a message received from the sending station.  When utilized, this phrase contraction will take the place of the acknowledgment "ROGER" as stated in paragraph 11."


13. Termination of communication. - Transmissions may be one of the following:

a. "ANSWER" . . .

b. "GO AHEAD" . . .

c. "REPEAT" . . .

d. "WAIT" . . .

e. "ROGER," acknowledgment of receipt.

f. "WILCO" (Will Comply), statement of forthcoming compliance with an order or request.

g. "THAT IS ALL," which indicates the end of communication.

END OF Citation.


I read all of this to suggest that WILCO was relatively new at the time, and was used to resolve an earlier ambiguity in the use of ROGER, in which it could either mean - "yes I heard you," or "yes, I will do it."


The later addition of "over" and "out" to the vocabulary seems to take the place of the wordier "go ahead" and "that is all."


When I learned military communications procedures, "Roger" meant basically, "I read you loud and clear", "over" meant, "I'm done talking, you talk now", and "out" meant, "this conversation is over."

In the example landing instructions from the manual, the use of "Roger" that seems wrong is used like I would use "over" today.  But based on the list of words used to end a transmissions at the time, "Roger" was the only neutral one available that didn't have some other meaning.  So if they were ending a transmission, and were not expecting a response, Roger may have been the only one they could use.










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Subject: antedating "wilco"

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OED: 1946

1941 _Sunday Oregonian_ (Portland) (Dec. 7) 90 [ReadEx]:
The Tower answers, "Tower to four-seven-two. Land in the east. Wheels down
and locked. Go ahead." I say, "Four-seven-two, wilco."

Earlier, "Tower to four-seven-two. You may take off, Roger."

The writer is an air cadet at Randolph Field, but this use of "Roger" (no,
not his name) seems wrong or archaic (i.e., new to me).

It should be "Out." Or perhaps "Over." Shouldn't it?

JL


--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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