Night Raid

by Taylor Downing

  Gneisenau (German battle cruiser), 150, 157, 301, 330

  goniometer, 26

  Göring, Herman, 8, 54, 73, 74, 332, 338

  Gould, Eric, 179, 260, 281–2

  Grieve, David, 268, 269, 339

  Grosses Moosbruch (eastern Germany), 36

  Halliwell, Stan, 250

  Hamburg, Allied bombing raids on, 334–5

  Hardwick near Chesterfield, 101, 104–5

  Harvey, Group Captain ‘Stiffy’, 60–1

  Heller (German prisoner), 245, 273, 292, 323–6

  Henry V (Laurence Olivier film, 1944), 318

  Hertz, Heinrich, 9, 78

  Hill, A.V., 14

  Hill, Tom, 103–4, 264, 270, 310

  Hill, Flight Lieutenant Tony, 132–4, 135

  Hitler, Adolf, 7, 8, 11, 53, 75, 98–9, 145, 326

  Hodgkin, Alan, 79

  Hong Kong, Japanese capture of, 139

  Hopkins, Anthony, 352

  Hughes-Hallett, Captain John, 146, 177–8

  Huhn, Oberleutnant, 216, 240, 241, 251–2, 293

  Hülsmeyer, Christian, 9–10, 37

  Humphreys, Alan, 287–8, 305–6, 308, 311

  Hurricane aircraft, 71, 74

  Imperial College, London, 13

  In Which We Serve (Noel Coward film, 1942), 310–11

  India, 149

  intelligence, military: accuracy of, 299, 340; Oslo Report, 109–12, 113, 114, 118, 124–5; Resistance groups in Europe and, 134–5, 153–66, 200, 213; R.V. Jones moves to Air Ministry, 113; see also Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)

  Inveraray, Scotland, 178–81, 199

  Iraq conflict, 357

  Ismay, General Sir Hastings, 56, 149

  Italy: Allied invasion of Sicily, 347–9; desert war and, 93; Tragino aqueduct attack (Operation Colossus), 362, 93–8, 340

  James, Admiral Sir William ‘Bubbles’, 176–7, 224–5, 228

  jamming of radar: ‘Mandrel’ system, 333; opposition to, 330, 331–2, 333, 334; science of, 323, 330–2, 333–7, 338; ‘Spoof’ system, 333–4; ‘Window’ system (aluminium strips), 331–2, 333, 334–7

  Japan: fall of Singapore (February 1942), 151, 301; invasion of Malaya, 139, 149, 151; Pearl Harbor attack, 138, 139, 140; victories in pacific (December 1941), 139

  Jodrell Bank, 358–9

  Jones, Corporal, 251, 252, 253, 273, 340

  Jones, Lieutenant-Colonel ‘H’, 357

  Jones, Reginald Victor, 113–19, 120–5, 130–5, 193–4, 328, 337–8; background of, 112–13; Freya early warning system and, 119, 121, 123–5, 131; ‘Giant Würzburgs’ and, 135–6, 322; Oslo Report and, 109, 110, 111–12, 113, 114, 118, 124–5; Photo intelligence and, 121–3, 124, 126, 130–4, 135, 136; post-war life, 357–8; proposes raid on Bruneval, 136–7, 185, 340; science of jamming and, 330, 332; volunteers for Bruneval mission, 185; Würzburg A system and, 124–5, 131–2, 134, 135, 136–7, 321–3, 325–6

  Junkers Ju 52 aircraft, 53, 98

  Junkers Ju 88 aircraft, 110

  Kammhuber, General Josef, 329, 338

  Keyes, Sir Roger, 86–9, 90–1, 141, 142, 143

  Kiel, Germany, 10, 37–9

  Kriegsmarine (German navy), 145, 157, 260–1, 276–7, 330; ‘Channel Dash’, 150, 151, 301, 330; development of radar and, 37–41, 45, 119; Seetakt (radar system), 41, 45

  Kühnhold, Dr Rudolf, 37–40, 43–4

  Lajoye, Maurice, 295, 296

  Lawley, Arthur ‘Taff’, 94

  Le Havre, Haute-Normandie, 131, 158, 160, 205–6, 213–14, 215, 220, 233, 234, 295, 353

