Time used in KTBs adjusted for geographic time zones?

[Felix C]

Pardon if this is a known item. What time zone is used in KTBs? Trying to match up sightings and note the difference between waters around Ireland and Germany instituted Daylight Savings time in April 1916, did this also effect the time used KTBs?

Thanks in advance as always

[mark harrison]

HI As far as I am aware the Germans used their national time on their logs-the allies used local zone or ZULU time depending on where they were.
If you compare the COMINCH accounts of air attacks in the bay of biscay to the KDB accounts of the same incident you will see about an hour difference.
Hope this helps.

regards MH.

[mark harrison]

HI To be clear ZULU time is local zone time.
MH.

[Felix C]

Thanks. Did not know what Zulu time was. Would have had to call Dr. Google.

[MLW]

To my understanding, ZULU time - also known as Greenwich Mean Time after the zero meridian in Greenwich, England - is only local time if you are in the same time zone Greenwich. Therefore, if you are on western mainland Europe, the time zone is ALPHA.

[mark harrison]

HI You are quite correct but in the bay of biscay the time recorded is as zulu-however you have to be careful and check the records to see if the time is recorded as zulu in the cominch records as the forces use both and then sometimes it is converted in the cominch reports. For example Americans will use east coast time to report an attack in their own records-but cominch may convert this to zulu time in the uk.- I knew I would have problems with this.
regards MH.

[mark harrison]

HI I have done some checking on this subject. On the third of August 1943 U 66 was attacked from the air. The attacking pilots registered the time as 1928 GCT -this is the same as GMT and the later report of the U Boat stated the time as 2130 B which is BRAVO TIME GMT plus 2 hours. The planes were based on the USS CARD so were at sea and not using a land time zone.
I hope this helps in some way. To be certain we are correct we need a land based plane and a U boat that survives the attack.
regards MH.