Bas Pease
Encyclopedia
Rendel Sebastian "Bas" Pease FRS (1922- 17 October 2004) was a British
physicist
.
Pease's father was the geneticist Michael Pease
, son of Edward Reynolds Pease. His mother was Helen Bowen Wedgwood, daughter of Josiah Wedgwood IV. He was the great-great-great-great-grandson of the potter Josiah Wedgwood
.
During WWII he joined RAF Bomber Command
's Operational Research section, where he was the expert in charge of the use of a precision navigation system called G-H
. Field-based, he advised on operational techniques to use the equipment most effectively. Notably, he helped No. 218 Squadron RAF
in Operation Glimmer
, a diversionary "attack" on D-Day that distracted and pinned-down German defences while the real attack occurring 200 miles to the east. His G-H-equipped bombers flew low, in tight circles, dropping window over radar transponder-equipped small ships, in order to deceive the German radars that they were the main invasion fleet.
After the war he was director of the Culham Laboratory for Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion
(1968–1981) and head of the British chapter of Pugwash
(1988–2002).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Pease's father was the geneticist Michael Pease
Michael Pease
Michael Stewart Pease OBE was a British classical geneticist at Cambridge University.Pease was the son of Edward Reynolds Pease, writer and a founding member of the Fabian Society, of the Pease family of Quakers...
, son of Edward Reynolds Pease. His mother was Helen Bowen Wedgwood, daughter of Josiah Wedgwood IV. He was the great-great-great-great-grandson of the potter Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
.
During WWII he joined RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
's Operational Research section, where he was the expert in charge of the use of a precision navigation system called G-H
G-H (navigation)
Gee-H, or sometimes G-H, was a radio navigation system developed by Britain during World War II to aid RAF Bomber Command. Its official name was AMES Type 100...
. Field-based, he advised on operational techniques to use the equipment most effectively. Notably, he helped No. 218 Squadron RAF
No. 218 Squadron RAF
No. 218 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No 218 Squadron after the Governor of the Gold Coast and people of the Gold Coast officially adopted the squadron.-World War I:...
in Operation Glimmer
Operation Glimmer
Operation Glimmer was the codename for one of the deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings . In conjunction with Operation Taxable, this was conducted by aircraft of the Royal Air Force and small ships of the Royal Navy to trick the...
, a diversionary "attack" on D-Day that distracted and pinned-down German defences while the real attack occurring 200 miles to the east. His G-H-equipped bombers flew low, in tight circles, dropping window over radar transponder-equipped small ships, in order to deceive the German radars that they were the main invasion fleet.
After the war he was director of the Culham Laboratory for Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion
Joint European Torus
JET, the Joint European Torus, is the largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment worldwide currently in operation. Its main purpose is to open the way to future nuclear fusion experimental tokamak reactors such as ITER and :DEMO....
(1968–1981) and head of the British chapter of Pugwash
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats...
(1988–2002).