  Lechevallier, André, 295

  Leningrad, siege of, 139–40

  Levant, Oscar, 313

  Lewis, W.B., 136

  Lindemann, Frederick, 82, 112–13, 114, 115, 116; friendship with Churchill, 11–12; opposition to jamming, 331–2, 333

  Lindsay, Captain Martin, 61

  Lofoten Islands raid (March 1941), 89–90, 312

  Lorenz company, 41–2, 115, 116

  Lovell, Bernard, 79, 358

  Luce, David, 146, 177–8

  Luft Hansa, 7, 53

  Luftwaffe: 23rd Air Reconnaissance Regiment, 214–15; A2-Gerät (A2 Apparatus), 42; Air Intelligence Branch, 213–15; Battle of Britain losses, 74; bombing of London, 75, 76, 117; bombing of radar stations, 74, 79; Coventry raid (14 November 1940), 117; creation of by Hitler, 7–8; Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), 52–4, 107, 214, 294; ignorance of British radar system, 73–4; interrogation of Bruneval prisoners, 294; Knickebein system of bomber guidance, 114–17; low skill of radar personnel, 323–6; Luftgau Nachrichten-Regiment 12 (12th Signals Regiment), 124; parachute school, 52–3; personnel at Bruneval, 161, 213–15, 218, 245, 248, 273, 292–3; see also Freya early warning system; Würzburg A system

  Lulworth Cove, Dorset, 182–3

  Lumb, Sergeant, 275–6, 283

  LZ 130 Zeppelin airship, 73

  magnetron, resonant cavity, 78–81, 82–3

  Malaya, Japanese invasion of, 139, 149, 151

  Mallory, Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh, 334

  Malvern College, Worcestershire, 328–9

  ‘Mandrel’ jamming system, 333

  Manifould, Flying Officer William, 122

  Market Garden, Operation, 349–52

  Martini, General Wolfgang, 42, 294

  Martlesham Heath in Suffolk, 12, 32

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, 81, 336

  Mayer, Emil, 42

  McCallum, Corporal John, 291–3

  McIntyre, Private, 250, 284

  McKenzie, Sergeant, 244, 245, 339

  Medhurst, Air Vice Marshal Charles, 120

  medical officers, 207, 208

  Medmenham RAF establishment, 126–31, 132, 210, 327

  Melches, Oberleutnant Hans, 214, 218

  Messerschmitt aircraft, 47, 72, 129

  microwave radar technology, 77–81, 82–3

  Millar, George, The Bruneval Raid: Flashpoint of the Radar War (1974), 364

  Millet, Allan (with Nicolas Bucourt), Raid de Bruneval et de La Poterie-Cap-d’Antifer: Mystères et Verité (2012), 364

  Montgomery, Bernard Law, 345, 349–50, 352

  monument at Bruneval site, 364–365

  Morgan, Stanley, 309

  morphine, 208, 262, 290

  motor gunboats (MGBs), 206, 207, 259, 260, 282–3, 284–5, 339, 343

  Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs), 343

  Mountbatten, Lord Louis: appointed head of Combined Operations, 91–2, 137, 138; Bruneval as publicity success, 305; clears ‘Private Newman’ for mission, 199; initial planning for Bruneval, 146–7, 149, 150; orchestration of news by, 310–12, 313, 315, 316; promotions after Bruneval, 341–2; reorganisation and expansion of Combined Operations, 141–6; reports to Churchill after Bruneval raid, 299; sinking of HMS Kelly and, 310–11; visits C Company at Inveraray, 179–80, 199, 313, 316

  Munich conference (1938), 54

  Nagel, Peter (‘Private Newman), 196–9, 245, 277, 285, 344

  Nastri, Nicol, 95, 97

  National Grid, 27

  Naumoff, Lieutenant Peter, 204, 250, 251

  navy, German see Kriegsmarine (German navy)

  Nazi state, German: banning of amateur radio, 326; civilian company rivalries in, 41–2, 43–4, 119; military rearmament, 7–8; Nagel and, 198; Telefunken and, 42, 44–5

