Facilities & Installations

Luftnachrichten Signals and Signals Intercept Units

The mission of the Luftnachrichten, the Luftwaffe’s signal and intelligence service was wide-ranging, including: radar-equipped units to detect and control intercepting aircraft, communications and signal intercept units and line signals units equipped to provide and maintain connectivity (line, telegraph and radio). The radar units have been covered in an earlier article; this one looks at examples of intercept and signals unit in the Eastern and Western theaters.

aerial photo of Luftnachrichten Intelligence Collection Site at Wissant France

The Luftwaffe’s signals intelligence component, Luftnachrichten Abteilung 350, with fixed and mobile intercept (funkhorch) battalions, were deployed in key areas across the Reich. A good example, Luftnachrichten Funkhorch Abteilung West, was deployed near Wissant, Pas-de-Calais, France. Coverage from December 1943 shows a site occupied by one of the battalion’s companies had widely-dispersed positions with a number of equipment types (Graphic). Some of the positions and associated buildings were protected by blast walls.

Luftnachrichten Funkhorch Abteilung Ost was located in Minsk by mid-1943, having been moved from more forward positions in Smolensk. In February 1944, probable elements of the battalion were identified at a site near Shchitomirichi, 9 km southwest of the city center. The site, which was set up sometime after June 1943, had six antenna positions connected to a group of buildings (Graphic). A newly-constructed telephone line ran to the facility from the east. The deployment was preceded by construction of an Adcock HF/DF antenna 1.5 km to the east (Graphic). As it was midway between Minsk Süd and Machulishchi Airfields, it is difficult to determine if the Adcock was for intelligence collection or air navigation.

Elements of a signal unit, Luftgau Nachrichten Regiment 27, transferred to Minsk from Smolensk in June 1943. By early 1944 the unit was reported to be northeast of the city at Kolodishchi. On 7 October 1943, a large number of vehicles and trailers likely from the regiment were identified in the support area of Minsk Süd Airfield (Graphic). Some of the vehicles (generally similar to Luftnachrichten equipment seen elsewhere) appeared to be deployed while others were grouped around tents. More of the vehicles were deployed in a possible training site on the north side of the airfield. The training site was already present on 26 September, indicating the unit had arrived by then. Sometime after October the training site was removed and by 28 May 1944, appeared to have been moved to a barracks in the vicinity of Kolodishchi (Graphic).

Finally, a possible intelligence collection site was identified at Baranovichi Airfield, Belarus in July 1943. The circular fence-secured site 700 meters southwest of the airfield runway resembled transportable HF/DF arrays. In addition, a group of possibly associated vehicles or trailers appeared to be deployed in a site to, but the site was also in use by 1942.

A Soviet Intelligence Collection Site

On an image from June 1944, German photo interpreters identified a Soviet mobile intelligence collection site (Funkmess-Anlage) at Gatchina 40 km south-southwest of Leningrad. The site was composed of a number of dispersed tents/structures and a probable HF/DF array.