1941-09-09 — Page 9

THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 9, 1941

HOW ENEMY RAIDERS COURSE IS LOGGED

A SLIM GIRL in W.A.A.F. uniform moved counters about upon an immense table which was a map of England. At a glance a Wing Commander interpreted for me: "One minute ago there were nine enemy 'planes of a certain type flying due west over that area at 10,000ft, and they were being at- tacked by fighters from the station shown upon the wall," says Mr. Stewart Sale in "The Daily Tele- `graph."

This was but a fliction to illustrate the sort of thing that happens in this operations room

of a Fighter Command group, where they have turned the sky upside down and spread it out, like a table- cloth, deep underground.

ان

Keeping Records

J. P. ABSENT

FOR 20 YEARS

A magistrate who lives opposite a police court has never attended for 20 years and never signed a summons in that time.

That allegation was made by Dr. Peters (L. Nat., Hunts) in the Commons the Justices (Supplemental List)

Bill.

In a glass-fronted cubicle, next 1000. to the Controller's, Nat Army officers with

of instant

means

As the RA F. men say. trade long before the raiders cross our was poor at the moment, so the line." Controller, looking down from gallery, us though from the stra- tasphere, WIS running through! exercises to keep his staff alert.

The lights in this room were Latched on in September, 1939, 'commun,cation with anti-aircraft and have never been switched on, batteries and searchlight stations. again. Night and day since then In many rooms, opening off long rooves in the Battle of Britain corridors. 1 passed girls keeping have been played out here ...cords from which it would be strange business af ruloured lights, possible to track teleprinters,

and every plane detected over loudspeakers black-boards, with

War girls shoving area since things about upon the map with long poles shaped like shepherd's

Yooks.

Tell-Tale Movements

a

A telepeniter stuttered out message from an Observer Corps centre: watchers at their post had sighted three aircraft at 10,000ft. With an arrangement of discs and numbers and a movement of her role, a girl plotted them upon the

Had the map.

message shown that these were enemy planes and had this been reality instead

'50 UP' FOR NIGHT ACES

the course of the

A famous night-fighter began, soldiers working teleprinters, an elaborate squadron has achieved switchboard, a

depart-

How's that ???

Page

"Excellent! It's White Horse.

I could tell it blindfold.

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witchard, a sweater, drains the record of bringing WHITE HORSE

ment-all many feet below ground

in an atmosphere dry and salty, down fifty enemy raiders

like that of the Bakerloo.

after dark.

at With their score standing forty-nine, cheers

through rang the station when a pilot returned soon after mild-night to report that the fifty mark had been reached. Helped by the bright light of no the full moon, he had chased and two shot down a Heinkel.

The officer commanding the an office group Bits apart in adorned with maps and charts and dangling models of German 'planes, He knows all that is happening, and, if he so wishes, will take over control of the operations room, needing more than a movement or to study the map.

This pilot nearly scored a “dou- What you see here, he told me, ble" for shortly afterwards he in- of make-believe--the Controller shows something of the immense tercepted another raider, hit it, might have flipped switch, organisation that we have had to and then lost it.

# spoken a few words into a micro.build up since the fall of France. phone, and so sent fighter pilots, When France dropped out of the miles away scrambling into their wär We had to put groups all machines.

rounds

country one of the disce as to be able to deal with the Hun As it was, showed that the 'planes were no matter where he might come Now we have had time to not yet identified-and the Con..in.

1 get our breath and things are troller held his hand.

cally going quite well.

the

So

A yellow light, which for Ave We use scientile methods. We minutes had been shinning at the head of the table, became a blue me, and, defl as croupiers, the Erls raked some of the symbols from the map, for if it were not revised the picture would be lost in delal no longer nerded.

Every time the hight changes from yellow to blue, or from blue t. red. the picture stands forth

are not hidebound by tradition in that matter. and we have gone ahead. We have shot down enemy aircraft as far as 100 miles out! to sea. Convoys are a very in- portant concern of ours.

