Page 178
Page 178
Page 178
Operation, Maintenance and Control.
153
Regional Commissioners are freely consulted, where necessary, before civil schemes are approved, as they are able to obtain valuable information regarding underground cables, water-mains, etc. without compromising secrecy. All departments requisitioning land for schemes understand that there has to be prior consultation with the Executive Officer of the Appropriate Agricultural War Committee.
Decoy schemes for the three Service Departments, based on their domestic policies, will be prepared and carried out by those departments. Schemes for the Ministry of Home Security, embracing all civil decoys will, in the majority of cases be prepared and carried out by the Air Ministry. Those for the Petroleum Department are prepared jointly by that Department and the Air Ministry and are carried out by the Petroleum Board.
Be
For a full understanding of the difficulties of operation, maintenance and control of decoys, it is desirable that each function should be defined.
The operation of a decoy is carried out by two men who keep watch and watch every night in a shelter situated about 400 yds. from the decoy. One man is awake to attend to the telephone which is connected to the control authority. The men in the shelter are instructed in the operation of the decoy, including the starting up of any generators and the manipulation of switches. They are not responsible for deciding when the decoy is to be put into action,
The maintenance of a decoy involves the provision of personnel for operation at night and for guard duties by day and night, the supply of petrol, oil, etc., for generators, and the repair and upkeep of all wiring and plant connected with the site.
Control is exercised by an authority suitably located and provided with the necessary information to enable him to judge when to give the order for the opera- tion of the decoy.
Generally speaking, the intention is that Service Departments should operate, maintain and control their own decoys under their own arrangements, In the case of civil decoys, it is hoped to arrange contracts under which operation and maintenance will be carried out by local firms of standing in the target area, Control would be exercised through the medium of the local balloon units where such existo Where there is no balloon unit, special arrangements will have to be made.
It is
Control offers special difficulties. obvious that no decoy can be successful if it is put into action at the wrong moment, i, e. under the enemy's eyes, and it would appear that the controlling authority should be provided with meteorological information, the yellow warning signal (and, if possible, plots of aircraft move- ments preceding the yellow warning), and, in the case of dummy fires, knowledge of where bombs are being dropped. All this knowledge can only be obtained from, or in, an operationsroom which must have sufficient telephone commu- nications with the neighbourhood to obtain immediate information with regard to the dropping of bombs.
2
Page 178
Page 178