How did pilots 'call out' approaching bandits?

[NickM]

Guys:

I know the 'Western' allies would use the 'clock' system (12 O'clock; 6 O'clock etc) but from my casual reading of memoirs it seems the Germans did not. What was their radio protocols to warn one another of the position of enemy aircraft?

Thanks ahead of time.

[Oberst]

'Indianer!' -- Enemy spotted
'Horrido!' -- Victory or to call attention to the victory
'Pauke!' -- Ground-guided or radar-guided interception

[yogybär]

Nick, the Germans also used the clock system.

[NickM]

Originally Posted by yogybär

Nick, the Germans also used the clock system.

Really? Thanks, I was totally unaware of that! I never picked it up from my readings. I noticed it was used in computer games by LW AI but I assumed it just in the game.

[NickM]

Originally Posted by Oberst

'Indianer!' -- Enemy spotted
'Horrido!' -- Victory or to call attention to the victory
'Pauke!' -- Ground-guided or radar-guided interception

Sure; but how do you tell your gruppe/staffel/schwarm/rotte leader the vector of the enemy below/above/behind/to the right/to the left without confusing anybody?

[Oberst]

Always from the caller position. example ' Blau 11 Vorsicht! Indianer 6.00 hoch!'

Bubi Sie tötete einen anderen roten Teufel!! Horrido!!

Radio call signs, and/or names, just like the Allies used.

[NickM]

EXCELLENT! Thanks. In all my readings of (admittedly translated) Jagdwaffe memoirs, I never saw them reference the 'clock system'; I have seen expression like 'Indian/Question Mark' Above/below/behind, but never got a good idea of what radio protocols were like.

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi Nick,

Some samples of radio chatter between German fighter pilots from 17 September 1941, intercepted and translated by the British Y-Service:

14:56 (British time)
Fritz - Hugo: "Spitfires due west of us"
Hugo - Fritz: "Be quiet"
Fritz - Hugo: "There by the clouds, there by the clouds"
Hugo - aircraft: "Look out, all Hugo aircraft look out on our left"
Hugo - aircraft: "Look out, attack coming from above"
Hugo - aircraft: "Are you there? Are you there?"
Fritz - aircraft: "Paul!" (top of his voice)
Hugo - aircraft: "Hullo, Hugo aircraft: one bandit orbitting right"
Aircraft - Hugo: "Am breaking off, am breaking off!"

16:09 (British time)
Aircraft - aircraft: "Spitfires! Look out! 10 miles to the north-east"

17:52 (British time)
Aircraft - aircraft: "Links ein Spitfeuermauer"

18 September 1941, 16:02 (British time)
OHO (aircraft) - Heinz (aircraft): "There's a Spitfire in the direction of the sea to the south of us"
Heinz - OHO: "No! That's me. It must be below me"

27 September 1941, 14:19 (British time)
Aircraft - aircraft: "Where are these ...'s?"
Aircraft - aircraft: "Here we are"
Aircraft - aircraft: "Look out! Enemy attack coming from direction 2 high!"

14:21 (British time)
"They're to the left beyond the coast, under the cloud trail!"

In the various transcripts I checked, the clock system was very rarely used.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - www.facebook.com/airwarpublications

[NickM]

Originally Posted by Andrew Arthy

Hi Nick,

Some samples of radio chatter between German fighter pilots from 17 September 1941, intercepted and translated by the British Y-Service:

14:56 (British time)
Fritz - Hugo: "Spitfires due west of us"
Hugo - Fritz: "Be quiet"
Fritz - Hugo: "There by the clouds, there by the clouds"
Hugo - aircraft: "Look out, all Hugo aircraft look out on our left"
Hugo - aircraft: "Look out, attack coming from above"
Hugo - aircraft: "Are you there? Are you there?"
Fritz - aircraft: "Paul!" (top of his voice)
Hugo - aircraft: "Hullo, Hugo aircraft: one bandit orbitting right"
Aircraft - Hugo: "Am breaking off, am breaking off!"

16:09 (British time)
Aircraft - aircraft: "Spitfires! Look out! 10 miles to the north-east"

17:52 (British time)
Aircraft - aircraft: "Links ein Spitfeuermauer"

18 September 1941, 16:02 (British time)
OHO (aircraft) - Heinz (aircraft): "There's a Spitfire in the direction of the sea to the south of us"
Heinz - OHO: "No! That's me. It must be below me"

27 September 1941, 14:19 (British time)
Aircraft - aircraft: "Where are these ...'s?"
Aircraft - aircraft: "Here we are"
Aircraft - aircraft: "Look out! Enemy attack coming from direction 2 high!"

14:21 (British time)
"They're to the left beyond the coast, under the cloud trail!"

In the various transcripts I checked, the clock system was very rarely used.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - www.facebook.com/airwarpublications

Thanks; sounds confusing if the unit spreads out a bit.