XBradTC

I think a large part of my fascination with electronic warfare (EW) has to due with my technical background. We’re also in the midst of D-Day commerations. Air & Space Museum blog has a fascinating article on Allied electronic warfare efforts underway in support of the invasion called: D-Day and The Wizard War.

The post covers some of the technology that enabled the Allies to successfully carry out the Normandy landings:

Radar was used by all sides in World War II and was probably best known for facilitating the British victory in the Battle of Britain. However, radar had come a very long way since the first generation Chain Home radar stations countered the offensive bomber formations of the Blitz. The British development of the cavity magnetron in 1940 made microwave radar possible, giving far greater definition and resistance to jamming than anything the Germans had. By D-Day, the combination of the quartz oscillator and the cavity magnetron had yielded an extensive array of ground-based and aircraft equipment that allowed the offensive resources of the Allies to be applied efficiently and effectively. Without them, the German defenses would have been exceptionally difficult to crack. Though the soldiers on Omaha Beach would never think they had it easy (and as discussed below, they were indeed let down by some of this technology), the reality is that Operation Overlord was about far more than simply having enough men and equipment while tricking the Germans into thinking the landing was occurring elsewhere. At its most basic level, Normandy was a giant navigation problem.

Simliarly Global Aviation Resource has been running a multi-post series on the Normandy invasion but the latest post I found most interesting and touches a little bit on EW on D-Day:

Meanwhile out above the Channel the radar signatures of two ghost armadas was being created by Operations TAXABLE and GLIMMER, with bombers of the RAF flying meticulous missions to deliver a constant stream of Window to simulate a large naval force moving across the channel at the rate of seven knots. These missions aimed to convince the Germans that, even as the first sightings of the Normandy landings were received, there were more, and larger, invasions about to take place further up the coast. Of course, for the German radar to be able to see the radar signatures a number of sites were conveniently missed during air strikes, with some RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force Typhoon raids being instructed to ‘near miss’ a select number of radar stations with their rocket mounted attacks.

The bombers would be paired up and fly a racecourse pattern perpendicular to the enemy coast, beginning at opposite ends and then chasing each other round in a circuit duration of ten minutes, all the while dropping Window. As well as having to gradually move the pattern closer to the coast, the crews also had to adjust them taking into account the wind direction, all in all a very challenging task.

Also highly recommended reading as is the entire series.

EW itself has a rich and interesting history which I’ve only learned part of (i.e. post World War 2).  Alfred Price’s Instruments of Darkness: The History of Electronic Warfare, 1939-1945 is the landmark work on the subject and is highly recommended reading by the professionals.