  Nernst, Professor Walter, 12

  Netherlands, German invasion of, 55, 70

  New Zealand forces, 98

  Newnham, Squadron Leader Maurice, 99–100

  newspapers, 302, 307–10, 311–12; ‘embedded’ journalists, 287–8, 312, 318; foreign press, 317

  Norman, Group Captain Sir Nigel, 147, 175, 225, 227–8

  North Africa war, 93, 140, 148, 149, 151, 345–7

  Northern Ireland conflict, 356

  Norway: German radar stations on coast, 131; Lofoten Islands raid (March 1941), 89–90, 312; Oslo Report, 109–12, 113, 114, 118, 124–5; Spitzbergen raid (August 1941), 90; Vaagsö raid (December 1941)
, 144–6

  Observer Corps, 68

  Offlag VIIB PoW camp, 351

  Olivier, Laurence, 318

  Olympic Games, Berlin (1936), 42

  Orford Ness, 19–22, 23, 34

  Osborn, Geoffrey, 176

  Oslo Report, 109–12, 113, 114, 118

  1st Parachute Brigade, 100–5, 340; 1st Battalion (prev. 11 Special Air Service Battalion), 93–8, 148; 2nd Battalion, 148, 167, 173, 345–52, 356–7 see also C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion; Market Garden and, 349–52; operation in Sicily, 347–9; Paras nicknamed ‘Red Devils’ by Germans, 347

  parachutes: automatic (static line) opening design, 49, 52, 63–4; early history of, 48–9; First World War and, 49; packing of, 52, 168; ripcord design, 49, 52; Soviet development of, 49

  para-roll landing, 100

  Paschke, Major, 215, 217, 218, 259, 269, 353

  Paterson, Lieutenant, 95–6

  Paulus, General von, 353

  Pearl Harbor, Japanese attack on, 138, 139, 140

  Peate, Henry, 179–80, 315

  Peenemünde on Baltic coast, 110, 129

  Pegasus, flying horse, 48, 108

  Pelzerhaken on Baltic coast, 39

  Perth, Scotland, 34, 68–9

  Philippines, Japanese invasion of, 139

  Philips (Dutch company), 38–9

  Philips, Admiral Sir Tom, 139

  photographic reconnaissance, aerial, 3–4, 121–3, 124, 131–4, 135, 136, 210; barbed wire as useful for, 327; Central Interpretation Unit formed, 126–7; photo interpretation, 127–31, 132, 213, 214, 216–17, 337

  Picchi, Fortunato, 95, 97

  Pickard, Percy Charles, 175–6, 205, 229, 238, 249, 305, 316, 340

  Pintsch company, 38

  Plan Position Indicator (PPI) system, 76–7

  Poland, 53, 54

  Portal, Sir Charles, 149, 185, 333

  Pound, Admiral Sir Dudley, 149, 310–11

  Preist, Donald, 195–6, 207, 259, 277, 282–3, 285, 286, 331

  HMS Prinz Albert, 178–81, 199, 206, 225, 259, 287–8, 305, 311, 313, 314, 315–16

  Prinz Eugen (German cruiser), 150

  Pritchard, Major Trevor, 94, 95–6

  Pye, 32

  Pyke, Geoffrey, 143

  Quick, D.J., 280, 339

  Quilter, Sir Cuthbert, 23

  radar: Air-to- Surface Vessel (ASV) radar, 32; Allied Identification Friend or Foe system, 335–6; anti-aircraft (flak), 42, 43, 45; astronomy and, 358; Attlee reveals British programme (June 1941), 119–20, 304; Battle of the Beams, 117–18; Biggin Hill experiments (1936, 1937), 29–30; British research’s move to Dundee/Perth and, 34, 68–9; British-German comparisons, 43, 45–6; Cabinet Room meeting (21 June 1940), 115–17; centimetric blind bombing, 83; construction of Chain Home system (1938–9), 26–8; conversion into usable intelligence, 28–30; counter-countermeasures, 336; detection of U-boats at sea, 83; development of airborne system, 31–2, 33, 68–9, 76, 83; early British development of, 8–9, 10–11, 15–22; Fighter Command’s command and control system, 30–1, 71, 72, 73–4, 119; first shooting down of German bomber at night, 83; first stations at Thames estuary (1935), 22; ‘floodlight’ approach, 38, 43; microwave technology, 77–81, 82–3; as only working over sea, 68; Plan Position Indicator (PPI), 76–7; post-war non-military uses, 357, 358, 359; research and development at Bawdsey Manor, 23–6, 32–4, 43, 73–4, 112; ‘searchlight’ approach, 38, 43; September 1936 trials at Bawdsey, 25; similarity of British and German terminology, 40; A.J.P. Taylor on, 357; as vital factor in Battle of Britain, 75–6; see also Chain Home system; jamming of radar; wavelengths, radar

