puster in U-Boot

[horst.weissenberger]

what is meaning of "puster" (slang of radio man) in U-boot, many thanks

[hannibal2]

Never heard of it, but so what. The word is derived from the verb pusten which in English is to blow, so Puster literally means blower. With that meaning, how and why this title could possibly be applied to the radio man is a mystery to me. What was he blowing, hot air?

Cheers, Gert

[Sheldrake]

It could be a literal translation of an old fashioned British phrase "on the blower" meant "on the telephone". Captured along with Tipperary

[hannibal2]

Frankly, I very much doubt that the German Navy would use a job-description based on an old-fashioned English phrase.

[Axel N]

Hi there,

Puster stands for Funker = wireless radio man

Axel

[Sheldrake]

Frankly, I very much doubt that the German Navy would use a job-description based on an old-fashioned English phrase.

Really?

The US adopted the British term "Tank", even though it was a deceptive codeword, as did the Russians.

Lots of British and US military Terms are literal translations of foreign terms.

Mission Command = Auftragstaktik
Point of main effort = Schwehrpunkt
Armored Fighting Vehicle = Panzer Kampfwagen
Regiment/battalion = Spanish C16th terms
Hussars = Hungarian conscripts
Rangers = British colonial era troops
Commando = Boer raiders
Leager/lager = Boer term

The British have plenty of informal military terms taken from allies or enemies. https://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Army_Slang
In many corps, APC is a Panzer
Blighty - The UK, the name was taken from a province in India...well you go and look and call me a liar.
Gat - rifle (from Gatling gun) (also Bunduk, or Bang-Stick).
Khaki - Hindee for mud
Puttees - long strips of flannel cloth in shades of khaki, rifle green or black, wrapped tightly at the top of ankle-boots to provide support over rough ground.

Some of these are taken because the foreign version sounds cooler. Others may have been derived in parallel. The British and Germans may have separately linked voice communications with "blower/puster. Voice pipes were a common feature on warships