Nissenthall, Jack/Samuels, Basil Radar's Role in Defeating the Nazis

From Dunkirk to Dieppe and D-Day. The Silent Weapon that Defeated Hitler

During the Second World War, a silent battle was waged between the Allies and the Third Reich: the war of the airwaves. As a radar expert, Jack Nissenthall played a central role in developing methods for radar detection and jamming. Jack had been involved in radar development as part of Robert Watson-Watts team since 1936; this work led to the creation of the "Chain Home" system, which was crucial to the RAF's success during the Battle of Britain. Later, he was a key figure among the British and Canadian forces that carried out the infamous Operation Jubileethe raid on Dieppein August 1942. His mission was to infiltrate the radar station at Pourville and obtain vital information about the new German "Freya" radar. Although he did not succeed in entering the station itself, he managed to cut the facility's telephone lines, forcing the German operators to rely on radio communication. These radio transmissions were intercepted by listening stations in England, yielding valuable intelligence. After returning from Dieppe, Jack continued his important work in the field of radar technology. He believes thatin contrast to the countless books written about the D-Day landings and the subsequent fightingthe achievements in radar technology have received relatively little attention to date. In this account, Jack offers the reader insight into the ingenuity of those involved and describes how they sought solutions to the daunting challenges of an amphibious landing on a heavily defended coast. He details how, through meticulous planning, absolute secrecy, resourcefulness, collaboration, ruse, and deception, they achieved what most had deemed impossible. Writing about the Normandy landings, Jack said: If there was a miracle on the morning of June 6, 1944, it was one that had been carefully planned by the Allies. By finding solutions and thoroughly testing their developments, they made it possible. At last, I can tell the whole story.