USAAF Ground Observer Corps of the Aircraft Warning Service.

USAAF Ground Observer Corps of the Aircraft Warning Service.

There are a number of websites established now to preserve the history of this vast organization.

See here to start: http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/GOC/GOC.html
http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2006/February%202006/0206goc.aspx

In WW2, in the USA, there were 160,000 civilian volunteer GOCs operating 8,000 observation posts.

A similar organization was established here in Canada:

The Australian Volunteer Air Observers Corps (VAOC) - http://www.ozatwar.com/raaf/vaoc.htm

As well as the well known Royal Observer Corps in the United Kingdom. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Observer_Corps

 

1943 U.S. Army Air Forces training film # TF 1-3315, Eyes Aloft. Description at the National Archives:

"This film honors the work of the Ground Observer Corps of the Aircraft Warning Service.
Civilians from every American community were selected to scan the skies and report to central command suspicious air activity that could endanger their neighbors."

National Archives Identifier: 6048551 Thanks to: http://www.youtube.com/user/WWIIPublicDomain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw0x0lh2YpU