Plotting Block, Friendly Forces

Plotting blocks and counters were used in Operations Rooms in the Second World War and particularly in the Battle of Britain to track the movements of incoming formations of enemy aircraft.

Reports from radar stations and the Observer Corps were sent to Operations Rooms where Women’s Auxiliary Air Force plotters used long rods to place counters indicating aircraft positions and information blocks on a large table-top map. Controllers could then see the progress and likely target of the formation, enabling them to instruct fighter aircraft to intercept the raids.