Help with some AAA terminology

I got my Dad's unit history, 409th AAA, from the NARA.
He was in Battery B.
There were 5 batteries, HQ, A, B, C, D, 4 guns per battery.
I'm reading the S-2 Journal.
A minute by minute account of daily activities.
There is some terminology I'm trying to figure out.
For example;
Aaron Btry - I assume Battery A
Btry "C" - obviously Battery C
But what about;
Aaron and Account warned of...
From Account G.O.R.... - I think G.O.R means General Operations Room
Vision Aaron reports...
Vision Absent ordered to search....
Vial and Vision Account standing by ....

Can anyone help explain;
Aaron, Absent, Account
Vial and Vision

Does Vision indicate a searchlight battery?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

Larry

 

Code names and brevity codes were common in AAA for use over open radio nets. Vision Aaron and Absent could be search lights (what was the time of day in the journal entry? Day or night?) If the entries are during daylight, then Vision may be spotters, perhaps from Battery A (hence Aaron, Absent, etc). Battery B's spotters may have begun with the letters "B", and so on. Again, I am guessing. Maybe you can find a WWII AAA maunal online.

Regards,
Marc

 

Thanks for the insight.
I have attached the S-2 Journal for the month of October 1943 if anyone is interested.
The terms highlighted in yellow are the ones I'm trying to understand.
Those in purple, I believe to be various ways plot coordinates were recoeded.
If I'm wrong please let me know.

I know Iff = Indetification Friend or Foe
I think VOIC = Visual Observation Instrumentation Center, but i'm not sure.
Can anyone explain Condition III?

Thanks again

Larry
View attachment 18904

 

There may not be any direct answers to your questions here but if you haven't found this site yet you may find it informative:
http://www.skylighters.org/hammer/

 

I would guess the short references in purple (i.e. N-81, S-79) indicate grid squares and the longer ones (i.e. 5324 Charley) indicate a more specific location or coordinate. That's a bit of a guess, but I think how they are used in context suggests that.

When I saw the "VOIC" my first thought was "[V] officer in charge". However, in the context of the entry, it doesn't sound right to me.

Condition III, I would guess, might refer to a low alert status. Again, I am judging from context.

Sorry for the lack of certitude. :unsure:

 

Thanks for your thoughts, that helps a lot.
A searchlight or spotter makes sense for Vision.
But what about Vial and Vivian, any thoughts?
Could Vial, Vision and Vivian be reference to Headquarters Battery?
I know there were 4 guns per battery
Could Aaron be Battery A Gun A
Absent be Battery A Gun Gun B
Account - Battery A Gun C
I know that Battery B & D were on detached service at the time so that explains why there are no references to those Batteries.

I found VOIS in a list of Acronyms, the S mean subsystem, so I thougth VOIC might be similiar with the c = center

I have read the Hammer of Hell, very interesting.

Any additional thoughts or insight is truely appreciated.

las1

 

I have to think about this a bit. One telling aspect of this is that you are reading the S-2 (intelligence) Journal which woud likely list assets and elements used to collect and report intelligence information, not operations information. It might be useful to get a copy of the battlion's S-3 (Operations) Journal.

Regards,
Marc
www.digitalhistoryarchive.com

 

From this site:
http://www.mobileradar.org/documents.html#wwii

found this document, under Documents:
AAF Air Defense Activities In The Mediterranean 1942 – 20 Sept. 1944 (189 pgs)

The glossary lists G.O.R as Gun Operations Room

Regrettably the the section on Antiaircraft Artillery is very hard to read and much of it seems to involve higher level organization.

Might need to get the Group/Brigade headquarters journals and reports to figure out the code words.

Can't help but think codes with V might have something to do with visual observation units/batteries and those with A aural observation units/batteries. Both codes might be a combined unit.

The AWS manual mentions Information Centers, IC's. "Condition III" might have to do with weather/ceiling/cloud cover.

(another innocent inquiry leads to a world I never knew much about)

 

My guess is that "Conditon III" refers to the threat level of an enemy air attack where "Condition I" is the highest level - attack in progess.

It may be useful to look for a copy of the AAA Field Manual (FM 44-1). The oldest one I found in a hasty search of the Internet is from 1952 - http://archive.org/details/FM44-11952 - the manual should help with AAA acronyms and abbreviations.

Regards, Marc
wwww.digitalhistoryarchive.com

 

Thanks for the replies,

I also have the S-3 Journal, most dates just say "No change - routine". The dates with entries list battery or Batttalion relocations.

G.O.R. Gun Operations Room, got it. Thanks!
I'll check out the websight.

I have FM 44-4, I'll look throught there a little closer to see if tit leads anywhere.
I'll also check that website or try to find an older FM 44-1 online.
I also think Condition III has to do with the threat level, but it could be weather related as suggested.

Thanks again for the advice and help.

las1

 

I urge you to keep researching and become an expert in this interesting topic.

Regards, Marc

 

From the leads you have given me, this is what I found so far;

Reference - AAF Air Defense Activities In The Mediterranean 1942 – 20 Sept. 1944 (189 pgs)
pg 19 - Twelfth Air force Air defense Plan should consist of "an adequate aircraft warning service centering into an information center from which all air, ant-aircraft, naval and civil measures for active and passive air defense are directed."
Appendix 1 - Identification - "identity of approaching aircraft may be determined by two means: "Recognition" which is by visual observation or "Identification" which is by any means other than visual."

Field Manual FM 11-25 1942 Signal Corps Field Manual, Aircraft Warning Service
Definition - Information Center - a military installation in a region to which all reports of observations or detections of aircraft entering or operating in the area are submitted for identification.

Based on this information I am nearly convinced VOIC = Visual Observation Information Center.

Thanks for the leads.
i search on.

las1

 

You folks haven't steered me wrong yet, so I thought I's ask if you concur.
In the S-2 Journal I attached in a previous post there were a half dozen coordinate entries like the following
6300 Able, 7528 Xray, 5324 Charley, 7732 Charley, 7527 Charley


These seam to be a varient of what I found in the FM 11-25 Signal Corps Field Manual, Aircraft Warning Service, paragraph 68, page 57-58. Attached

Per the manual coordinates on a map,
North - South gridlines are indicated by a 2 digit number, i.e. 63
East - West gridline coordinates are indicated by a name, i.e. Able
The square is then mentally divided into 10 equal parts both horizontally the vertically.
Apoint on a map would then be identified as, say 63 Able 00 or 75 Xray 28.
The S-2 records the 2 sets of numbers together.
There are also a few entries the indentify a square; square 61, square 75 which seem to fit.

Anyone agree?

Thanks
las1

 

That looks correct to me. Thanks for letting us know about your find in the manual, las1.

 

It's been awhile since the last post, but I thought I'd fill in some updated information.
Reading on in the unit histories, I have found notations that confirm;
Vision was the code name for the 409th AAA Gun Battalion.
Aaron was the code name for Battery "A".
Although not confirmed, notations lead to;
Absent = Battery "B"
Account = Battery "C"
Advise = Battery "D"

MLW was right on target with the code names and brevity codes.
Thanks.