World War II Research Aid


World War II Allied Military Codenames


Here you will find the military codes used by the Allied Powers for their operations during World War II. Allied Shipping codes are at the bottom of the page.
    Allied Codenames

  • Acrobat: The proposed British advance into Tripolitania (1941)
  • Accolade: The proposed British Tank Attack on the Dodecanese Islands, Greece (1944)
  • Anakim: The first plan regarding the re-occupation of Burma (1944)
  • Anvil: Original name for Dragoon (see below)
  • Arcadia: Conference where Churchill and Roosevelt re-affirm they will deal with Germany first (1st agreed during the meeting resulting in the Atlantic Charter). Also the First Washington Conference: issue UN Declaration (1941).
  • Argonaut: The Yalta Conference (1945).
  • Argument: The air attack on the German aircraft manufacturing industry (Feb., 1944).
  • Avalanche: Assault by Allied amphibious vehicles at Salerno (9 Sept., 1943).
  • Battleaxe: Offensive in the Western Desert by the British (Nov., 1941).
  • Baytown: The crossing of the Straits of Messina (Sept., 1943).
  • Bolero: The build-up of US forces in Britain (1942 onward).
  • Brevity: Offensive in the Western Desert by the British (May, 1941).
  • Brimstone: The projected Allied invasion of Sardinia (1944).
  • Buccaneer: Projected operation against the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean (1944).
  • Bullfrog: Project attack on Akyab, Burma (1945).
  • Buttress: The Assault at Reggio, Italy (Sept., 1943).
  • Capital: The Re-capture of Burma (North) and Operation 'Extended Capital' includes Meiktila (1944).
  • Catapult: British attack on the French Fleet (in danger of falling under the Nazis) in North African Ports (July, 1940)
  • Catchpole: The operations against Eniwetok and Ujelang, the Marshall Islands (1944).
  • Champion: The general offensive plan for Burma (1943).
  • Clarion: The air attack on German communications and communications systems (22-23 Feb., 1945).
  • Claymore: The British Commando raid on Lofoten Islands, Norway (March, 1941).
  • Cobra: The American breakout from the Normandy bridgehead (25 July, 1944).
  • Compass: The British counteroffensive against the Italians in Egypt (Dec., 1940).
  • Corkscrew: The occupation of Pantelleria, an Italian island off the coast of Tunisia (June, 1943).
  • Coronet: The planned invasion of Japan (1945).
  • Cromwell: The Alarm signal to indicate a German invasion of Britain (1940).
  • Crossbow: Countermeasures against the German V-bomb attacks on Britain (1944). See Diver.
  • Culverin: The projected operation against Malaya and Western Sumatra (1944).
  • Demon: The British evacuation from Greece (April, 1941).
  • Diadem: The Allied operation to capture Rome (1944).
  • Diver: The attacks by German V-1 bombs and the defence against it (1944). See Crossbow.
  • Dracula: Seaborne attack on Rangoon (May, 1945).
  • Dragoon: Allied invasion of Mediterranean France (Aug., 1944). See Anvil.
  • Dynamo: The evacuation at Dunkirk (1940).
  • Epsom: The British offensive West of Caen, France (18 July, 1944).
  • Eureka: The Conference at Teheran where Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin agree on a final date for the invasion of Europe (28 Nov.-1 Dec., 1943).
  • Exporter: The British occupation of Syria (June, 1941).
  • Firebrand: The projected invasion of Corsica (1944).
  • Flintlock: The operations against Kwajalein and Majuro, the Marshall Islands (1944).
  • Forager: The operations to capture the Mariana Islands, in the Pacific Ocean (1944).
  • Fortitude: The deception plan for Overlord (1944).
  • Frantic: Shuttle-bombing from Britain, Italy and the USSR.
  • Goodwood: The British armoured offensive to the East of Caen, France (July, 1944).
  • Galvanic: Assault on the Gilbert Islands (1943).
  • Grenade: American offensive in the Rhineland, Germany (Feb., 1944).
  • Gymnast: The early codename for Torch.
  • Habbakuk: A projected giant aerodrome on floating ice.
  • Habforce: Expedition to Iraq (May, 1941).
  • Harpoon: The Malta Convoy (June 1942).
  • Hercules: The plan for the assault on Rhodes, Greece (1944).
  • Husky: The Allied invasions of Sicily (3 July, 1943). See Mincemeat.
  • Imperator: A proposal for a large-scale raid on the French Channel coast (1942).
  • Indigo: The plan for the move of US troops to Iceland (1942).
  • Infatuate: British assault on Walcheren, Holland (Oct., 1944).
  • Jubilee: The raid on Dieppe (19 Aug., 1943).
  • Jupiter: The projected invasion of northern Norway.
  • Lightfoot: The Battle of El Alemein (Oct., 1942).
  • Lustre: Aid to Greece.
  • Magnet: The movement of US troops to Northern Ireland (1942).
  • Manhattan: The Allied atomic energy program (1942-45). See Tube Alloys.
  • Matador: The plan for the British move to Kra Isthmus, Malaya (1942).
  • Matterhorn: The bombing of Japan from China (1944).
  • Menace: The Free French Expedition to Dakar (Sept., 1940).
  • Mincemeat: The deception plan for Husky.
  • Neptune: Internal codeword for Overlord to indicate the cross-channel operations.
  • Noah's Ark: Plan for the occupation of Greece as soon as the Germans withdrew (1944).
  • Octagon: Codeword for the Second Quebec Conference (1944).
  • Orange: Prewar US plans regarding a war with Japan.
  • Overlord: The Allied invasion of northwest Europe, staring on D-Day (1944).
  • Pedestal: Malta Convoy (Aug., 1942).
  • Pigstick: The landing at the Mayo Peninsula.
  • Pilgrim: For the projected capture of the Canary Islands (1942) and Atlantic Islands in general.
  • Plunder: The Allied crossing of the Rhine (March, 1945).
  • Pluto: The undersea oil supply (pipes) to the Allied armies under Overlord.
  • Pointblank: The combined Allied bomber offensive against Germany.
  • Priceless: The Allied invasion of Italy (1943).
  • Puma: The projected invasion of the Canary Islands (1942).
  • Quadrant: First Quebec Conference (Aug., 1943).
  • Rainbow: US codename for anti-Axis operations (1939-41).
  • Rankin: The plan to return and re-occupy the European continent in case of a sudden German collapse.
  • Ratweek: The plan for an attack on the Germans withdrawing from Yugoslavia (1944).
  • Ravenous: The proposed advance into upper Burma, thereby crossing the Chindwin River (1944).
  • Roundhammer: The early name for Overlord.
  • Round-up: The proposed Allied invasion of South Western Europe. See Overlord.
  • Rupert: The Narvik Expedition (April, 1940).
  • Saturn: The proposal to introduce Allied forces into Turkey (1944).
  • Sextant: The Cairo Conference. Churchill, Roosevelt and Chang Kai-shek agree on the future of China (Nov., 1943).
  • Shingle: The Allied landings at Anzio, Italy (Jan., 1944).
  • Sickle: The move of US air forces to Britain (1942).
  • Slapstick: British airborne landings in the heel of Italy (9 Sept., 1943).
  • Sledgehammer: Proposed emergency plan for the invasion of Northwest Europe (1942).
  • Springboard: The projected capture of Madeira (1942).
  • Stamina: The air supply of Imphal-Kohima garrisons (1944).
  • Supercharge: The follow-up to Lightfoot.
  • Symbol: The Casablanca Conference. Churchill and Roosevelt agree on the invasion of Sicily and eventually France. Roosevelt issues the 'Unconditional Surrender' Declaration (Jan., 1942).
  • Talon: The capture of Akyab, Burma (Dec., 1944).
  • Tarzan: The projected advance into the Indaw/Katha area, Burma (1944).
  • Terminal:Codeword for the Potsdam Conference (July-Aug., 1945).
  • Thruster: Proposed expedition against the Azores (1942).
  • Thursday: Second Chindit operation in Burma (1944).
  • Tidal Wave: The Air Attack against the Ploesti oilfields, Roumania (Aug., 1943).
  • Torch: The Allied invasion of French North Africa (Nov., 1942).
  • Totalise: Canadian attack towards Falaise, France (1944).
  • Trident: The 3rd Washington Conference (May, 1943).
  • Tube Alloys: The British atomic bomb project. See Manhattan.
  • Vangaurd: The plan to capture Rangoon from the sea (1944).
  • Varsity: The Allied airborne operation in the Rhine crossing (March, 1945).
  • Veritable: The Canadian offensive in the Rhineland (Feb., 1945).
  • Vigorous: The Alexandria to Malta convoy (June, 1942).
  • Zipper: The invasion of Malaya (1945).


