Corrected entry: When Group Captain Lionel Mandrake meets Lt. Colonel "Bat" Guano for the first time, it's very clear that neither man has ANY idea who the other is. In fact, with his hands up, Mandrake looks at Guano's name tag to ascertain whom he's communicating with. The problem is that Mandrake says something to the effect of "Colonel Bat Guano, if that really is your name!" Only his last name - "Guano" - appears on his name tag. There's also absolutely nothing that can be seen on the front of his uniform (which is the only thing Mandrake could have been looking at) that says "Bat." So how does Mandrake know that Lt. Colonel Guano's nickname is "Bat"?
Leicaman
25th May 2011
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Correction: Col. Guano is a full colonel. The eagles (indicative of a colonel) are visible on his uniform.
Correction: We do get a clear look. It says "Col Bat Guano." https://www.williamreesecompany.com/pages/books/WRCLIT87898/stanley-kubrick-peter-george-terry-southern-screenwriters/superb-still-portrait-of-keenan-wynn-in-dr-strangelove.
1. That's not a clear shot. The name tag reads "Col Bat Gu -" The rest is obscured. 2. That's a publicity still and does not appear in the film itself. The posting is still total bollocks, though.
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Correction: First, Guano is wearing shoulder flashes and a cap badge which show his rank. His name badge is far too long to just say "Guano" (in fact we never get a clear look at it - see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUAK7t3Lf8s) and it almost certainly shows his name and rank.
That's not a mistake, it's a joke.
We actually can see it throughout the scene, and it says Col. "Bat" Guano, with the quotation marks. It's likely that his surname really is "Guano" and he picked up the nickname "Bat" when he was coming up through the ranks, and by the time he became colonel he'd just embraced it. I doubt it would appear on his dress uniform but his combat uniform would probably have a bit more leeway for a joke like this.
When Guano first enters the office and Mandrake identifies himself, the name patch is readable and you can read "COL BAT GUANO", so he was just reading what the patch said.
jimba
With regard to how the Peter Sellers character knows the American Colonels name, there is in fact a shot of the Colonel which is the last shot in the scene where they meet that you can see a name patch on the Colonel's uniform that reads exactly COL 'BAT' GUANO. The word BAT is slightly rumpled over the B but seen on a large screen.
If you look at publicity stills from the film you can see the word 'Bat' on the nametag.
It indeed says "Col Bat Guano." https://www.williamreesecompany.com/pages/books/WRCLIT87898/stanley-kubrick-peter-george-terry-southern-screenwriters/superb-still-portrait-of-keenan-wynn-in-dr-strangelove.