Special Duty Operator (RAF)- Were they taught German?

I have been looking at a RAAF man who served as an SDO on a Lancaster with 101 Squadron RAF. I have found a few references to their role but would like to clarify a point.

The two sources I have found concerning their role mentions they were German speakers. My question is would they be taught German during training for the role? The man I have been looking at was Australian and I don't see an obvious German ancestry link. An article written about him notes that he was proficient with Morse code prior to enlisting.

This article mentions that that "it was essential that they knew German reasonably well"-

Jewish RAF Special Operators in Radio Counter Measures with 101 Squadron

Scott

 

Scott,

Some of the ABC operators, as you likely know, were native German speakers. Many were not. What was required was the ability to tell the difference between German and Czech or Polish. I knew one man who took German for a term at school. That was the extent of his language skills.

A man who was posted to Special Duties at No. 101 Squadron would arrive at Ludford Magna and spend 2-3 weeks learning how to operate the ABC equipment before going out on ops. It was rare for one operator to spend his entire tour with the same crew.

And the old story keeps popping up online that an ABC operator "spoke" to the German ground controllers and "sent them off in the wrong direction". Never happened as the equipment did not transmit.

Regards,

Dave

 

Thanks for that Dave. That makes sense. I found an interview by the man in the Australians at War Archive and discovered that he was taking classes in German as a younger adult in Sydney in the 1930s and was competent in conversational German. He said in his interview that he had no idea it would be useful several years later.

Regards,

Scott