  radar, German: A2-Gerät (A2 Apparatus), 42; Battle of the Beams, 117–18; British acknowledgement of, 304; British-German comparisons, 43, 45–6; company rivalries in Nazi state, 41–2, 43–4, 119; development of, 34, 37–46, 110–11, 114, 117–19, 304; Dr Rudolf Kühnhold’ developmental work, 37–40, 44; Düppel (German version of ‘Window’), 337; early research, 9–10, 37; grid system, 124; Kammhuber Line, 329–30, 332, 333, 334–5; Knickebein system, 114–17; low skill of Luftwaffe personnel, 323–6; night defences, 120–5, 130–7; NVA in Kiel, 37–9; Philips magnetron valve, 38–9; Seeburg Tables, 329; Seetakt (naval radar), 41, 45; similarity of British and German terminology, 40; stations on French coast, 118–19, 121, 122–4, 130–5; stations on Norwegian coast, 131; systems named after cities, 43; Telefunken and, 39, 42–3, 44–5; three forms of system, 45; V-weapons and, 337; Würzlaus system, 335; Y-Gerät radio beams, 110–11, 118; see also Freya early warning system; Würzburg A system

  Radiation Laboratory (Rad Lab) in Boston, 81, 336

  radio communications, 362; 38 system, 174, 209, 266–7; during Bruneval training, 181, 182; malfunction at Arnhem, 350; malfunction during Bruneval raid, 252, 266–7; Rebecca-Eureka system, 208–9, 276

  Radio Research Station, National Physical Laboratory, 14–15, 16, 19

  Randall, John, 77–9

  Rechlin aviation research establishment, 110

  reconnaissance, aerial photographic see photographic reconnaissance, aerial

  Regnier, Mademoiselle, 295, 296

  Renault, Gilbert (Rémy), 154–9, 165–6, 307

  Resistance groups in Europe, 134–5, 153–66, 200, 213, 295, 307

  Richardson, Ralph, 319

  Ringway airport, Manchester, 57–9, 62–5, 98, 99–100, 102–4, 105

  Rock, Major John, 57, 58, 59, 60–1

  rocket research, German, 110

  Rommel, Erwin, 140, 148, 151

  Roosevelt, President F.D., 138

  Ross, John, 173, 190, 199, 308, 356; captured in Sicily, 348, 356; commands Nelson raiding party, 202–3, 239, 255–6, 257, 258, 261, 263, 270, 276

  Rowe, A.P., 13–14, 19, 32–3, 68, 69, 70, 79, 327; evacuation of Bawdsey Manor, 33–4; freedom of discussion at TRE, 81–2; ‘Sunday Soviets’ and, 82; ‘Window’ jamming system and, 331

  Royal Air Force (RAF): agrees to supply planes for airborne forces, 99; Battle of Britain losses, 74; Bruneval mission transport, 2–3, 174–6, 181–2, 183, 205–6, 229–31, 235–7, 249, 308; Bruneval newsreel and, 316; Bruneval planning, 147, 149; Bruneval rehearsals, 4, 183; Bruneval training, 181–2, 183; Cabinet Room meeting (21 June 1940), 115, 116, 117; expansion of (from 1935), 8; lack of aircraft for airborne forces (1940–1), 58–9, 93; medals awarded for Bruneval mission, 340; operation in Sicily and, 347–8; parachute training instructors, 100; resistance to Combined Operations, 88–9, 92–3; Spitfire escort for returning flotilla, 207, 286–7; St Nazaire raid, 343; Wilhelmshaven raid (December 1939), 46–7, 114; see also Bomber Command, RAF; Fighter Command, RAF

