W/T log

[Platon Alexiades]

Can anyone provide copies of pages of the W/T or radio logs from a U-boat or even surface ship?

Since the British listed a number of W/T logs captured from U-boats or other vessels, I wonder what exact information could be extracted from them to help crack Enigma. Sometime we find references taken from these but usually this is the text of a signal without much else such as addressee, etc.

Thank you.

Platon

[Axel Niestle]

Dear Platon,

enclosed please find a sample copy of a radio signal as sent from B.d.U. to one of his boats [U 171] with all the attached details.

U-boat radio logs contained the same, at best. Often some details were not written up by the radio room personnel or were not not recorded in the radio logs.

Best

AxelSie dürfen diesen Dateianhang nicht ansehen.

[Urs Heßling]

moin,

Marinequadrate DK 5165 und DK 6162 im Golf von Mexiko. Das versenkte Schiff war der mexikanische Tanker Amatlan.

Gruß, Urs

[Platon Alexiades]

Dear Axel and Urs,

Many thanks for the quick answer and the sample signal! Is it more a signal from U 171 as received by the BdU rather than the other way around? Would the date and time on the left indicate the reception and the time 0337 on the right the time of origin?

Best regards,

Platon

[Axel Niestle]

Dear Platon,

you are absolutely right about the sender of the sample signal. My mistake late in the evening. Also your interpretation of the times given on the sheet are correct. For one or the other reason TOO and TOR are never the same except short signals. Sometimes TOO was used by CO's to indicate the time of a specific action referred to in the signal text. But basicly, B.d.U. signals looked much the same.

Best

Axel

[Platon Alexiades]

Many thanks Axel for clearing this up!

Best wishes,

Platon