Target Marking Methods.
A painting of an air raid on Hamburg by German landscape artist Karl Raible. He was not a propaganda artist and I believe this will be a good representation of exactly what the saw. The cascading Target Indicator Markers are just visible. The coned searchlights that have caught 2 bombers show up clearly as do the towers of several churches on the skyline. It is an interesting painting
In the early days of the Pathfinder Force they lit up the target with white flares and the main force crews identified the target for themselves in the light of the flares. This method was known as the Illumination Method was used in the early days of Pathfinder Force but was later discontinued with the introduction of G-H, Oboe and H2S.
….......
Target marking then evolved into the following methods:
The three code words used were chosen by asking three Bomber Command personnel in the operations room where they came from. One was from Newhaven, England, one from Parramatta, Australia, and one from Wanganui, New Zealand.
1/ Newhaven – Target marking blind using H2S ground mapping radar radar, then with visual backup marking. In the Newhaven method the target was located with the aid of H2S by special aircraft ( Blind Marker Illuminators ) who at about 6 mins before H Hour would illuminate the target with sticks of flares usually white and then drop Target Indicators (T/Is) in the light of the flares. The visual Markers who closely followed the Blind Marker Illuminators would pick out the exact aiming point and mark it with salvoes each of 8 or 10 T/I usually red. These visual markers were manned by the most reliable and experienced crews. The red TIs were only dropped after visual identification before the main force arrived when there was an absence of smoke and glare. The red T/Is burned out by about H +7 or at the most H = 10 mins and any red T/Is seen after then were almost certainly suspect unless the raid started late. As the main force attack could last until H + 15 or H + 20 or even longer continuous marking was required after the first markers burnt out. This was done by Backers Up carry secondary markers usually green T/I. These were aimed at the primary T/I markers on the aiming point although the green T/I were usually less accurately placed.
This technique was only successful in good weather. If the target was covered with haze or cloud the Visual Markers would not be able to identify the aiming point and visually aimed T/Is were not used.
In this case Emergency Paramatta marking was used. The Blind Marker Iluminators ( BMI ) marked using H2S radar which was unaffected by bad weather and in addition to dropping flares released T/I Markers which were usually yellow or green in colour.
These owing to the method of aiming were likely to be scattered but would be correctly centred and if for any reason the Blind Markers failed then the backers up would aim at the green T/Is.
Important points stressed to the crew at briefing were that red T/Is seen at the target when there was thick haze or extensive cloud should be treated as suspect as red T/Is were dropped on visual identification only.
Similarly red T/Is seen towards the end of an attack, if after H+10 mins, were also suspect unless the attack was late starting. Any single or scattered Reds were considered suspicious as the visual markers in a Newhaven attack would drop large salvoes of T/Is which should e well concentrated round the Aiming Point.
If large salvoes of Red were seen crews were instructed to bomb on them and not the Green TIs as they would be placed more accurately.
On the other had if no Red were seen. Crews were instructed to bomb at the centre of all the Greens and not individual Green TI. Finally on no account were crews to bomb before H Hour as incendiary loads would dazzle the Visual Markers.
….......
2/ Parramatta – target marking by blind-dropped ground markers, prefixed with "Musical" when the bombers were guided by Oboe
The Paramatta method of target marking was the most likely method to be used against very large area targets such as Berlin or under conditions where visual identification of the aiming point was not practicable. It was essentially the same as the 'blind' part of `Newhaven' marking. Primary markers, usually Red or Yellow T/I, were dropped by H2S aircraft at the beginning of the attack. Owing to the inaccuracies of blind bombing, these markers were usually scattered but their mean point of impact (MPI) would be very near the aiming point. The task of the 'backers-up' was to assess the MPI and mark it with Green T/I for the benefit of the main force. In this case, crews were briefed to aim at the estimated centre of all Green T/I visible and Red or Yellow T/I should not be bombed unless no Green T/I could be seen because these would be less accurately placed.
A version of this technique was called 'Musical Paramatta' and was used mainly against short-range targets. In this method the aiming point was kept constantly marked throughout the attack by a succession of primary markers dropped by Oboe Mosquitos of 105 and 109 Squadrons. These were usually Red T/I. Only one Mosquito every five minutes could be controlled (originally) and hence Lancasters and Halifaxes were used as backer-up aircraft which maintained the marking by aiming secondary T/I (usually Green) at the Red T/I. The secondary Green T/I markers were less accurate than the Red T/I but again, if no Red T/I were seen, crews were briefed to bomb the centre of all the Green T/I. `Musical Paramatta' differed from 'Newhaven' marking in that the primary marking of the target with Red T/I, except for short intervals, was maintained throughout the duration of the attack. It also differed in that only one salvo of two or three Red T/I would normally be burning on the aiming point at any one time, compared with two to six salvoes each of six to ten Red T/I in the case of purely `Newhaven' marking. In these circumstances, crews were always briefed to aim at the more accurate Red T/I in preference to the centre of the Green T/I.
