Radar, carrots, and aluminum foil
During World War II, air superiority was key to winning the war. Compared to traditional troops, planes were not limited by terrain and they could deal more damage at the expense of less lives. As such, a great arms race began between the Allies and the Axis powers to see who would control the skies, and therefore, the war.
One major breakthrough in technology came in 1939 when the British developed an air-to-air radar system, called Airborne Interception radar, that allowed fighters to target and detect enemy German bombers flying under the cover of night. In 1940, this technology saw major use when a Royal Air Force fighter, John Cunningham, shot down 19 enemy planes. Because the radar system was so valuable, the British did not want the enemy knowing of its existence, and to offer an explanation for the RAF’s stunning night-flying ability, the word was spread that carrots were the root cause. However, it is unclear whether Germans believed this to be true, and while the trick may not have accomplished its intended goal, it led to the common myth that carrots help you see at night.
Another technological advancement that was made during World War II was the invention of chaff, a radar scrambler. In order to improve the success rate of bombing runs, engineers realized that the problem lay in being detected by enemy radar, and they set out to find a solution. They didn’t have to search very far, however, for the solution was quite a common object: aluminum foil. It was discovered that by dropping sheets of aluminum foil from the sky, enemy radar would be scrambled because the radio waves would bounce off of the foil and be reflected back to the radar system in a jumbled mess. It turns out that both the Allies and the Axis forces had access to this technology, but neither of them were willing to use it out of fear of the opposing side discovering the “trick.”
With so much at stake during World War II, it should come as no surprise to see nations to zealously guard their secrets, and these tales of strategy and trickery only add to known acts of subterfuge carried out by the secret service agencies of their respective countries.
Cool post! Great to learn where the myth of carrots helping eyesight came from. Also very interesting to learn about just how far the Allies and Axis powers went to keep their secrets safe. Crazy that they never used the aluminium foil in fear of the other side figuring it out. Could they have made something that would counteract the aluminium foil? There is another way to jam radar which involves using more powerful radio frequencies to cancel out and/or block the other radar. Short description: https://histru.bournemouth.ac.uk/Oral_History/Talking_About_Technology/radar_research/radar_jamming.html
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I like this topic especially because of I keep thinking of Mr. Stewart's map of WWII and all the airplanes that were used to take over other parts of Europe. I liked how you added cartoons to your post to show how carrots were a myth of WWII which probably led to a much higher carrot intake by pilots.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely interesting post! I find it fascinating how the outcome of the war was so heavily dependent on the development of their planes. Do you think that the air superiority of the allies was telling in the outcome of the war? Here's a website that goes into depth about this question. http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/wwii-air-warfare-the-allied-strategic-bombing-fighter-strategy/
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