Searching for info on the various guiding beams used by the Luftwaffe, like Knickebein, Wotan I & II, Elektra, Y-X Verfahren and all those.....
It doesn`t have to be too technical, but yet I need to know how they worked!
Erik
Luftwaffe Guiding beams
Luftwaffe Guiding beams
Hallo!
Searching for info on the various guiding beams used by the Luftwaffe, like Knickebein, Wotan I & II, Elektra, Y-X Verfahren and all those.....
It doesn`t have to be too technical, but yet I need to know how they worked!
Erik
Searching for info on the various guiding beams used by the Luftwaffe, like Knickebein, Wotan I & II, Elektra, Y-X Verfahren and all those.....
It doesn`t have to be too technical, but yet I need to know how they worked!
Erik
Knickebein:
Two radio beams were sent out. A series of dots and dashes were sent to the left and right of the desired course, when the aircraft was on course the tone was steady. It was developed from the Lorenz blind approach system and required a high degree of skill in instruement only flying.
The farther from the originating radio beams the wider the steady note area. therefore an intersecting radio beam was used to signal the start of the bomb run
X-Geräte :
Apart from a broad and narrow beam that guided the bomber in the direction of the target, three crossing beams were used, that allowed the calculation of ground speed and the timing of the bomb release. In this way blind bombing was possible. A disadvantage was that X-Geräte was a fully automated system, and more sensitive to jamming.
Y-Geräte:
The Y-Geräte navigation system again used a single directional beam. A transponder in the aircraft retransmitted the signal to the ground station, thus allowing it to calculate the distance to the target. Like X-Geräte, it was used by elite "pathfinder" crews in specially equipped aircraft.
Wotan I was a single-beam system in which the ground station transmitted two signals; one for direction and a second for ranging. The airplane picked up the beam signal and re-transmitted it back to the sender. The distance of the aircraft from the ground station was calculated from the time it took the signal to return, and the bombs were dropped automatically at the correct point.
I found Y-Geräte and wotan I described in different sources and am uncertain if they are different names for the same system. The descriptions are similar enough to suggest that they may well be the same.
Two radio beams were sent out. A series of dots and dashes were sent to the left and right of the desired course, when the aircraft was on course the tone was steady. It was developed from the Lorenz blind approach system and required a high degree of skill in instruement only flying.
The farther from the originating radio beams the wider the steady note area. therefore an intersecting radio beam was used to signal the start of the bomb run
X-Geräte :
Apart from a broad and narrow beam that guided the bomber in the direction of the target, three crossing beams were used, that allowed the calculation of ground speed and the timing of the bomb release. In this way blind bombing was possible. A disadvantage was that X-Geräte was a fully automated system, and more sensitive to jamming.
Y-Geräte:
The Y-Geräte navigation system again used a single directional beam. A transponder in the aircraft retransmitted the signal to the ground station, thus allowing it to calculate the distance to the target. Like X-Geräte, it was used by elite "pathfinder" crews in specially equipped aircraft.
Wotan I was a single-beam system in which the ground station transmitted two signals; one for direction and a second for ranging. The airplane picked up the beam signal and re-transmitted it back to the sender. The distance of the aircraft from the ground station was calculated from the time it took the signal to return, and the bombs were dropped automatically at the correct point.
I found Y-Geräte and wotan I described in different sources and am uncertain if they are different names for the same system. The descriptions are similar enough to suggest that they may well be the same.
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gabriel pagliarani
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Wotan I was the father of actual IFF active transponders (IFF= Identification Friend or Foe) and the distance was calculated by time-sharing as you well explained. Y-Gerat worked on frequence-sharing and distance was evaluated by Doppler effect. But both systems were affected by metric wave-length emissions. Too wide WL for good accuracy...daveh wrote:......
Wotan I was a single-beam system in which the ground station transmitted two signals; one for direction and a second for ranging. The airplane picked up the beam signal and re-transmitted it back to the sender. The distance of the aircraft from the ground station was calculated from the time it took the signal to return, and the bombs were dropped automatically at the correct point.....
Re: Luftwaffe Guiding beams
Intelligence sketch from 1941 showing the arrangement for the Knickebein-station at Klepp outside Stavanger.
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