Anyone know the operational procedures or a good book outlining flare usage? I can imagine that for most periods of WW2 it was an anachronistic comms 'backstop' which was in the manual but hardly ever used-or maybe even left behind at the depot. I am wondering, what level of CO had access to flare signalling, what flares, what sorts of messages could possibly be conveyed with what combination(?s) of lights?
I've posted on here what the British (BEF) were using in 1940 in the obvious section-its quite detailed if I remember correctly. I was reading some 1940 stuff the other day and the BEF unit (can't remember now if it was Infantry or Artillery) was being overrun by German Infantry and at the death one of the officers fired a flare to signal to trick the Germans into believeing the advance was in difficulty. German artillery/mortars opened up and shelled the German advance.
I've posted on here what the British (BEF) were using in 1940 in the obvious section-its quite detailed if I remember correctly I'll have another look, a search didn't bring 'owt up. May have to buy a book!
I don't know if these are of any use to you. (From 162nd Inf. Bde War Diary WO 166/1035 - 1940 Home Forces, Northern Command) Annexure 1: Annexure 2:
I was reading some 1940 stuff the other day and the BEF unit (can't remember now if it was Infantry or Artillery) was being overrun by German Infantry and at the death one of the officers fired a flare to signal to trick the Germans into believeing the advance was in difficulty. German artillery/mortars opened up and shelled the German advance. I seem to remember reading in Horne's "To Lose A Battle" that on 13th May German Motorcyclists of 5th Panzer Div that had crossed the Meuse at Houx repelled a French tank counterattack using flares at Survineaux Wood as they had no AT weapons
RAF aircraft used the system of firing Very lights to signal to their own side that they were friendly.The colour of the Very light was used in recognition procedures and was known as "the colours of the day".The colours were changed daily for security purposes. Both the RAF and Luftwaffe used the system and before there was more advanced methods of identifing "friend or foe" by IFF.There are recorded cases of RAF aircraft being under Ack Ack attack from the enemy who deceived the enemy by firing off what they thought were the enemy "colours of the day".Sometimes it worked, on other occasions, it did not. Even with IFF,RAF aircraft were at times, wrongly identified as enemy aircraft especially when returning to British airspace from raids and ran the risk of being shotdown.Resorting to firing off the "colours of the day" did not always save the day. There was also the ruse of the RN St Nazaire raid flottila sailing into the mouth of the Loire transmitting false recognition signals or false identification to indicate themselves as a friendly naval group returning to port.Delayed action from the enemy was vital to gain time for the raid to get underway in the task of destroying the Normandie dry dock.
What were the flares used for on B-17s? Answer: Flares were used as signaling devices in special circumstances. The 398th B-17s had a standard Very pistol installation in the overhead panel of the pilot’s compartment. The Very pistol was originally invented by Edward W. Very in 1877 and had long history of use for military and nautical signaling, particularly at night and in low light conditions. A B-17 crew member could load a Very pistol with a cartridge, connect the muzzle of the pistol into the discharge socket with a twisting motion and fire a flare into the air above the airplane. A number of flare colors, including red and green, were used for different purposes. Lead crews could use flares to convey prearranged signals to their formations while in flight. Firing red flares was a serious business, especially when used during landing after returning from a mission because this signal meant there was trouble on board, such as wounded. [Contributed by Wally Blackwell, December 2003] The following three quotes about flares were excerpted from Thirty Four to Go by Ernest H. Walthall, First Officer. "All signals to start engines, taxi and takeoff were with lights and flares from the control tower. Radio silence as much as possible during the entire mission." ..... "Ahead we could see the group forming and we also spotted our squadron leader firing green-green flares. It only took a few minutes to get into formation and the group leader stated the group would leave on course, climbing in ten minutes, this meant that those who were late arriving would have to catch up or it they could not find the group, would have to go to war with someone else." ..... "It was normal peel off and landing. Some of the planes were shooting flares while in the traffic pattern. Green flares were unofficial, but meant someone had completed their tour of duty, but red meant that someone was wounded. Yellow serious damage to the aircraft. The ground crews were out watching on the ramp, hoping their planes were not damaged much." Some examples of flare use by the USAAF from FAQs about Army Air Force Terms in WWII As an aside I have the Osprey book on battlefield and there is a small section of about a page on flare and smoke candle usage. Some of the colour combinations seem quite festive.
There was also the ruse of the RN St Nazaire raid flottila sailing into the mouth of the Loire transmitting false recognition signals or false identification to indicate themselves as a friendly naval group returning to port.Delayed action from the enemy was vital to gain time for the raid to get underway in the task of destroying the Normandie dry dock. An interesting side note I came across in reading about this ruse is that one of the reasons the Germans became alerted is that the flare the British used to deceive the enemy was a different shade of red than the standard German one.
On one occasion, whilst serving with the 4th QOH, we had barbed wire caught in our Honey tracks which actually brought us to a halt and we were left behind by the rest of the Squadron. By the time we had managed to get rid of the bloody stuff it was quite dark and the Squadron was nowhere to be found. We eventually found them by the use of verey light flares that they fired off into the night sky so enabling us to locate them. No SatNav in those days ! Ron
Ron, I read in another post of yours it was the main body of your unit put a flare up so you could get a bearing on them but did you have any flares onboard for signalling?
Even well after the war it was common practice to arrange light signals with your local gunners. For instance they might agree to fire the DF SOS (last ditch defensive fire) when they saw a red verey light followed by a green. One of my gunner friends was colour blind, but reckoned there was normally someone around who could advise him! Of course, since the Verey pistol only fired red, green or white (illuminating) rounds, such signals could easily be mistaken or duplicated. Chris
Ron, I read in another post of yours it was the main body of your unit put a flare up so you could get a bearing on them but did you have any flares onboard for signalling? Can't remember being instructed in the art of flare signalling but we certainly had a pistol and flares aboard. Later on in my time with the 4th QOH I was to become Tech Col for A Sqn and was forever checking these items on other tank's manifests. Just remembered writing about this incident before: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/weapons-technology-equipment/33018-flare-pistol.html#post368955 Ron
