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Allied and Soviet Air Forces Please use this forum to discuss the Air Forces of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. |
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Target codes 8th Air Force
Would anybody know where target code GU-4048 stood for, was it for Fliegerhorst Achmer or Handorf?
--Cees |
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
For what is worth, there is a pdf file here:
http://24december1944.com/wp-content/uploads/FO587.pdf On the last page (page 7) under Information for Scouting Force there "appears" (if I am reading it correctly) to be a list of target codes with co-ordinates. GU-4048 appears to be Ettinghausen (actual co-ordinates) 50°28'42"N 008°38'26"E The next code, GU-3963 appears to be the airfield at Kirch-Gons. You can possibly check some of these in the site: https://www.forgottenairfields.com/index.php Last edited by RSwank; 15th November 2018 at 20:56. |
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
Hi Cees,
The target coding system was fixed, but had some alterations during the war. Each code was unique for a specific target, though. GU-4048 indicated airfield Schleissheim. Regards, Hans |
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
(One correction to my original post, the co-ordinates 50°28'42"N 008°38'26"E are for the field at Kirch-Gons not Ettinghausen.)
Let us look at the Air Force Chronology for the attacks on 24 December, 1944, the link is here: http://paul.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/wwii...ml/Dec.44.html In particular the set of targets listed in item 2 of mission 760: 2. 542 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Merzhausen air depot (198) and airfields at Giessen (74), Kirchgons (54), Nidda (53) and Ettinghausen (43); secondary targets hit are Koblenz (42), Darmstadt (7), Kaiserslautern (5) and Babenhausen (4). From the list on page 7 of this link: http://24december1944.com/wp-content/uploads/FO587.pdf We get GU 4048 – 5034-0853 (50 34N, 8 53E is near Ettinghausen) https://www.google.com/maps/place/50...67!4d8.8833333 GU 3963 – 5028-0838 (50 28N, 8 38E is near Kirch-Gons) https://www.google.com/maps/place/50...67!4d8.6333333 GU 4393 – 5026-0859 (50 26N, 8 59E is near Nidda) https://www.google.com/maps/place/50...33!4d8.9833333 GU 4329 – 5020-0829 (50 20N, 8 29E is near Merzhausen) https://www.google.com/maps/place/50...33!4d8.4833333 GU 4098 – 5036-0843 (50 36N, 8 43E is near Giessen) https://www.google.com/maps/place/50....6!4d8.7166667 GU 2973 – 5053-0802 (50 53N, 8 02E is near/in Siegen which is not a target listed in the chronology) GH 5548 – 5019-0736 (50 19N, 7 36E is just south of Koblenz) https://www.google.com/maps/place/50....3166667!4d7.6 Except for Siegen (which may have been a target or possible secondary that was not hit that day) the rest of the GU and GH target codes and locations seem to match up quite well with targets that were actually hit. In particular, it seems to suggest to me that GU-4048, (at least on that day and for that attack), was Ettinghausen. Just to add to the confusion, there is a very long report here: http://401bg.org/Archive/Document/Mi...Report/118.pdf which contains a lot of information about an attack on the I.G. Farben synthetic oil refinery at Merseburg on July 29, 1944. On page 34 the target code for the factory is given as GU-4048. |
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
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Just a long shot: what about GU 4084 (in stead of 4048), could that me Achmer or Handorf? --Cees |
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
Further to this: the photo is from the field order 2nd BD 21 feb 1944. Clearly is states GU 4048, but this could not be the target of the day at all - see the coordinates. Type error? Should it be GU 4084 - either Achmer or Handorf...??
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
Cees,
Interesting page. Do you have the pages immediately before and after that page? I could be wrong, but here is my understanding of it. At the "control" point, they split into two attacking formations, going to different targets, maybe Achmer for one and Handorf for the other. (Achmer just west of Bramsche and Handorf NE of Munster (am I correct on that?)). I think the previous page would contain a statement: On Target GU-XXX and then lead into the timings that follow from the top of the page you posted. I think that possibly that target is Achmer based on the timings and locations we can see. (But both targets are not that far apart so it really could be either.) They give the IP location which is "before" the target and the rally point (rendezvous) location after the target. The flight would have gone from the IP to the target. Then there would have been a sharp turn after passing over the target to get to the RP. They then start describing another target GU-4048 (or GU-4084?) for the second attack formation, with its associated locations and timings. We might see the IP and RP points for that target on the next page and they might give us some better clues as to the target. Last edited by RSwank; 22nd November 2018 at 14:02. |
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
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Re: Target codes 8th Air Force
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Meanwhile another one: GH 590. Should be a target near Osnabrück...but what was it? |
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8th af, usaaf targets |
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