    Allied Codenames for Convoys

  • AT: USA to UK (January, 1942).
  • BT: Sydney to USA (January, 1942).
  • HX: Halifax to UK (September, 1939 - After September 1942 MK).
  • JW: Loch Ewe, Scotland to North Russia (December, 1942 - see PQ).
  • KM: UK to North Africa (October, 1942).
  • ME: Malta to Alexandria (July, 1940).
  • MG: Malta to Gibraltar (December, 1940).
  • MK: North Africa to Britain (November, 1942).
  • MW: Alexandria to Malta (July, 1940).
  • OB: Liverpool to North America (September 1939, afterwards ON).
  • OG: UK to Gibraltar (October 1939 - after July, 1943 it sailed with KM).
  • ON: Previously OB, starts in July, 1941.
  • OS: UK to West Africa (July 1941 - after April 1943 sailed with KM).
  • PQ: Iceland to North Russia (September, 1941 - afterwards became JW).
  • QP: North Russia to Iceland and UK (September, 1941 - afterwards became RA).
  • RA: North Russia to Loch Ewe, Scotland (December, 1942).
  • SC: Halifax to UK (August, 1940 / September, 1942 / March 1943 (from New York)).
  • SL: Sierra Leone to UK (September, 1939).
  • SW: Suez to South Africa (by returning WS convoys).
  • TA: Convoys returning from AT.
  • TB: USA-Sydney (January, 1942).
  • WS: UK-Middle East, via South Africa (June, 1940).





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