Does anyone what, if any, special measures were taken to ensure that allied aircraft overflying the invasion fleet would not be mistaken for enemy? I understand that for convoys a challenge and reply system would be in place, but given the scale of the operation and the numbers involved, surely extra training would be a given? The reason I ask is that I believe my own father, an RN signalman, may have undergone such training in the weeks preceding the invasion
Popeye, At risk of the most simple answer I believe all allied aircraft (including gliders) were painted with black and white 'invasion stripes' to wings and fuselage immediately before D-Day. The rush was such that apparently many such stripes were crudely brush pained hours before take-off.
Hi mike, thanks for replying. Yes, a lot of the preparations were done on an ad hoc basis. My dad spoke to my older brother about something to do with communicating with ships, and I know he was involved with D-Day in some capacity as he was very reticent about talking about it. He mentioned being allowed to take the controls of a Miles Messenger and his P & V ledger tells he was at Hendon in the weeks preceding D-Day. But it's all peripheral and fractured...trying to get to the bottom of the story s proving somewhat challenging
The merchant ships that were involved in the landings had members of the Royal Observer Corp on board, the RAF reported that no British merchant ships fired on Allied aircraft.
Could this be IFF (Identification Friend or Foe). Aircraft carried a transponder which reacted to ships radar and identified the aircraft as friendly. I do not think there was any direct communication between ship and aircraft except for the observing of bombardments. Mike
