Category: Science at War

A solid piece of research describing the development of HF/DF by the USN and emphasising its importance in the defeat of the U-boat.

LANCE, Rachel. Chamber Divers: The Untold Story of the D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations Forever. 484p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Bedford Square Publishers, 2024. ISBN: 9781835010686.

Tells the story of a small group of researchers, experimenting on themselves from inside pressure tanks in the middle of London, who explored the complicated science needed to design the reconnaissance vessels and underwater breathing apparatuses that would underpin the reconnaissance of the landing beaches which preceded D-Day. Also covers the pre-war sinking of the submarine Thetis which demonstrated the issues and the absence of reconnaissance of the Dieppe beaches in 1942.

RIDDELL, John. Fairlie’s Secret War: How One Village Helped Defeat the German U-Boats. xii, 156p., bibliog., illus., index. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2022. ISBN: 9781839830235,

In late 1940 the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine establishment was moved from Portland to a small village on the Firth of Clyde. This is the previously untold story of what this secret establishment achieved and how it interacted with the local community.

O’KEEFE, David. One Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at Dieppe. 512p., bibliog., illus., index. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2013, ISBN: 9780345807694.

 A well written and researched account, which links the raid to the attempt to capture Enigma machines to assist in codebreaking. Republished by Icon Books in 2020 with the new subtitle Ian Fleming, Enigma, and the Deadly Raid on Dieppe, ISBN: 9781785786303.

JOHNSON, Brian. The Secret War. 352p., bibliog., illus. London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1978. ISBN: 0563174250.

Based on a six part television series, the book covers relevant topics as varied as the development of radar, Enigma, magnetic mines and the various new technologies deployed in the Battle of the Atlantic. A corrected edition was printed in 1979 (ISBN: 0563174250), and there have been several reprints since then.

KENNEDY, Paul. Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned the Tide in the Second World War. xxvi, 436p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Allen Lane; New York: Random House, 2013. ISBN: 9781846141126.

The role of the middle managers is highlighted in this volume by a major historian which uses specific cases to make a general case. The naval material is focused on convoy tactics and assaults on enemy held shores.

McCUE, Brian. U-Boats in the Bay of Biscay: An Essay in Operations Analysis. xvii, 207p., bibliog., illus., index. Washington: National Defense University Press, 1990. ISBN: 016022585X.

A good review of a highly technical area.

LONGARD, John R. Knots, Volts and Decibels: An Informal History of the Naval Research Establishment, 1940–1967. 115p., illus. Dartmouth, N.S.: Defence Research Establishment Atlantic, 1993. ISBN: 0662232232.

Part of the infrastructure which kept the RCN equipped for war.

LINDSEYM, George R. No Day Long Enough: Canadian Science in World War II. xi, 274p., bibliog., illus. Toronto: Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, 1997. ISBN: 0919769659.

Canadian science made giant strides during the war, much of it in naval related areas.

JONES, R. V. Most Secret War. xx, 556p., illus. London: Hamilton, 1978. ISBN: 0241897467.

Jones spent a decade in scientific counterintelligence predicting and attempting to counter German scientific developments from the war at sea to the V weapon attacks.

DOWNING, Taylor. Churchill’s War Lab. Code-breakers, Boffins and Innovators: the Mavericks Churchill Led to Victory. xviii, 397p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Little Brown, 2014. ISBN: 9781408702055.

An engaging account of the role of science and scientists with a helpful view of the impact on the naval war.

VAREY, Peter. Life On The Edge: Peter Danckwaerts GC, MBE, FRS brave, shy, brilliant. iv, 368p., bibliog., illus., index. Cambridge: PFV Publications, 2012. ISBN: 9780953844012.

The biography of a distinguished chemical engineer and academic. During the war he served in mine and bomb disposal in London and the Mediterranean. After being wounded in Sicily, he was given a role in Combined Operations HQ working on scientific projects and intelligence.

DOWNING, Taylor. Churchill’s War Lab. Code-Breakers, Boffins and Innovators: The Mavericks Churchill Led to Victory. xviii, 397p.,bibliog., illus., index. London: Little, Brown, 2010. ISBN: 9781408702055.

As much a biography of Churchill as a review of the effect of science on the course of the war.

One of the troop of wartime scientific advisers, this is an autobiography which includes interesting material on his time at Combined Operations, ranging from advising the Cockleshell Heroes to the Habakkuk Project.

In the summer of 1940 Sir Henry Tizard led a mission to the US and Canada which made available almost all of Britain's technical and scientific military secrets. These ranged from the cavity magnetron and radar work, to jet engine design and A/S warfare experience. This was a critical step in building Allied trust.

These notorious memoirs include a brief account of his war service in the Admiralty Research Laboratory on degaussing, notably for the X-Craft involved in the Tirpitz attack.

An official history of the American Office of Scientific Research and Development. Provides some useful background to British work on science research for the war at sea.

Watson-Watt is generally credited as the inventor of radar, which proved critical to all the armed services.

Written at the end of WW2, but not published then for security reasons. Describes the work of the operational research section of Coastal Command.

The wartime autobiography of a barrister with a scientific background who was called in to sift evidence of what the Germans were doing at sea, so that countermeasures could be devised.

Contains interesting material on the development of radar and on the procurement of new FAA planes.

Describes all the major technical developments of the major powers and looks at examples of their deployment in action.

The Admiralty Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development initiated or developed an enormous range of weaponry from the Holman Projector to the Hedgehog. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2009 as The Wheezers & Dodgers.

A biography of Geoffrey Pyke, an inventor who worked for Combined Operations under the patronage of Mountbatten. He developed such projects as Habakkuk, the unsinkable aircraft carrier to be built from an ice-floe.

Ten chapters on a variety of inventions from bandages to Mulberry Harbours.

An innovative history which looks at weapon design and creation by engineers and inventors. WW2 occupies only twenty per cent of the book but covers a neglected area. The book is however somewhat disjointed.

A solid review with sections on mine warfare, A/S warfare, and amphibious support.

Describes the Canadian scientific contribution.

An excellent history with some material on the use of radar in protecting coastal convoys.

An official account. There are four sections, on operational research, radar, the atomic bomb, and science and the sea.

A comprehensive and coherent account covering all arms and all theatres. Very readable.

Born in 1887 he served in the Indian Army and on retirement became an inventor. He was much concerned with the development of forward-firing spigot weapons and the creation of Hedgehog, a system of firing a cluster of bombs when attacking submarines.