RAF UPWOOD

Radar and radio terms that appear in the literature of the Bomber War 1939-1945. Refer to "Bomber Command Association News Letter", "Dresden" by David Irving, "The Other Battle" by Peter Hinchliffe, "The Bomber War" by Robin Neillands and "RAF Strategic Bombing: From Art to Science" by HC "Bill" Sykes.

Feb 2002

	ABC	Royal Air Force	Air Borne Cigar Jamming device to interfere with enemy transmissions. Extremely vulnerable to being homed onto.
	AI		Air Interception radar.
AIRBORNE GROCER		Royal Air Force	Used to jam Wurzburg radar but could be vulnerable to homing by fighters.
Arado 234		Luftwaffe	Ar 234 Blitz, The world's first jet bomber. A few were converted to night-fighters.
	ASPIDISTRA	Royal Air Force	Code name for the ground transmitters operating the DARTBOARD interference system.
	ASPIRIN	Royal Air Force	Countermeasure to Knickebien.
	ASV		Air to Surface Vessel. Radar used to detect shipping.

	AURAL MONICA	Royal Air Force		Tail warning radar device giving pips over the intercom of aircraft approaching from behind and below
	BIG BEN	Royal Air Force		North Sea patrols to try to detect the guidance system of the German V2 rockets.
	Blenheim,	Royal Air Force		Bristol Twin engines used as bomber, fighter and night-fighter,
BLOCKBUSTER		Royal Air Force		A 4,000lb bomb. First used 14 April 1941
	BOOZER	Royal Air Force		Airborne device which warned that the aircraft carrying it was being monitored by Wurzburg gun laying radar or Lichtenstien radars.
	BRIAR	Royal Air Force		Ground transmitter used to jam enemy Wurzburg ground receivers.
	BROMIDE	Royal Air Force		Counter measure to interfere with Knickebein signals.
	CARPET	Royal Air Force		Airborne jammer of German ground radar.
	CAT	Royal Air Force		ground station of OBOE (see Mouse)
CHAFF		Royal Air Force		(Window) Aluminium strips used to jam enemy radar.
	CIRCUS	Royal Air Force		Combined fighter and bomber raids. Started 10 Jan 1941
	COAL SCUTTLE	Royal Air Force		Modification existing H2S navigational radar to give a visual bearing every 30 seconds on a signal under investigation
	CORKSCREWING	Royal Air Force		Evasive manoeuvre adopted by bombers.
	CORONA	Royal Air Force		Ground transmitter based at Rugby and Leafield. Used by German speaking operators to transmit confusing messages over the German night-fighter RT control frequencies.
	COUNTER MEASURE			System designed to counter effects of enemy system
	CREEP BACK	Royal Air Force		The progressive dropping of bombs before the target was reached.
	DARTBOARD	Royal Air Force		Ground-based interference from "ASPIDISTRA" of enemy RT and WT.
	DINA	Royal Air Force		An American improvement of MANDREL airborne jamming device. Also named PIPERACK when used to counter FuG 220 AI radar
Do 17		Luftwaffe		Dornier Used as a night-fighter with an infrared detection system,
Do 217		Luftwaffe		Dornier The Do 217J and N were night-intruder or night-fighter versions,
	DR			DEAD RECKONING system of navigation
	DRUMSTICK	Royal Air Force		Ground based interference with enemy WT transmissions.
	DUNKEL-NACHTJAGD	Luftwaffe		DARK NIGHT HUNT German night-fighter zone not backed by searchlights.
	DÜPPEL	Luftwaffe		The German version of WINDOW. Strips of aluminium foil dropped to confuse the ground radar.
	ECM			Electronic Counter Measures.
	EMIL	Luftwaffe		Nickname for the Messerschmitt Bf 109E. Single engine fighter.
	EMIL-EMIL	Luftwaffe		Luftwaffe Tracking signals to guide night-fighters to target.
	EUREKA	Royal Air Force		Ground station blind homing and approach aid for aircraft.
	FIDGET	Royal Air Force		Interference of enemy high frequency night-fighter transmissions
