[Milsurplus] Air spotter communications

[Hue Miller]

> From: "Robert Flory" <robandpj at earthlink.net>
> Subject: [Milsurplus] Radios in Action

> As part of my study of Navy radio procedure during WWII, I want to
learn procedures for directing Naval gunfire by forward observers using
radio.
>
> Does anyone have a reference for a NAVSHIPS or other publication, or
personal recollection of procedures used to call for fire on a
particular location, and then spotting it in?
>
> I am also interested in similar procedures for air strikes.
>
> Rob Flory

Rob, this is not USN, but I was just looking recently at TM1-465
Air - Ground Communication, and one of the topics is gunnery
observation reports. Possibly much of the procedure is similar,
the Z codes, the way the numbers are given, so on.
I suspect in reality the procedure was a bit more relaxed. Some
where, maybe here, was a link to a source with some actual
spotter transcriptions. Also maybe 30 years or so ago I talked
to a fellow in Seattle, Bob Power, who had flown as a spotter
on the bombardment of some island. Sorry - don't recall for sure-
could it have been Midway or Wake??? He just described it as
simple and concise directions to correct fire. The TM I referred
to seems to deal mostly with CW but I also believe that for
non long distance work such as spotter, CW would be
unnecessary and in fact, inefficient. Whatever plane it was he
flew in, it had 2 RU's, he told me. I recall he told me when some
barracks or  such was hit, he saw people come "pouring out of
it like ants".  One regrets not doing a more careful interview, as
the opportunities mostly do not come again. -Hue Miller