8th Air Force 193 OBOE TEST
25 January 1944Description
1 B-17 from 482BG is despatched over the city of Aachen, Germany in a test of the OBOE navigation system. Oboe was a British aerial blind bombing targeting system in World War II, based on radio transponder technology.[1] Using triangulation to determine relative location, the system consisted of a pair of radio transmitters on the ground, which sent signals which were received and retransmitted by a transponder in the aircraftt (typically a De Havilland Mosquito or Avro Lancaster). By comparing the time each signal took to reach the aircraft, its location could be calculated to a fair degree. In this way, an aircraft could be directed blindly over a specific target, all of which were pre-calculated and kept on file. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oboe_(navigation). The test equipment failed 3 minutes prior to the target, so the aircraft jettisoned the bomb on the German countryside. The aircraft was slightly damaged by AA fire. There were no losses or claims.
Mission Details
AACHEN
Description: OBOE TEST
Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Notes: OBOE Equipment failed 3 minutes prior to the target, but one B-17 dropped anyway.
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Mission Statistics
- Tonnage Dropped: 2.00
- Aircraft sent: 1
- Aircraft effective: 1
- Aircraft damaged: 1
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 13-Jan-2016. Added Mission Narrative per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'.