	FISHPOND	Royal Air Force		Device fitted to H2S to enable wireless operators to scan beneath the bombers for night-fighter attacks from below.
	FLAK	Luftwaffe		FLieger Abwehr Kanonen The shells from German anti-aircraft gun
	FLENSBURG	Luftwaffe		(FuG 227) An air interception device homing onto MONICA tail warning radar.
	FLOWER	Royal Air Force		Intruder sortie, usually by Mosquitoes, against German night-fighter airfields during bomber operations.
	FREIJAGD	Luftwaffe		Bf 109s in independent high altitude sweeps over southern Britain to divert Fighter Command's response.
	FREYA	Luftwaffe		(FuG 221) A series of German early warning long range radars.
	FuGe	Luftwaffe		Funk Gerat A series of airborne homing devices used to illuminate MANDREL, MONICA, H2S and ASV. Later modifications permitted their use as search radars.
	FuGe25	Luftwaffe		IFF radar on fighters for identification to Wurzburg.
	FuGe25a	Luftwaffe		IFF radar on fighters for identification to Freya
Fw 190		Luftwaffe		Focke Wulf fighter single engine
	GARDENING	Royal Air Force		Code word for mine laying by aircraft
	GEE	Royal Air Force		Radar navigational aid which could provide the navigator with a fix from pulses transmitted by three ground stations. Range approximately 300 miles. The pulses displayed on a Cathode Ray Tube provided a reading. The navigator referred the reading to a chart to obtain ground position. First used 11/12 August 1941
	G-H	Royal Air Force		A two-station radar position finding system used as a navigation and bombing aid.
	GISELA	Luftwaffe		German intruder operation night-fighters following the British bombers back to their bases.
GOMORRAH		Royal Air Force		Operation to attack Hamburg
GRAND SLAM			Royal Air Force	22,000lb bomb. First used by No 617 Squadron 14 March 1945
	GROSS-BATTERIEN	Luftwaffe		Batteries of anti-aircraft guns.
	GROUND GROCER	Royal Air Force		Jamming device used to interfere with Air Interception radar.
	GROUND RECEIVER			Ground based station receiving signals.
	GUSTAV	Luftwaffe		Nickname for the Bf 109G.
	H2S	Royal Air Force		"HOME SWEET HOME". A blind bombing aid which produced a radar 'picture' of the terrain over which the aircraft was passing. First used by No 7 & 35 Squadrons 30 Jan 1943.
	H2X (MICKEY)			H2S used in the USAF.
	Halifax	Royal Air Force		Handley Page H.P.57 Heavy bomber, Four engines less known than the Lancaster but almost as important. It was built both with liquid-cooled and radial engines
Hampden,		Royal Air Force		Handley Page H.P52 Medium bomber, used during the first part of WW2. Heavy losses were suffered on day bomber missions. The Hampden was abandoned by Bomber Command in 1942.
	HAPPY VALLEY	Royal Air Force		Nickname for the Ruhr industrial area.
	HEINRICH	Luftwaffe		German transmitter to jam GEE. First used 9/10 August 1942
	HELLE NACHTJAGD	Luftwaffe		ILLUMINATED NIGHT HUNT. German night-fighter interception involving searchlights.
HIMMELBETT		Luftwaffe		System of directing night-fighter to a target.
	HOMER	Royal Air Force		Ground-based radio guidance system using transmission from aircraft returning to landing ground.
	IFF			IDENTIFICATION FRIEND OR FOE. Equipment carried by aircraft of both sides, which issued a signal identifying it as friendly to own radar stations.
INTRUDER				Aircraft used to infiltrate into the enemy air space. Often attacking landing aircraft.
	JABO	Luftwaffe		JAGDBOMBER Messerschmitt Bf 109s converted to carry 250Kg bombs and carry out nuisance raids.
	JAGDGESCHWADER	Luftwaffe		Day fighters.
	JAGDSCHLOSS	Luftwaffe		Rotating long range early warning radar.
	JAM			To interfere with radio and radar transmissions
	JAMMER			An installation to interfere with enemy radar and radio transmissions.
	JOSTLE	Royal Air Force		Airborne jamming device to interfere with enemy RT transmissions.