….......
3/Wanganui – Target marking by blind-dropped sky markers when ground concealed by cloud, prefixed with "Musical" when Oboe-guided
Wanganui' sky-marking was employed on occasions when the target was cloud-covered and when visual identification was impossible. It was used either deliberately or in emergency on 'Newhaven' or `Paramatta' marking attacks. PFF aircraft, equipped with H2S or Oboe, released sky-marker flares at intervals throughout the attack. These were usually 'Red with Green Stars' or 'Green with Red Stars' and they were so placed that if the main force aimed their bombs correctly at them whilst on a specified heading, their bomb loads would fall on the aiming point. One of the most successful attacks using 'Wanganui' sky-marking technique was on the night of 13/14 February 1945 when in two attacks nearly 800 Lancasters dropped some 2,600 tons of bombs on the city of Dresden in Saxony through 10/10 cloud cover. 'Wanganui' sky-marking was carried out 'blind'. In the case of Oboe marking Musical Wanganui the Release Point (RP) flares were dropped by Mosquitos with greater accuracy than by the H2S aircraft but less frequently and usually only one aircraft load could be seen burning at any one time. Allowance was made for wind drift of the flares and the normal height and airspeed of the attacking aircraft. It was most important that bombs were released on an exact heading as detailed by the briefing officer. If the specified headings were not maintained, very large errors could arise. The same principles of centering also applied to 'Wanganui' sky markers. The accuracy of individual Pathfinder Force aircraft may not have been as high as desired and the effect of the wind sometimes resulted in the flares appearing to be rather below the aircraft might be visible, but markers some distance ahead would be obscured by the cloud. Hence, it was essential that bomb aimers kept looking ahead right up to the last moment before releasing their bombs.
..........
Decoy T/I Markers. These are mentioned in more detail in another article but when used by the Germans on occasions up to 20% of the Main Force have bombed on a certain coloured T/I marker (especially Red) and which had not been dropped by a PFF aircraft. It was found that when crews reported having bombed on T/I markers at a time when no genuine T/I were burning, their photographs almost invariably were found to be well away from the target area. Unlike the genuine T/I markers, the decoy markers were shot up from the ground and although they did cascade there were fewer and weaker-coloured candles and they burned for a shorter duration. Red appeared to be the most usual colour, though greens and yellows were reported to have been used. Their duration was only of the order of 20-25 seconds, which meant that they would probably burn out before reaching the ground. Nevertheless, seen from the air, particularly through haze or thin cloud, they were a sufficiently good imitation for inexperienced crews to be deceived by them. Usually, the enemy gave himself away by putting up decoy T/I at a stage of the attack, or under such conditions, when it was unlikely that genuine T/I would be dropped. Not only did this show the means of identifying the deception but it gave the weapon to defeat the decoy T/I —simply a thorough understanding by the bomber crews of the PFF marking techniques in general, the characteristics of the markers used and, in particular, the detailed procedure to be used by PFF for marking any particular target. It was the responsibility of the briefing Intelligence Officer to ensure that the PFF tactics for the operation were communicated clearly and, equally important, visually by means of visual aids.
….......
A Brief Description of the Various Markers used by the PFF.
T/I Marker - 2501b bomb case, filled with coloured 'candles', red, green, yellow, or white, which burst at heights according to their fuzing, cascaded to the ground where they continued to burn for up to three minutes.
Steady Ground Markers: bombs which burst on impact and which burned with a red, green or white flame.
Flares, white - ordinary reconnaissance flares.
Flares, steady - ordinary flares, which could be red or green.
Flares, red with green stars or green with red stars - flares burning with red or green light, from which green or red stars dripped.
Flares, dripping white - these burned with a bright white light, and long drips of white fell down for 50-60 feet.
Landmark flares - various types as above, which were dropped on specific landmarks or at selected positions en route.
Warning flares - various types as above, which were dropped at selected points en route with an accuracy of one mile, and which were used as timing indicators for the run-up to the target.
Release point flares - flares of various types as above, used for marking the bomb release point in the 'Wanganui' method of sky-marking in blind bombing attacks.
Bracketing flares - flares of various types as above, which were dropped one on each side of an aiming point and near the surface.
Illuminating and/or finding flares - always white reconnaissance flares, used for illuminating the ground to aid identification of ground detail.
Pink Pansy - a very large (4,0001b) bomb containing an incendiary mixture which, on bursting, spread out over a large area and burned with a pink glow. It was used to mark certain points on the track for the main force aircraft and it burned for a considerable length of time.
Spot Fire, Red - smaller version of the 'Pink Pansy'. This was a 2501b bomb case, filled with a cotton wool sock impregnated with an alcoholic mixture. The case burst at a predetermined height, and ejected the sock which floated to the ground and burned with a vivid crimson flame for 15 to 20 minutes.
Compiled by David Fell with grateful thanks to the late Bill Jones
….................
|
