Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-03
Anti-Aircraft Defense
Center Here Stated
By Women Workers
Huge Operations Room
Follows Flight Of Each
Plane in This Area
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

Somewhere i'll the Washington
area lies the nerve center of the
city's anti-aircraft defenSes.
Into this center comes a report
Of every plane, civilian or military
approaching or leaving the Wash
ington area. From this center, in
event of enemy attack, would &c
the orders sending into action the
city's anti-aircraft batteries.
What goes on here is as restricted
as anything in the Army Reporters
were allowed to visit it only because
the Army is using volunteers for
the most exacting part of the work
and needs more of them.
Their uniform consists of blouse
pair of navy blue Stacks and soft
sandals A blue canvas apron with
deep pockets is strapped around
their waists. On their heads and
around their necks are the typical
apparatus of a telephone operator.
Yards of wire extend from this ap-
paratus to the sides of huge hori-
zontal map about which the women
pad in their soft slippers.
Occupies Huge Room.
The map occupies most of the floor
space in room the size of a small
gymnasium. Above is partially
glass-inclosed balcony occupied for
the most part by Army officers and
enlisted men.
Here's how the center operates:
Hundreds of miles away a plane
spotter observes formation of
planes or possibly single ship. He
notices its altitude. direction, the
type and number of planes, among
other things, and notifies a filter
center. Beginning with the new
well-known words Army Flash"
In case Of enemy attack the mes
sage would go through the regular
warning channels. But this is an
operations center 1t gets every mes
sage cleared through the filter CEN
ter.
The women, whose job it is to
trace the course of all planes within
wide circle of Washington on the
map, are in direct communication
with the filter center. Each of the
women has a separate territory, cor
responding to the division of respon-
sibility at the filter center.
All Details Given.
A soldier at the filter center be-
gins to talk. His first word is a
color. This fixes the time, since the
color changes every few minutes. In
Cidentally the clock on the anti
aircraft center wall also has its
minutes divided off by colors.
At the soldiers first word the
woman on the receiving end digs
her hand into one of the apron
pockets Meanwhile, she is walking
toward the location of the map re-
cited by the soldier. In each of the
apron pockets is a different colored
arrow. She places the one of the
right color at the right point on
the map in the right direction.
The soldier is still talking, supply
ing her with the Identification of
the plane if he has it, the size of the
flight, its altitude and the type of
plane or planes.
aS iIlt SOlCltl dl lllc llltCi IClllCi
rattles off the information cleaned
from spoilers and other sources the
woman heads for her supply rack.
There she prepares a standard with
letters and initials containing all the
information about that particular
flight, Moving carefully to keep her
long wire from being entangled with
other volunteers wires or from
knocking down standards already on
the map, the worker pads back to
the place where she has set her
arrow and puts down her standard.
Moves Arrows on Map.
Over and over again on her four
hour Shift the worker repeats that
performance, moving the arrows as
the plane proceeds on its fight.
STOPPING and rising constantly to
set up new standards, removing the