AFHRA British Air Intelligence A.I.4 "Y" Service reports

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

David
Ranger to Aalborg
Sat Mar 30 17:32:33 2002
195.92.67.69

On 17-5-44 Wing Commander Johnson led 5 aircraft of 65 Sqn and 2 aircraft of 122 Sqn on a ranger to Aalborg, Denmark. The North Sea was crossed at 3000ft through thick rain squalls. On reaching Aalborg, they engaged various German aircraft in aircombat and claimed 13-1-3. I am seeking details on KG30's losses on this day and any of the other units involved. I have KG100 and JG11's losses. Also, does anyone know what Y service is? This is mentioned in the operations records book for 65 Sqn.
Regards David

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Larry deZeng
The RAF "Y" Service was.....
Sat Mar 30 20:07:54 2002
205.188.199.164

the radio intercept branch of the Air Ministry. They intercepted all Luftwaffe radio traffic and decoded/decrypted lower level signals. The higher level encryptions (Enigma (ULTRA), Geheimeschreiber, Richtverbindungs-, etc.) were forwarded to Station "X" at Bletchley Park for decryption. From a practical standpoint in the context of the raid that you described, the "Y" Service would have intercepted Luftwaffe air-to-air and air-to-ground radio chit-chat and short encoded messages in the Aalborg area and would have been in a position to provide an estimate of what Luftwaffe units were there, how many aircraft there were, what types and what they were doing. In other words, they provided the RAF with up to the minute tactical intelligence where possible. There were many intercept stations, but the two largest in the U.K. were at Cheadle and Cheltenham, I believe. Most of the intercept operators in the U.K. were Womens' Royal Air Force personnel who were fluent in German.
(Larry)

[Richard T Eger]

Via email, Larry offered the following additional comments:

"From: Hldeziv@aol.com
To: egerrt@dmv.com
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 8:08 AM
Subject: Re: Daily and weekly "Y" Service reports

...

As for the daily and weekly "Y" Service reports, there were three dozen or more different types. The only ones in the U.S. are at AFHRA Maxwell. The reports were issued by A.I.4/British Air Ministry and carried titles such as:
"Canterbury" Broadcast report (daily)
G.A.F. Fighter R.T. G/S Summary report (weekly)
Pearl/Zip/BMP/D (Day Fighters) (daily)
Pearl/Zip/BMP/N (Night Fighters) (daily)
Pearl/Zip Klavier (daily)

In addition to these 5, there were 33 more that were only issued periodically, most of these being in the Pearl/Zip category. The collection at AFHRA can be found in the records of USSTAF (U.S. Strategic Air Force), which was the supreme U.S. bomber command in Europe that controlled both 8th and 15th AAFs. I believe it's Maxwell decimal 519 (if I'm wrong, then they're in the British Air Ministry records, Maxwell decimal 512). The collection is very large but not complete by any means.

...

Best, - Larry"


Regards,
Richard