Ju 88		Luftwaffe		Junkers 88, One of the most versatile aircraft of WW2. It began its career as a fast dive bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, and later was used also as, night-fighter and heavy day fighter.
	JUG	Royal Air Force		Nickname for the P-47 Thunderbolt escort fighter.
	KAMMHUBER-LINE	Royal Air Force		Nickname for the system of air defence set up by General Joseph Kammhuber.
	KAMPF GESHWADER	Luftwaffe		Bomber wings.
	KNICKEBEIN	Luftwaffe		German radio beams used to guide their bombers to their targets. Based on LORENZ landing system.
	KORFU	Luftwaffe		(FuG 351) Ground radar used to produce fixes on the bombers using H2S equipment.
Lancaster		Royal Air Force		Avro The most used British heavy bomber. Four engines. The Lancaster was a development of the unsatisfactory twin-engine {Manchester}. First used 3 March 1942
Liberator				Consolidated B-24 heavy bomber. Four engines.
	LICHTENSTEIN	Luftwaffe		(FuG 212) Air interception radar.
	LICHTENSTEINGERAT	Luftwaffe		(FuG 220) Air Interception search radar effective at 2 miles.
LNSF		Royal Air Force		Light Night Striking Force Raids and intruder operations by Mosquito aircraft
	LORAN	Royal Air Force		LOng RANge navigation system based on GEE.
	LORENZ	Luftwaffe		Blind landing system developed as a bombing aid. Two radio beams one transmitting morse code dots, the other dashes. Where the beams join the equi-signal a continuous note marks the course. See Knickebein X-gerat and Y-gerat.
	LUCERO	Royal Air Force		Homing beacon
	LUFTWAFFE	Luftwaffe		German airforce WW2
	MAHMOUD	Royal Air Force		Night-fighter operation conducted against Luftwaffe night-fighters with a Mosquito joining their landing pattern.
	MAMMUT	Luftwaffe		HOARDING. German long range radar.
	MANDREL SCREEN	Royal Air Force		Airborne radar jamming device 85-135 MHz to counter the Freya early warning system.
	MATTSCHEIBE	Luftwaffe		FOCUSING SCREEN. German name for the glow in the sky from searchlights, flares and fires against which the bombers were silhouetted.
Me 109		Luftwaffe		Messerschmitt The Bf 109 was the Luftwaffe's standard fighter throughout WW2. Single engine.
Me 110		Luftwaffe		Messerschmitt Bf 110, A heavy twin-engined fighter
Me 262		Luftwaffe		Messerschmitt The Me 262 was the first operational jet fighter. Me 262 arrived too late to influence the end of WW2.
	MILK RUN	Royal Air Force		Nuisance sorties over Berlin undertaken by Mosquitoes to activate the German air defence system.
	MILLENNIUM	Royal Air Force		Code name for the first 1000 bomber raid on Cologne 30-31 May 1942.
	MOLING	Royal Air Force		Daylight operation making use of 8-10/10ths cloud cover and bombing on a Gee fix.
	MONICA	Royal Air Force		Tail radar warning device effective up to four miles.
	MOONSHINE	Royal Air Force		Radio jamming device used to deceive the Freya radars by returning their own signal in an amplified form giving the impression of a larger force that in fact existed.
Mosquito		Royal Air Force		de Havilland A twin-engined aircraft of plywood monocoque construction, designed originally as a fast, unarmed light bomber also served as fighter-bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and night-fighter. Only matched by the Ju 88 night-fighter versions. First operation 31 May 1942.
	MOUSE	Royal Air Force		Airborne station of OBOE (see Cat).
NACHTJUGDLEITSTELLE		Luftwaffe		Night-fighter control
	NAXOS	Luftwaffe		(FuG 227) Ground radar which produced fixes on aircraft using H2S.
	NAXOS 2	Luftwaffe		Airborne version of NAXOS.
	NEPTUN	Luftwaffe		(FuG 216-217-218) German radar warning device of attack from the rear or alternatively, a night-fighter search radar.
