08 May Teletype
64 years ago today was VE Day. May 8, 1945. Victory in Europe. A special tribute today to those veterans who fought for our freedom.
It is mind boggling to imagine how the 8th Air Force was able to communicate to each base the complex plans for the combat missions …
Target Berlin outlines the striking force for the March 6th raid to Berlin. There were 3 different bomb divisions, each with combat wings, each from several different bomb groups/specific airfields. For example, 20 B-17s flew out of Thurleigh that day … the 306th Bomb Group. All 20 planes and crews penetrated enemy territory.
In all, 814 B-17s and B-24s left their bases that day to strike the German capital. Along with 943 P-38, P-47, and P-51 escorts.
The exact formation of the bomber stream was choreographed in minute detail. Each pilot in each squadron had to know when to join the formation. The escorts had to know when and where to appear. Each movement was preplanned according to intelligence and weather reports regarding the flak, German fighter units, cloud cover, targets, etc. etc.
When I was in Savannah at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, the Research Director took me into the Archives and showed me a thick file containing original paperwork from one of the missions from one of the Bomb Groups. Lists, charts, drawings … all transmitted from “headquarters” to each airfield.
They had none of the devices that today we rely on … no computers with printers , faxes, emails with attachments.
They worked with telephones, typewriters, carbon paper, radios, couriers, and … my favorite … the teletype machine! The orders to the base would arrive by teletype, setting the intricate plan into action.
I would love to get a better sense of how this all worked from anyone who was there.
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