Gefechtsstand.  
     
  The Luftnachrichten Dienst:  
     
  Jafü Südfrankreich, ÖDIPUS.  
     
 

 

 
 

Formed 1 JAN 1943 the Jafü was initially located in Aix-en-Provence.   This Jafü then relocated 1 MAY 1944 to of all places Chateau La Nerthe, the producer of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. WineDay How the Pope Coped.  Location identified thanks to: Nick Beale.

 
     
     
  Aix-en-Provence.  
 

No information is available in relation to the the location of the GefStd, although FlH Aix Les Milles is a very likely candidate.

 
     
     
  Avignon.  
     
 

 
         
 

 

 
 

Chateau La Nerthe.  chateaulanerthe.fr

 

I could certainly live with a Gef.Std. like that.

 
     
     
 

 

 
 

Location.

 

Thanks to Mr. Nicolas (Nico) Courtine and with great corporation from the castle management, the Gef.Std. has now been identified as the building in the center.  Recently obtained wartime photos, however make that doubtful.

 
         
     
  The building to-day.  © Mr. Nicolas (Nico) Courtine.  Thanks to the work of Nico, it has now been established that the building was purpose built by the Luftwaffe, but it was in all probability not the Gef.Std.  Please see below.  
         
     
  Pictures shared by Mr. Nicolas (Nico) Courtine depicting the ruins of what I assess to be a standard Jafü Gef.Std.  Please see:
NJRF 120
 
         
         
    This Gefechtsstand bears the dubious distinction of being probably one of the few in the West, which was directly targeted by allied air power.  And then by none other than the 94'th Fighter squadron of the 1'st Fighter group, at that time subordinate to 15 Air Force.  In preparation of Operation Anvil/Dragoon the castle was the target of an attack by 11 P-38 Lightnings on 14 August 1944 at 1812 hours.  12 a/c had taken off, but one air aborted.  The remaining 11 dive bombed the castle obtaining a few direct hits and multiple near misses. This facility, which would be a key C2 node during the upcoming battle, was thus rendered  inoperative and beyond recovery, forcing the staff to relocate the same night.  This severely degraded the Luftwaffe's ability to orchestrate the fighter employment and give control to fighter missions.  For a fuller story please see:  Jafü Süd, which is based on information I received from La Nerthe and Nick Beale's ULTRA signals.  
         
         
 

 

 
 

The crest of 94 (US) Fighter Squadron.

  A P-38 in 94 FS colors.  
         
  1st Fighter Wing - Langley Air Force Base, Virginia  
         
         
         
   
         
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