	NEWHAVEN	Royal Air Force		Visual ground target marker.
	NICKELING	Royal Air Force		Code name for leaflet dropping.
	NORDEN			United States Air Force bombsite used for precision visual bombing.
	NUISANCE RAIDS			One or two aircraft acting alone as intruders to cause a nuisance to the enemy. Often attacking an airfield or a town to set off alarms.
	OBOE	Royal Air Force		Target-finding bombing aid using two transmitting stations - CAT and MOUSE. The beam from CAT set the track to the target. MOUSE plotted the distance from the target. OBOE operators at base could transmit release signals to the crew and bombs would be released. Used for target marking. Used by blind bombing Mosquitos of No 109 Squadron 20-21 Dec 1942.
	OCCULTS	Royal Air Force		Flashing beacon navigational aids used by returning aircraft.
	PARAMETTA	Royal Air Force		Blind target marking.
PATHFINDER			Royal Air Force	Aircraft used to mark targets for the main bomber stream often using advanced navigation aids. First operation 18/19 August 1942.
	PERFECTOS	Royal Air Force		Airborne radar used to home on the IFF equipment carried by the German night-fighters.
	PFF	Royal Air Force		PATHFINDER FORCE. Small groups of aircraft which, after finding the target, put down marker flares to guide the following bombers to the target.
	PIPERACK	Royal Air Force		Airborne jamming device.
	POST KLYSTRON	Luftwaffe		Jamming device to counter H2S.
	PUNDITS	Royal Air Force		Flashing beacon to identify an airfield. Using morse code.
	RADAR			[RAdio Detection And Ranging] Used for navigation, target location, search warning, counter measures and jamming. Under continuos development.
	RAMROD	Royal Air Force		A tactical bombing mission with fighter escort.
	RANGER	Royal Air Force		Similar to Circus but usually a deep penetration operation.
	RAYON	Royal Air Force		Ground-based interference of KNICKEBEIN in night-fighter control.
	RAZZLE	Royal Air Force		Phosphorous coated wooden strips transported in water. Razzles were designed to fire crops and forests but with negligible effect.
RCM				Radio Counter Measures.
RDF				Radio Direction Finding
	REBECCA	Royal Air Force		Airborne interrogator end of a two-part system using a ground beacon called EUREKA. Designed as a homing system for the identification of ground forces during supply drops.
	RHUBARB	Royal Air Force		Low-level tactical operation from cloud cover
RODERICH		Luftwaffe		German jamming device to counter H2S.
RT				Radio Transmission
SABS		Royal Air Force		Stabilised Automatic BombSight. Precision bombsight. Used by No.617 Squadron
SCARECROWS		Royal Air Force		Flares which British aircrews believed were being used by the Germans to deceive them into believing they were bombers in flames.
SCHRÄGE-MUSIK		Luftwaffe		SLANTED MUSIC. Upward firing 20mm cannons fitted in the fighters fuselage.
SCUTTLE		Royal Air Force		A roving commission by individual aircraft bombing built up areas through gaps in the cloud, on a GEE fix or ETA at target
SEEBURG TISCH		Luftwaffe		SEEBURG TABLE Glass screen on which the German night-fighter controllers plotted the course of the raid
SERRATE		Royal Air Force		Airborne radar receiver used to intercept German night-fighters' Lichtenstein bomber detection equipment. Carried on Beaufighters
SHAKER		Royal Air Force		A bombing technique using illuminators, the target markers and the followers. The followers using the marked targets rather than GEE to locate the target. The timing of arrival over the target was critical.
SHIVER		Royal Air Force		Airborne transmitter used to jam Wurzburg radar.
SN-2		Luftwaffe		FuG 220 Ai radar using 72, 81 or 91 MHz giving bearing and height. At unaffected by Window.
