SOE Drop Zones - France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Norway

Does anyone know if the code names for drop zones related to the circuit which they were supplying, e.g. AUTHOR 6 - does this mean the 6th drop to that particular site and that the site is linked to the Author circuit? Or where the codenames completely random?

I have just been given a copy of a 138 Squadron Navigator's notes on the 23 operations he undertook and am trying to work out the purpose of each supply mission. In the ORB the operations are recorded under the pilots name and the code for the drop zone and in some cases a description of the load despatched. The Navigator, against regulations kept a note of the latitude and longitude of each drop zone, with a short summary of each operation.

May thanks

 

This theme has appeared before I suggest you search online for any threads here. Try "drop zones" + "SOE" site:ww2talk.com about a dozen threads at a glance. More might be found by dropping "SOE" and using a squadron number for example. Obviously you want to avoid a general search with just "drop zones" as that will return airborne / parachute operations.

Good luck.

 

Thanks

I have already tried a search and of the 161 hits on here and a wider internet search, sadly none really answer the question. The other challenge Ive got is to try and identify the agents (both male/female) which are mentioned as being dropped. One of which was a male in German uniform dropped into Germany, which was later reported by German news reports as being captured.

 

Don't the squadron's ORB have the drop zone name in them? Many of them are online @ TNA.

I would be very surprised if the ORB would contain any names of those delivered. It might for the most famous. All this is an opinion, it's not my focus.

 

HALIFAX MkV LL 114 - Crash

This thread should give an insight to the DZs as applicable to Special Duties squadron operations....the loss of a No 138 Squadron Halifax being the thread subject.

 

The Squadron ORB states the aircraft captains name and the code name for the DZ, e.g. AUTHOR 8; occasionally it mentions the cargo e.g. 15 containers, 8 packages, 2 Joes.

In the document I have the Navigator records the DZ location by lat and long, and details of the cargo in the same way as the ORB.

I am beginning to believe that the DZ code names were not related to the particular circuit in that geographical area.

thanks
Daz

 

Hello Daz.

If you google "HISTORY OF WWII INFILTRATIONS INTO FRANCE-rev110" you should get a link to download a pdf that should (could?) have some information that may help (unfortunately said pdf is too large a file size to attach to the post here).

E.g. Search "Author" within the pdf and see if any of the "hits" within correlate with any information you already have (e.g. see "Author 1 & 2" and "Author 8" references within the pdf).

Good luck with your research.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Hi 78SqnHistory,

If there are any unidentified Joe's to Denmark between July 1941 and end of 1943 I have a possible lead for you.

It is likely that the individual in question made 2 separate trips to Denmark (one probably in mid 1941 but could be later), the other one would have occurred in or around August 1943 and would have been related to the extraction of naval personal to Sweden.

BR
SH : )

 

What period of the war did he fly out of Tempsford ? My late father in law was a 138Sq Navigator operating from mid 1944 until the end of the war, and I have quite a few of his notes, but none with 'classified" info like lat/longs of destinations. I am sure that was a definite NoNo. .

 

Further to my last post, here is a list of the "Operation Names" which appear in the ORB records. A bit basic, but its a start. List of Special Operations Executive operations - Wikipedia