Their threat priorities were defined. The primary enemy were the Wasserfall anti-aircraft missiles. They were the only weapon the Germans had that could reach up here. Problem was, SAC didn't know where they were or how many there were. They had a TOE for a Wasserfall unit that dated from 1945 that proposed a layout of four missile launch pads per site, three sites per battalion, 3 battalions per regiment. Thirty six launchers per regiment. But how many Regiments? And how many reload missiles per pad? The intelligence estimate had suggested that there weren't many, the logic was that Wasserfall used the same strategic components as the A-4 missile and the Germans were expending hundreds of those on the Eastern Front, the Army crying out for even more. So the guess was, not many. How many, that was for Ain't Misbehavin and her sisters to find out. The hard way. By getting shot at.
“We have an APR-4 hit.” APR-4 was the radar receiving system so that would be the Wurtzburg tracking radar, Sheppard thought, now if they got a radio command
alert.......”Contact designated Ghoul-One.” Technically, APR-
4 wasn't a directional system but Ain't Misbehavin was large enough to get a cross-bearing from the antennas mounted in the nose, mid-section and wingtips - provided the range wasn't too great.
“ARN-14 alert!”. There it was, ARN-14 was their broad-band radio receiver. “Designating Ghoul-Two.” The signal had to be the radio link for the Wasserfall missiles. The intelligence people had reported that Wasserfall was guided by a ground operator, who steered the Wasserfall missile to the target by use of a joystick by line-of-sight. The reports were that the missile was gyroscopically controlled in roll, pitch and yaw, with the ground radio link providing the azimuth and elevation corrections. That radio link was the weak point in the whole system, if it could be isolated and jammed, the missile would either go ballistic and easily evaded or, with a little luck, the gyros would tumble and the missile would spin out of control to land somewhere.
In the rear of the Electronics Pit, the ARQ-8 panoramic scanner operator was trying to isolate the frequency used by Ghoul-Two to guide the Wasserfalls. The intercepted transmissions were showing up on a long strip display, frequency vs amplitude. In theory the Wasserfall guidance radio should show up as a strong spike, in reality, the problem was to pick out the right spike from the number available.
“Radar reports four contacts, coming our way.” Four missiles, that suggested the intelligence on the number of launch pads was right. Below them, in the Optics Capsule, the camera and surveillance operators were tracking the missiles now and working back to the launch pads. Weather was clear, so they should be able to spot the launch. That capsule had cameras that would make a divorce lawyer salivate. By now, the two guys in radio station would be relaying a commentary on the action to the bombers and the unengaged RB-36s. That way, if it went sour, somebody could work out what they'd done wrong. “'Got Him!” It was the ARQ-8 station. “Ghoul-Two isolated. We have the radio frequency jamming now with APT-6.”
Now they were pouring radio energy into the frequency used by the Wasserfall controller. If it went right, the missiles now were unable to hear commands and would go ballistic. It would take about a minute for the missile to reach their altitude, they'd know long before then. The ARQ-8 detected a shift in the ground radio control frequency and the APT-6 adjusted to follow the change. “Whoaaa will you look at that. “ It was Optics Capsule on the intercom “One of those suckers is corkscrewing like a sunstruck rattler.” They were in luck, a corrupted guidance signal had tumbled the gyros.
Sheppard felt the jets on the wings kick in and Ain’t Misbehavin suddenly accelerated into a turn. Ain't Misbehavin might be a huge lady but she was light on her feet and up here, in her element, few, if any, could match her. The APT-6 continued pumping out its radio frequency energy, blanking out the ground signals. “Others are going ballistic, they're not following our turn, you got them.”
The RB-36 shook slightly. “Flight deck here, one missile went out of control and crashed, the others passed a safe distance away and exploded at the end of their climb. Well done boys. Arkie-eight you especially that was a fast and neat isolation followed by a near-perfect track. Let’s find some more.”
“ARC-27 station here Mark, I've found German fighter control frequencies. Can I have some fun?” Sheppard gave a thumbs up. They had a German-speaking operator on board in case this opportunity presented itself. He heard the operator speaking on the radio frequencies.
“Fighter sections Green and Red go to Saarbrucken now.............. No, Saarbrucken..............Saarbrucken you fool. ............. Who are you ................. Who am I, how dare you question me ....................... cease transmission immediately
...............Get off this frequency............No, you get off, this is a Luftwaffe control frequency............... No we are regional control ................ Idiot................. I'll have you court-martialled for this..............Pilots, this is an enemy trick do not
listen to him.................No he is the enemy...................No he is an Ami ................ Shift to emergency frequency Adolf ......................... Not Emil, Adolf................. Damn..” The operator looked aggrieved. “Mark, that Luftwaffe controller slandered me, my mother and father were married years before I was born.”
“They rumbled you then”
“Sure, it was only a question of time. They put a woman onto the control circuit, the fighter pilots must be under orders to follow female voice commands. Where she learned language like that I do not know. If we want to do this for real, we're going to have to carry women on board.”
“'Never happen, never. Not in our lifetime or that of our kids. Funs over. Keep scanning for emissions, there's more hostiles out there.” Putting women on the big bombers; who'd ever heard of such things....
NAIADS Command Headquarters, Potsdam, Germany
“The Border LCCs are reporting in sir, they have engaged the lead formation with Wasserfall missiles. They confirm the enemy aircraft are flying at approximately 17,000 meters. The raid count is now approximately 150 aircraft in the pathfinder line, about the same number in the target marker groups and over 700 in the main body. The aircraft are a new type sir, very large. Also very fast. When the aircraft came under attack they accelerated quickly, 650 kilometers per hour, almost 700. The engagements were unsuccessful sir, despite firing their complement of missiles the missile batteries have scored no hits. It appears the enemy aircraft are using intense jamming to disrupt the missile control systems. They also were able to turn inside the missiles fired at them. Also there are reports from the RCCs that the enemy are interfering with the fighter ground control system, attempting to send our aircraft on wild goose chases. These were not successful sir, our pilots are used to women relaying such orders and recognized the men's voices as decoys.”
“A very wise move, using women to give such orders. It has saved us from some problems I think.”
It was one of the party creeps, a political officer probably looking for something to fill up his reports with. This could be useful. “Ah, my friend, I wish I could take credit for the idea but it was my friend, the Reichsfuhrer SS, who suggested it. Such ingeniousness. Such forethought. If only General Galland had been as supportive, our initial engagement may have gone better.” That should do it. After 48 hours Himmler would have convinced himself that it had been his idea to use women as fighter controllers and that his friend Field Marshal Herrick had seen he got public credit for it. Convincing Himmler that Herrick was still on his side, helping him with his claims for a part of the Luftwaffe. And his last comment would blacken Galland nicely.