Made in the USSR: Reverse Engineering the Boeing B-29 (2001)

airspacemag.com

17 pointssew4 comments

At Orsha, the nickname “Ramp Tramp” puzzled many Soviet pilots and engineers, even those familiar with English. One rough translation offered was “Unshaven Vagabond,” which still baffled Soviet airmen.

It puzzles me, and English is my first language! What does it mean?

A "ramp" (in US aviation jargon) is where aircraft are loaded and prepared for flight. The official term is "apron" and a common layman's term for this area of an airfield is "tarmac." Guessing this is the main source of confusion.

"Tramp" here probably means harlot (consider the cheesecake pinup nose-art common on WWII-era US bombers, as alluded to in the article.)

> "Tramp" here probably means harlot

I'm guessing it's actually akin to "hangar queen," an aircraft that's grounded for maintenance to an unusual extent [1].

EDIT: Or, it might be an analog to a tramp steamer, i.e., a merchant ship that goes from port to port to port carrying whatever cargoes the ship's officers can scare up as they go. [2]

[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hangar_queen

[2] http://www.britannica.com/technology/tramp-steamer

I'm thinking it means roughly: We are going to "F* the Enemy".

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