	SONNE	Luftwaffe		Navigation aid using ordinary RT receiver only. Used as CONSOL postwar.
SPANNER		Luftwaffe		An infra-red device to enable pilot to lock on to the target's engine heat.
Stirling		Royal Air Force		Short S.29 First of the RAF's four-engined heavy bombers. Soon replaced by the Lancaster and Halifax.
TALLBOY		Royal Air Force		Streamlined 12000lb bomb that fell at supersonic speed and buried itself deep in the ground before exploding. It was designed for near-misses, destroying its target by an earthquake effect. Used on 15-16 Sept 1943.
TI		Royal Air Force		Target Indicator flares used by PFF to mark targets. Used in raid on Berlin 16-17 Jan 1943
TINSEL		Royal Air Force		Airborne jamming device used by wireless operators to transmit engine noise over the German night-fighter control frequencies
TUBA		Royal Air Force		Jamming device for Freya radar operating in the 70-200 MHz range.
	TWAFFE-HELFERINNEN	Luftwaffe		"Blitz Maidens". German female radar plotters.
VILLAGE INN		Royal Air Force		A gun laying radar installed in the rear-turret of some Lancaster bombers allowing blind-firing on an illuminated" target.
VISUAL MONICA		Royal Air Force		Tail warning radar device provide CRT information of aircraft approching from behind and below.
WANGANUI		Royal Air Force		Coloured flares dropped to sky mark a target.
WASSERMANN		Luftwaffe		CHIMNEY German long range radar with a range of up to 190 Km.
Wellington		Royal Air Force		Vickers Twin-engined medium bomber of geodetic construction. It was the main British bomber during the first part of WW2,
WHITE BOMBS		Royal Air Force		Nickname for propaganda leaflets.
Whitley		Royal Air Force		Armstrong Whitworth Twin-engined monoplane bomber. One of the first heavy night bombers of the RAF, and the first RAF aircraft with a stressed-skin fuselage.
WILDE SAU		Luftwaffe		WILD BOAR. Originally single-seat fighters, not equipped with radar, operating during the night. They found their target against the bright background of burning cities.
WINDOW		Royal Air Force		Strips of aluminium foil dropped to confuse the German ground radars. First used 24/25 July 1943.
	WT			Wireless Transmission.
WURZBURG		Luftwaffe		Short range radar capable of giving both height and range. Used for gun and searchlight control.
WURZBURG REISEN		Luftwaffe		WUrzburg Giant radar used for fighter control in the Himmelbett system.
WURZBURG REISEN		Luftwaffe		Two radars in use giving position of fighter and the target to the ground controller.
X-GERAT		Luftwaffe		Radio beams used to guide bombers to the target. An approach beam and three cross beams guided the pilot and navigator to the bomb release point.
Y-GERAT		Luftwaffe		Radio beam used to guide their bombers to the target using a single beam.
Y-SERVICE		Royal Air Force		Organisation for the interception and reporting of enemy wireless "chatter" for intelligence purposes.
ZAHME SAU		Luftwaffe		TAME BOAR. Ground controlled night-fighter system using a broadcast commentary on the developing raid.
ZERSTORER GESHWADER		Luftwaffe		DESTROYER WINGS. Wings composed of Bf110 heavy fighters.

For errors and omissions please contact

Tony Saint.

ynot99@aol.com

ABC

AI

Air Interception radar.

ASPIDISTRA

ASV

BIG BEN

BLOCKBUSTER

CIRCUS

COUNTER MEASURE

FuGe

GRAND SLAM

JAGDGESCHWADER

JAGDSCHLOSS

JAM

JAMMER

JOSTLE

Ju 88

JUG

KAMMHUBER-LINE

KAMPF GESHWADER

KNICKEBEIN

KORFU

LICHTENSTEIN

LICHTENSTEINGERAT

LORAN

LORENZ

LUCERO

LUFTWAFFE

MAHMOUD

MAMMUT

MANDREL SCREEN

MATTSCHEIBE

MILK RUN

MILLENNIUM

MOLING

MONICA

MOONSHINE

MOUSE

NACHTJUGDLEITSTELLE

NAXOS

NEPTUN

NEWHAVEN

NUISANCE RAIDS

PATHFINDER

RT

SCHRÄGE-MUSIK

TWAFFE-HELFERINNEN

WILDE SAU

WT