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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0909.PDF
MAY 9, 1946 Target Indicators : parking for Small High' Priority Targets: Enemy Reactions: Master Bomber Duties: Solu- to Some Problems PATHFINDER STORY PARTII~By Wing Commander MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. TARGET indicators used for marking an aimingpoint on the ground at night were, in effect, alarge number of coloured incendiary candles packed in light metal bomb-like containers. The normal colours were red, green or yellow, and various burning times up to 30 minutes were available according to intensity. The fusing was under time or barometric control, and a small explosive charge was arranged to drive the candles out of the canister just before hitting the ground in order to spread them over a small area. Two sizes of T.I. were in normal usage, 250 and 1,000 lb. These figures represented the weight of a bomb of corresponding size for the bomb stations on the aircraft, not the weight of the T.I. The T.I.s were virtually impossible to extin- guish, and the enemy were never able exactly to reproduce the colours in their decoy marking. " Spot fires " were another type of ^ ground marker used for certain '"" pin-point targets, and also for route-markers or for wind- finding datum points. Red, yellow or green spot fires, as the name suggests, give one bright, compact spot instead of a patch of brilliance as in the case of a T.I. For sky-marking, small, short-burning red, yellow or green flares were fitted with parachutes giving them a very slow rate of descent, and as a distinguishing mark, " stars of a different colour dripped from them at intervals. These, like the attacks for which they were used, were known as Wanganuis. There was, of course, a good deal more to the planning of a bombing raid than the selection of marking and bombing techniques. An operational day in a P.F.F. squadron started with the preliminary warning to all, followed by notification of the target to those few responsible for planning the attack. The weather fore- cast was examined, and the size of the total force settled; next, depending upon the marking method to be employed, a marking team was selected, and the special stores and bombs fused and brought from the bomb dumps. The crews would next be notified and their aircraft thoroughly checked, tested and refuelled up to IN the first instalment of this account •of the work of Pathfinders, the difficulty of pin-pointing at night, and the con- ception of Pathfinder Force were discussed. Radar aids and marking procedure were also described. In this concluding part, an account of planning, of marking for special targets, and of some of the difficulties experienced during night bombing raids is given. the capacity required for the trip (full tanks were not usually needed, and no superfluous fuel was carried). By this time every detail of the marking and attack would have been worked out and co-ordinated at a flight planning conference, and after an "operational" meal, all that was left before take-off was to brief the P.F.F. and main force crews on marking methods and colours, route, navigation, signals, defences, the latest weather and winds, special information from intelligence sources on particular methods of escape, and action to be taken if forced to "bale out." The crew interrogation and raid assessment conferences which followed each attack have already been men- tioned. As the war progressed, targets necessitating a deep penetration of German territory had to be at- tacked, and often the priority was such that ideal conditions could not _ be awaited. It therefore became """ customary to provide for an alterna- tive method of attack in the event of weather being found to differ from that predicted^ The enemy, too, were intro- ducing all sorts of cunning into their defences in the form of decoy marking in open country near the target, and decoy fire sites to attract the bombs of crews harassed by flak and searchlights. Over some targets, such as oil refineries, appeared thick smoke-screens while nearby would be an elaborate dummy factory exposing a few chinks of light. Demoralising "scarecrows," in the form of large explo- sions resembling a bomber receiving a direct hit from an anti-aircraft shell, appeared in the air near the bomber stream, and false instructions were, on occasions, issued by radio to the crews. The Master Bomber Experienced crews were not much affected by these devices, but the large number of newer crews required some direction. It was for this reason, and the need for decisions on marking and plan of attack in the target irea, that the Master Bomber made a timely and logical /entry. Known variously at first as Master of Ceremonies
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