Less than an hour later the squadron bagged its fifty-first vic-

tim.

The squadron has received the following message from their group commander: "Congatula- tions on passing your half century Keep up the good work. I look forward with confidence to the hundred up."

'COWBOY'

Hun Doesn't Like It AIR RIDE

We have It tremendous and

can talk to any

Somersaulting

from a training

autow. showing all that is hap- complicated -ystem of communi- pening in the group's area and incations. We the areas of neighbouring groups sector merely by turning a switch, aeroplane 500ft in the air, flying as well. from the north-east coast When the men of the Royal cadet Woodrick.

Nines eastwards to the sea.

23, landed on

to the Channel and from the Pen-Observer Corps report enemy the tail of the machine and rode aircraft there is a lag of two or cowboy fashion to the ground at three minutes before the message East St. Louis, Illinois. reaches us from the centre which He told a New York corres- checks and sorts out all such repondent: "We were practising

Constant Reports

'plane down and out I went

To the making of it goes infor-ports; but we should have air landing. The instructor nosed-the mation from many sources-from craft off the ground within five the constant reports of the Royal or six minutes. Observer Corps, from coast watching stations, from ships at sea and from the liaison officers of Bomber and Coastal Com- mands who are stationed at group headquarters. This information is co-ordinated and checked by a special section and then relayed by telephone and teleprinter to the plotters seated round the table-map.

"I turned a complete somer- In these dull times we may sault and landed astride the fusel- put up helf a dozen sectors to age right next to the tail. I just have a go at a rabbit, for pilots sat still until the instructor landed. are apt to get.ather bored when they have nothing to do. We teach all the squadrons to work over other groups as well as over their own. I can stop the guns it I want to and the searchlights as well.

PRINTED SECRET NEWSPAPER FOR SIX MONTHS

The night-fighters, too, move at While I talked to the Wing our direction. If we had had Commander something happencanother clear moon last week-end, to that plot he had ex- and if the Hun had played; our plained to me. The symbol re- results might have made an in- presenting the attacked squadrop teresting study in the light of had been removed and a figure those of last mooh. You can see A Polish green grocer in War- 9 had become a figure 2.

be does not like what he is getting saw Dombroski, has been arrest- "What is supposed to have from us by the way he comes ined by the Nazis, Vi happened there," he said is that now but I don't think he has yet In the caller of his stall he had the aquadron has returned to its had a severe enough crack to put Installed a duplicating machine, On one side of the brown paper. base and seven of the enemy him off."· have been shot down." If you put He looked at his maps, shook in which he wrapped his custo watch the panel⠀⠀ you will see his head and said, with ample mers packages he printed Polish

regret "I'm sorry,^ trade's.

so news heard over thie, bondon radio. poo

He edited this brown paper parcel newspaper for six months until one night the Gastano burst into the cellar and discovered the radio and the duplicating two black, squares appeared on

apparatus, The Directon of Alr Rild Pre- | - Twelve secret -- the map, Genuine Huns, he point-

spapers are ed out. But they are not impor- cautions announces that all air now being pub

In Warsaw vot tant, Trade everywhere is poor raid sirens in Hong Kong, and aldne with a total ofr Just now.co

Kowloon will be tested simul about 150,000. Some hu The point of, showing on the taneously some time between the smuggled from Poland to London, map what is happening in the hours 10 am, and 0 p.m. It is said that Mr. Churchilf was arees of other groups, as well as to-morrow, Wednesday.

amüzed when shown a cópy- of in our own, is that the Controller The test will consist of a con- one, containing the photograph of Stiah-Pollshi thus has warning, of Simpending tinuous blast of 'minutda the signing of the; Military (@grooment. attacks, and can prepare for them (duration,

how that is recordedame As he spoke, a line of coloured lights winked beneath the name of a station upon the wall, picking "out the words, -Squadzon ordered. to land,At the same moment

SIRENS TO BE TESTED

WHISKY-

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