RAF Fighter Command Radio Call Signs - 1940

[Andy Saunders]

I am seeking out a listing (if there is one!) of RAF Fighter Command Call Signs from the Battle of Britain. Aside from the listing in Battle of Britain Then & Now, I have not seen any published list nor anything at Kew. Is there one? AHB have nothing. Or can anyone fill in the call signs for the following squadrons:

3, 23, 25, 29, 43, 65, 73, 111, 145, 219, 229, 238, 245, 247, 263, 264, 266, 504, 600, 604, 607, 235, 236, 248 and FIU, 421 & 422 Flights.

[Observer1940]

Hello Andy

My research to date is for Bomber Command in 1940, who mainly used W/T Wireless Telegraphy and some voice communication, but it may offer a few suggestions if searching in the TNA.

I noted a complaint from Bomber Command to say that they could not divert bombers to a Fighter Station as most Fighter Aerodromes had no trained W/T operator on duty and Fighters used R/T.

Bomber Command Crews used 4 main sources in the Summer of 1940 (two were code and the other a German Beacon Intelligence forecast).

Regarding Bomber Command aircraft Call-signs, these only occasionly appear sometimes on SOS Forms and occasionly in a full Court of Inquiry when a Controller was communicating with the aircraft and a Witness at the Inquiry. Only the separate MSI (Movement Serial Indicator) appears in Bomber Command documents.

But I have also noted references to CD.75(2) sometimes expressed C.D. 75(2).
C.D. = Confidential Document and (2) in brackets was likely part 2 according to other docs seen.

Whether all parts of C.D.75 were peculiar to W/T Signalling only is unclear and although I have never really searched for C.D. 75 (in the original dept reference), some C.D. & S.D. docs appear in AIR 10 and elsewhere.

I presume you have seen the following in TNA, but it may be a general WW2 history only? It was all Fighter related and too thick to go through page by page and no notes were made.

AIR 20/12426 RAF signals: volume V; fighter control and interception 1939-1945 original dept ref "CD 1116"

There is an actual manual/file for Bomber Command at AIR 14/1586, but W/T related.

This R/T information must be about somewhere, although a lot of 1940 signalling information is not in TNA.

I don't know how authentic the Battle of Britain film was, that is for you Battle of Britain specialists, but would the film researcher have received such information/correspondence at the time (who then decided to do their own thing), but the correspondence survives either in a film archive, or university Library Collection, who sometimes acquired the older archives of film and publishing companies, or when they went out of business?

I have been quite surprised at the technical manuals and wealth of official aviation publications at the RAF Museum Archive, when enquiring.

Mark

[Peter Cornwell]

Andy,

It was the paucity of information on such an interesting (to me at least) facet of the events of 1940 that prompted my original listing in BoBT&N back in 1980. Not much else has emerged over the ensuing years although I'm pretty sure that a thorough examination of all surviving Forms F may reveal something. However, to answer your question, No.607 Squadron used RUNNA.

Alles Besten !

[Observer1940]

Andy

25 Squadron Call Sign - RAF Station Digby

25 Squadron were using "KUTEX" followed by numbers for the individual aircraft, examples are "KUTEX 25" and "KUTEX 15" and "KUTEX 16"

And the FC [I presume Flying Controller] initially against "V.6." "Are you receiving me", according to "exhibit "D" a certified true copy of the ground Station R/T log covering No.29 Sqdn. during the period 0001 hrs - 0022 hrs. 1st August." 1940

Source:- The National Archives photocopy of a Court of Inquiry from AIR 14/390.

Thinking about my earlier file suggestions, a 1940 Flying Control file would originally have answered your question, but surviving 1940 Flying Control files are very few, with parts missing (transferred to later files in the Registry which don't seem to exist now) and a very poor representation of the important work Flying Controllers actually carried out.

Regards Mark

[SteveB]

BoB is not my era I am researching mostly from 1942 0nwards. But I have found a few documents listing call signs in the Group ORB Appendices. The lists have been included in Group operational orders usually to do with some new signals or R/T instruction or perhaps to do with an exercise.

Steve

[Observer1940]

Andy, Peter and Steve

Agree with Group Appendices or possibly even Fighter Command Appendices.

Regarding my previous mention of C.D.75 this relates to "Air Force Code" more likely to be additional codes to the standard Q Code.

Just found this for August 1940 in the No. 1 Group Appendices I have photographed:-

Station R/T Call Signs
Finningley PUKKA
Driffield Angora
Wick DUNCAN
Bassingbourn AURORA

H.F. D.F. Call Signs (Separate Call Sign for Guard Frequency)
Abingdon C6A. CUTTA
Wyton 8HX. GUARDIAN
Waddington 6JH. ALVIS
Linton 07U. ISLANDER
(Leuchars ZC8. MALLARD
(Evanton

Which also gives the following publication in August 1940:-

C.D. 14/1(2) "RAF W/T and R/T War Call Sign"

Done a TNA, Kew, search "W/T and R/T" with no dates and no Dept Reference Series and downloaded quite a few returns, but one in particular relating to Call Sign (undated) is:-

AIR 10/3852 Ministry of Defence and predecessors: Air Publications and Reports. SIGNALS (Code No 6). GENERAL (Code No 6/1). Block Allocation of R.A.F. W/T and R/T War Call Signs. Open from 1972. AP No. CDO237(3).

No covering dates, but might or might not be worth a look at?


There might be something of interest in (Retained Until 2004):-
HW 50/31 R/T (HF and VHF) and VHF (W/T and R/T - wireless telegraphy and radio telephony): Organisation at home and abroad - Army, Air Force, Naval. Notes on development from beginning until Spring 1942; Evolution and organisation of Coastal 'Y' Stations (final version and initial material)

Mark

[harryurz]

Hi Andy,
Filling in a few of the gaps I have the following;

111 Sqn; WAGON
145 Sqn: PATIN
229 Sqn: KETA

Hope that helps!

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

73 Sqn: HULA

Col.

[Jérémie Tarpon]

Hello,

A few comments on this very interesting and elusive topic.

I have looked at C.D. 0237 (3) (AIR 10/3852): basically it allocates blocks of R/T and W/T call signs to the RAF overseas commands and seems to deal with the 1944-45 period.

Regarding C.D. 75 (2), my understanding is that this designation means the 2nd issue of C.D. 75 rather than part 2 of C.D. 75.

C.D. 014/1 (2) is probably more interesting. The relevant code books defining Fighter Command R/T C/S in August-December 1941 were C.D. 014/1 (3) et C.D. 0212 A. These were introduced at an earlier date, possibly on 1 November 1940. We may thus reasonably think that C.D. 014/1 (2) was the code book for the BoB period (the C.D. 0212 series is associated with security procedures initiated after the BoB). Unfortunately, this C.D. 014/1 (2) has not been kept at TNA or it is very well hidden!

Best wishes,

Jérémie

[Andy Saunders]

Thank you one and all for your most helpful input on this topic.

Gradually, it would be good to build up a complete picture.

I will post back as and when I fill in any missing gaps that do not otherwise appear here.