  Royal Engineers, 171, 172, 173, 190–2

  Royal Navy: Bruneval newsreel and, 312, 313; Bruneval planning, 149–50, 176–8, 179–80, 182, 184, 206, 207; Bruneval raid and, 225, 259–61, 266–7, 275, 276–83, 284–8; Bruneval rehearsals, 4, 180–1, 182, 183, 184, 206; Bruneval training, 180–1, 182, 183, 184; intercepted Enigma messages and, 141; jamming of enemy radar, 330; losses in Gulf of Siam (December 1941), 139; losses in Mediterranean, 140; medals awarded for Bruneval, 339; microwave radar technology and, 80, 83; radar technology and, 32; resistance to Combined Operations, 88–9; St Nazaire raid (28 March 1942), 342–4

  Royal Oak, sinking of at Scapa Flow (1939), 177

  Runge, Professor Wilhelm T., 39, 43, 44–5

  Scharnhorst (German battle cruiser), 150, 157, 301, 330

  Schmidt, Corporal Georg, 234, 256, 257, 259, 269, 285, 354

  Schonland, Brigadier Basil, 192

  School for Secrets (Peter Ustinov film, 1946), 318–20

  Scott, Private Alan, 284, 292, 293

  Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), 36, 46, 155; R.V. Jones and, 109, 110, 113–14

  Seetakt (German naval radar), 41, 45

  Sharp, Sergeant, 256, 257, 258

  Sicily, invasion of, 347–9

  silver wings insignia, 64, 102, 105, 148, 169, 178

  Sinclair, Sir Archibald, 115

  Singapore,
fall of (February 1942), 151, 301

  Soviet Union: German invasion of (June 1941), 139, 352; inter-war development of airborne forces, 49–51; losses in 1941 campaign, 139–40; parachute development and, 49; siege of Leningrad, 139–40; Stalin’s calls for second front, 332; war on Eastern Front, 352–5

  Special Operations Executive, 84–5, 142–3, 174

  Special Service Brigade (commandos), 89; see also Commando Units, British

  Speer, Albert, 335

  Spitfire aircraft, 71–2, 74, 286–7; photographic reconnaissance and, 121–3, 132–4

  Spitzbergen raid (August 1941), 90

  ‘Spoof’ jamming system, 333–4

  SS Panzer corps, 350, 351

  St Nazaire raid (28 March 1942), 342–4

  St Trond base (Belgium), 135

  Stalag VIIIB PoW camp, 296

  Stalag XIII PoW camp, 351

  Sten gun, 3, 174, 200

  Stever, Lieutenant General Johann Joachim, 215, 289–90, 293, 354–5

  Stewart, Corporal, 232, 271

  Strachan, Gerry Alexander, 173, 190, 224, 227; awarded Croix de Guerre, 340; Bruneval mission, 2, 3, 242, 252, 262, 273–4; captured at Arnhem, 351; post-war life, 355; ‘Private Newman’ and, 196, 199; return to 2 Para in North Africa, 349; severely wounded at Bruneval, 262, 273–4, 284, 285, 315–16, 340, 349

  Strange, Squadron Leader Louis, 58, 59, 60–1, 65–6

  Student, General Kurt, 53, 98–9

  Sudetenland, 54

  Suez Crisis (1956), 356

  Supermarine company, 71–2

  Sutherland, Private Donald, 265, 290

  Syrencote House near Netheravon, 107, 181–2, 195

  Tamera action (March 1943), 347

  Target for Tonight (Crown Film Unit, 1941), 175–6, 305

  Tasker, Sergeant, 256, 257, 258

  Tatton Park estate, Cheshire, 58, 94, 103, 168–9

  Taylor, A.J.P., 357

  Teichman, Philip, 148, 167, 346

  Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) at Worth Matravers, 69–70, 76, 77, 117–18, 136–7, 195–6, 259; freedom of discussion at, 81–2; Freya early warning system and, 123; microwave radar and, 79–80, 82–3; move to Malvern College, 328–9; ‘Sunday Soviets’ at, 82; vulnerability of Worth Matravers site, 70, 327–8; work on jamming enemy radar, 330, 331, 338; Würzburg system and, 124, 322–3, 330, 338