Antwerp plotting station

At the beginning of the Cold War, 1952-1953, a plotting station was set up by Nato at the Antwerp airport, manned by 16 Belgian and 16 Dutch air force soldiers with a few officers and non-commissioned officers from both air forces. It never went any further than exercises.

Plotting is mapping the location of ships or aircraft by means of coordinates.

In 1952, a plotting station was set up on the top floor of the airport building. In the middle of the largest room was a table 4.5 m long and 3.5 m wide, with a map of Western Europe painted on it. This was divided into sections and each section was marked by a combination of letters so that people could quickly orient themselves on the map.

The plotters received the coordinates of all the aircraft that appeared on the radar screens from all radar stations in Western Europe. The message to the plotter stated: the location of the aircraft, the direction of flight, the number and whether it concerned a “hostile” or “ally” (friend or foe).

The plotter then passed on the incoming data to his 'runner' (his assistant) who was standing next to him, together with the track number he wanted to give to the new situation.

The runner then put that data on an aluminum stand intended for this purpose and gave it to the plotter, who placed it in the right place on the basis of the coordinates drawn on the table. There were 4 plotters at the table. In the large photo you see a wall at the top of the plot table in which pictures were hung from which the data about available aircraft could be read. Furthermore, at the top of the wall were the names and numbers of the airports falling under Antwerp and the names of the squadrons stationed at those airports.

At the foot of the table was a dais on which the officers on duty sat. They had a clear overview of the situation and decided when and which aircraft to fly against the enemy.