'The Battle of the Beams'

When I received this birthday gift I did not expect to enjoy it.  Science has its uses but my little mind does not comprehend the terminology, or the many mathematical examples offered.  However, this book is written for those dim people among us, which pleased me greatly.

The point of the book concerns Radar, that wonderful the British invented to spot German aircraft attacking these shores.

One problem with that was an unfortunate fact, Germany already had Radar, and it was better than ours!  

One man, R.V. Jones, was given the task of dealing with Radar.  Actually while he spent much time alone fighting German devices, he worked alongside many others experts in this field.  

The main problem concerned Bombers.  Tracking their when they came here, and protecting ours when they crossed the Channel.  Both were difficult tasks.  The enemy were found to be using a Beam along which the Luftwaffe would fly, and a cross beam would meet this, indicating when to drop their bombs.  In theory this enabled the German bomber to always hit the target, human nature however, and the wind factor, often led to problems.  

It was Jones task to understand how this beam operated, work out an antidote and deal with it.  In time his work was successful.  However, as is always he case, the Germans were already working on a more advance system which he then had to defeat.  

Jones had messages coming from agents on the ground, who often died unknown to London, and aerial photographs to try and identify Beams based on the ground.  The majority of the work opposing their beams was however done in his head.  Mathematics, intelligence, luck, and a wide physics knowledge, enabled the British scientists, in time, to overcome their opponents.

One intriguing aspect was the refusal often, from higher authority to accept the enemy had better equipment, or scientists working ahead of the British!  Such Bull-headed approaches are not uncommon in the military world.  I suggest it remains the case today also.

During 1943 the cause changed, defence was less required, now it was attack.   

Radar was fitted to night fighters and bombers.  The Germans also fitted radar to their nightfighters, and while the war raged all around the wireless world hummed constantly to the sound of dots and ashes, bleeps and any noise that would confuse the enemy radar.  The British took to German speakers interfering in radio messages between German ground radar and the nightfighters, often arguing about who was the genuine article demanding the plane followed orders.  Confusion reigned and as time passed the German war machine crumbled.

The ability to spot a blip on a screen, indicating a plane in the sky some miles away, had by 1945, become a massive technological operation involving men and women on the ground throughout Europe and in the UK.  Those in Europe often dying when exposed by false friend or mistake.

R.V. Jones became professor in Physics at Aberdeen Uni after the war, on the recommendation of Winston Churchill himself.  He had won the 'Battle of the Beams,' and in secret at that.  Few working in these circumstances could make anything of their work, they were not supposed to speak of it for many years, so secret was the job.  

A different book regarding the war, but an interesting one just the same, on a subject I knew nothing about.  Education is a wonderful thing.  This book is worth a read, if science interests you.