Range of OBOE

[sven6345789]

Hi,
I just cannot remmember the range of the OBOE navigational aid. Was it 150 miles or 200 miles?

[Hard Sarge]

I think we based on a later model, in game it is 350, which puts right into the Rhur, which was about as far as they were able to improve it

[fochinell]

Oboe Mk 1, tested on operations from December 1942 and then in frequent use from March 1943, could reach Emden, Essen and Dortmund, which clocks in at just over 260 miles in BTR ranges. The range was contingent upon the altitude of the aircraft involved; the higher they flew, the further the signals from the ground stations in England could reach them across the curvature of the earth. They did test Oboe repeaters (Mosquitos repeating the Oboe signals) to extend the range with some success later in 1943, but it was assumed that H2S would cover all the bases for longer-range navigation and target finding.

Oboe Mk II in its various guises was essentially designed to operate on different frequencies (and allow more aircraft to use the system at one time) to avoid jamming, which became a problem at the end of 1943. It didn't extend the range per se; that was increased with the introduction of mobile ground stations after D-Day (also used by the 9th AF) which effectively allowed the range to be extended by moving the ground stations forward to the point where the raid on Berteschgarten at the end of the war was actually planned as an Oboe mission, although the mountains got in the way of the signal....