Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

The day may look dreary as hell but these flying weather
snoopers in Italy can usually find a target for our bombers
In spite of the emtomary difficulties of supply. administration
and communications attendant upon a new outfit,
the results were amal'.ing. In less than a week after the
organization of the detachment, abortive mi~~ions had been
practically erased. By the end of February, weather rccounaissancc
flights had been officially credited as the decisive
factor in the success of 15 missions that otherwise would
not have been attempted.
Cases Iike th is were typical:
Flying cntirely by instruments for two and a half hours,
two p- 38 pilots had emerged from the soup half an hour
after xunrisc to find both targets clear. A subsequent search
along the front had ferreted out several breaks large enough
to permit passage of the bombers. This information, radioed
back to Bari, enabled the rerouted heavies to complete one
of their most successful missions and to catch the Germans,
who had been lulled into a false sense of sccnritv '1 result
of the heavy belt of weather, completely hv surpri
On another day, planes had been loaded and crew
for twin daylight strikes on submarine peus at :\
and b.illbcaring works at 'I'urin. Just before tnkc-o
the mission had been temporarily cancelled. A trcucli
front, cutting at right angles across the route to thc ta
had wedged its wav over Corsica and ,', ni
chances of piercing ~t seemed slim. Yet. fi\
became of a last minute report by weather c
the bombers were chasing each other down thc nu
:\ Iiss ions flO\\'11 by wca thcr rccounaissa nee arc oughly
divisible into three principal categories. First, there arc the
general area missions in which planes arc dispatched on a
staggered schedule throughout the day oyer various routes
radiating from thc basco Reports from these area-blanketing
flights not only gi\T operations officers a detailed weather
picture for the planning of the next day's operations, but
thcv also arc of inestimable value to the HAl' in charting
night born bing missions.
Still more important arc the target check missions, £10\\'11
a short time before take-off time to pry into any questionable
weather conditions which may have developed during
the night~and to gi\'e the green light to waiting bombers if
the prospects arc promising, or to hold them at home if the
picture is dark.
Finullv, when the soup is thick and the breaks arc few,
there arc pathfinding missions to locate openings for outbound
and homing bombers whose rnaxirnnin-rnngc flights
ICl\T no surplus fuel for scouting around on thcir own.
Secret of the success of thc target check missions is timing.
Iuformatiou on weather conditions over the target area
loses its value in direct proportion to thc time lag in reporting
it. It was discovered early in the game that if thc target
is four hours away, you can't wait until the weather rccon
plane returns to make its report before you send vour
bombers off. By the time they arrive, the weather may have
changcd and the target may be closed in. Wherever possible,
thc pilot radios his findings in simple code to a powerful
h~ming station, from which point they arc promptly transmitred
to the staff weather officer and all units which might
benefit from the reports. If the distance from base to the
target is beyond the 350-400 mile radio range, a second reconnaissance
plane is sent out behind the first to pick up its
signals and rclav them home. Thus, the bombers may be half
\\;IY to their targets before the reconnaissance plane's return.
DECEMBER,1944
Llstest trauvnus-.ion method of all is the onc h' ",hell
the weather recon pilot radios his information dire cli:: :0 111C
leader of the bomber group while both arc in flight. l! 1hc
main target, for example, is Schwcinfurt and that cit:,. is
blanketed by heavy overcast, there's a sporting chance t];,lt
either Stuttgart or Regensburg is clear. The P- 38 \\ c.ithcr
plane leaves in advance of the bomber flight, takes r(;l(liJ1g$
at several points ,llong the way, observes conditions ;1: the
selected targets~or at points ncar them-s-and heads hICk.
The route of the bombers, mcnnwhilc, may be directed
either toward the main target or on a median course inr ,Ill
possible targets. Some point on the course is design;;tu] ;1')
the "Turning Point." There is also a "Point of Intcr-cc tion"
where bombers and the observation plane should p;I'" (;;L!I
other. This is placed a short distance from the Tl:ming
Point. If the bombers have received no wurd from the
weather plane by the time they reach the Tmning Point,
they proceed to the m.rin target as planned.
Expert na\ig;ltion and careful timing on the part of the
weather plane pilot arc paramount in this particular kind of
operation. I'lying on opposite courses at high speed, bOll1b.:p;
n bscrvation plane arc left only about 20 to 25 minr-
intercommunication. If the weather pilot docn't
nn hers within this brief span, his mi-vion h:1S
on is not able to determine whether a tl[~Lt
cd in all instances, \Vhen cloud cover O\CI tJ1C
o to 7/10, the bombing possibilities arc unccrtuin.
The" rvation planes arc most useful in making snre
that time is not wasted in going to impossihlc targets, .md
that a clear target is not passed up.
Dcspi tc several \'er~' definite drawbacks, the P- 38 '.',;15
chosen as the best mailable ship for reconnaissance purpo'e'i.
Its range enabled it to poke an inquisitive nose into the
most distant targets; its speed ga\'e the pilots a greater a(h;111tage
in leaving attacking l\1c~serschmitts behind, and its
ceiling permitted it to explore actual conditions through
which the high-flying bombers would pass. Its armor pl.iting
was left intact, but three of its five guns were removed to
make room for an extra VIII' radio set and battcrv, an electric
K-2+ aerial camera and a radio range recei\'Cr:
With pilots doing triple duty as their own observers, n.ivigators
and gunners, a streamlined report sheet. attached to a
clipboard clamped on the pilot's leg, was devised to make it
easier to record pertinent weather data. A simple grid svstun
is used to locate definite areas of hcnvv weather, to define
pin-point targets within these areas aiJd to report the
extent and orientation of fronts. Among the weather factors
observed arc the extent, base and height of clouds, approximate
wind direction and velocity, temperature at e\'Cry 2,000
feet of elevation, poor visibility, fog, haze, rain, snow, icing,
turbulcrrcc, thunderstorms and the levels of condensation
\'apor trails.
Weather reconnaissance, one of the newest and most
promising phases of strategic bombing. received its greatest
tribute in a recent st.itcmcnt-c-with no strings attachcd-smade
by A-3 of 1 ;th Air Force. It was that the operations
of the reconnaissance unit had slashed at IC1St six months
from thc length of the war in the \Iecliterranean by making
it possible to carry out continuous hombing strikes and thus
thwart the Germ;1I1 efforts to repair d.nnagc to kcy factories
and milir.iry installations. '*
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