Secret code : May 1940 R.A.F.

[arnaud]

Could somebody give some details about this secret message : there are traget locations for bombing :

Target 1 : 155 degreed AX 1 23 miles.
Target 2 : 150 degreed AX 1 27 miles.
Target 3 : 142 degreed AX 1 27 miles.
Target 4 : 145 degreed AX 1 32 miles.
Target 5 : 149 degreed AX 1 30 miles.

I need a specialist examination. This is a difficult one...

Thanks

[Andy Saunders]

Arnaud

Are there any clues as to what (or where) AX is? Is it an airfield?

Presumably the message(s) relate to a specific RAF Squadron? If so, is AX their home base?

Without further clues then I suspect it will be a bit of a challenge to unravel, unless somebody just happens to know the answer!

I think we possibly also need a few more clues as to what exactly you need to know.

[Peter Cornwell]

Five targets suggestive of the Sedan bridges on May 14, 1940 ? But reciprocal headings and distances from there doesn't place you near any known Battle bases that day. As Andy says - more information would be useful. We enjoy a challenge but ...

[arnaud]

Bonjour Andy and Peter,

I am working on air bombing on Sedan on May 14 1940. There are codes sent from A.A.S.F. headquarters to squadrons for bombing those targets.

M. Norman Franks wrote in his book Valiant Wings :

Target n° 1 : South of Sedan
Target n° 2 : Remilly
Target n° 3 : Douzy
Target n° 4 : Mouzon
Target n° 5 : Mouzon

I have some problems with those targets for many reasons too long to explain. This secret code could help me once it is understood...

Thank you for giving your feeling or suggestions to find some informations in the National Archives.

This is important, and I will be very thankful if we could manage to solve this problem...

A bientôt

Arnaud

[arnaud]

Erratum :

Not sent to squadron HQ, but to wing HQ.

[Peter Cornwell]

Arnaud,

The RAF Narrative of the Campaign in France and the Low Countries September 1939 - June 1940 compiled by the Air Historical Branch is held under (NA)PRO Reference AIR41/21. Appendices and maps are filed separately.

[ian hunt]

Could they be the bearings and distances from a single, common, navigation/turning point (Point "AX") to the 5 different targets?

To test this idea, does working backwards on reciprocal courses for those distances from the Sedan bridges lead you to a single point (AX)?

Just a thought.

Ian

[ian hunt]

Hi Chaps

I think my idea above may work, with point AX (or maybe AX 1) being the starting point at Fumay on the southern stretch of the river where it loops round and comes back closest to itself in the reverse 'C' shape around the town.

I haven't measured the bearings but the distances seem pretty much correct from there to the bridges at the places described.

You can see this on the Daft Logic website which gives you a 'Google Maps Distance Calculator' from which you can find cumulative distances from point to point on the map.

1. Start by placing the first point on the bridge at Douzy (0 miles)
2. Put the next point as I've described above at Fumay (you can move it around to make the distance exact). The distance comes up at 27 miles!
3. Now put a third point on any one of the other bridges (Sedan, Mouzon, Remillly) and the new cumulative distance, less the initial 27, seems to give (near enough) the correct distances as per the list: 23, 27, 30 or 32 miles. Again you can move this third point from one bridge to another and see how the cumulative distance changes. Deduct 27 each time to see the distance from Fumay.

So my guess would be that the starting point AX or AX1 was the river feature at Fumay, from where the various target bridges were on the distances and bearings given.

I haven't measured the actual bearings but visually they look approx ok and the relative distances seem to tie-in.

Anyone agree with this theory?

Ian

[ian hunt]

Hi all

Have re-checked the distances, moving the points slightly to measure them from the hospital in the centre of Fumay (in the middle of the 'reverse C-shaped island') and this gives the following distances to the bridges [figures in brackets are those given in Arnaud's original post for comparison]:

Fumay hospital pinpoint to bridge at:
Douzy - 26.82 miles [27]
Remilly - 26.62 [27]
Mouzon (SW) - 31.18 [32]
Mouzon (N) - 30.93 [30]
S of Sedan - 23.34 [23]

The two at Mouzon are slightly out but would I'm sure be near enough for aerial navigation purposes.

Ian

[arnaud]

Bonjour Ian,

Your method seems good. Locations given by M. Norman Franks are here just for help. The original question was to check if there are right or wrong.

According to your method, distances seems right. Did you check your method with the degrees ?

For the two objectifs at Mouzon, one was in fact 1.500 m N. of Villers-devant-Mouzon (a well-known barrage). The second one is either one or several bridges in the village or in the south.

Thank you for your research...