Nelson's navy and the RAF (1 Viewer)

[trooper]

Back when I was serving in the RAF it was the custom that whenever help was needed with shifting anything heavy you called out "Two Six". Apparently this was a naval custom introduced into the RAF by the fitters of the Royal Naval Air Service during the Great War. It's origin dates back to the Napoleonic Wars when the ships were in action. It was unusual for both broadsides to be in action at the same time, so when one side was engaged in order to keep up the fastest rate of fire the spare gun numbers from the unengaged side were called in to help run the guns out. the spare numbers were no 2 and no 6, hence the call. I don't know if this custom is still current, but it was certainly still common in the 1950s.