Operation Biting
Encyclopedia
Operation Biting, also known as the Bruneval Raid, was the codename given to a British Combined Operations raid on a German radar installation in Bruneval, France
that occurred between 27–28 February 1942 during World War II
. A number of these installations had been identified from Royal Air Force
aerial reconnaissance
during 1941, but their exact purpose and the nature of the equipment that they possessed was not known. However, a number of British scientists believed that these stations had something to do with the heavy losses being experienced by RAF bombers conducting bombing raids against targets in Occupied Europe. A request was therefore made by these scientists that one of these installations be raided and the technology it possessed be studied and, if possible, extracted and taken back to Britain for further study. Due to the extensive coastal defences erected by the Germans to protect the installation from a sea-borne raid, it was believed that a commando raid from the sea would only incur heavy losses on the part of the attackers, and give sufficient time for the garrison at the installation to destroy the Würzburg radar
set. It was therefore decided that an airborne assault, followed by sea-borne evacuation would be the ideal way to surprise the garrison of the installation and seize the technology intact, as well as minimize casualties inflicted on the raiding force.
On the night of 27 February, after a period of intense training and several delays due to poor weather, a small detachment of airborne troops under the command of Major
John Frost
parachuted into France a few miles from the installation. The force then proceeded to assault the villa in which the radar equipment was kept, killing several members of the German garrison and capturing the installation after a brief fire-fight. A technician that had come with the force proceeded to dismantle the Würzburg radar array and remove several key pieces to take back to Britain, and the raiding force then retreated to the evacuation beach. The detachment assigned to clear the beach had failed to do so, however, and another brief fire-fight was required to eliminate the Germans guarding the beach. The raiding force was then picked up by a small number of landing craft and transferred to several Motor Gun Boat
s which took them back to Britain. The raid was entirely successful. The airborne troops suffered only a few casualties, and the pieces of the radar they brought back, along with a German radar technician, allowed British scientists to understand German advances in radar and to create counter-measures to neutralize those advances.
After the end of the Battle of France
and the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo
, much of Britain's war production and effort was channelled into RAF Bomber Command
and the strategic bombing offensive against Germany. However, bomber losses on each raid began to increase during 1941, which British intelligence concluded was due to German use of advanced radar techniques. British and German radar technology and techniques had been in competition for nearly a decade at this point, with the Germans often either at the same level as the British or even surpassing them due to heavy military investment in the fledgling technology. By the beginning of World War II, British radar technology had managed to rise to an effective level, primarily due to the work of Robert Watson-Watt
, although much of the technology was still rudimentary in nature and mistakes were made, such as the inability of Watson-Watt and other scientists to devise an effective night-defence system in time for the German night-time bombing of Britain
during 1940. Another British scientist working on radar technology and techniques was R. V. Jones
, who had been appointed in 1939 as Britain's first Scientific Intelligence Officer and had spent the first years of the conflict researching how advanced the German radar technology was in comparison to Britain, and convincing doubters that the Germans actually had radar.
By scrutinizing leaked German documents, crashed Luftwaffe
bombers and Enigma
decrypts, as well as interrogating German prisoners of war
, Jones discovered that high-frequency radio signals were being transmitted across Britain from somewhere on the continent, and he believed they came from a directional radar system. Within a few months of this discovery, Jones had identified several such radar systems, one of which was being used to detect British bombers; this was known as the "Freya-Meldung-Freya
" system, named after an ancient Nordic goddess. Jones was finally able to see concrete proof of the presence of the Freya system after being shown several mysterious objects caught in reconnaissance pictures taken by the RAF near The Hague
- two circular dishes approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter which were being rotated. Having found proof of these Freya installations, Jones and the other scientists under his command could begin devising counter-measures against the system, and the RAF could begin to locate and destroy the installations themselves. Jones had also found evidence of a second part of the Freya system, referred to in Enigma decrypts as "Würzburg
", but it was not until he was shown another set of RAF reconnaissance photographs in November 1941 that he learnt what Würzburg was. It consisted of a parabolic reflector about 10 feet (3 m) in diameter, which worked in conjunction with Freya to locate British bombers and then direct Luftwaffe night-fighters to their position. The two systems complemented each other: Freya was a long-distance radar system, but lacked precision, whereas Würzburg possessed a far shorter range but was far more precise. Würzburg also had the advantage of being much smaller than the Freya system and easier to manufacture in the quantities needed by the Luftwaffe to defend German territory.
. The site was located on a cliff-top immediately north of the village of Bruneval, which was itself twelve miles north of Le Havre, and was the most accessible German radar site that had been located so far by the British; several other installations had been located in France, but were landlocked, and others were as far away as Romania
and Bulgaria
. A request was therefore passed along to Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten
, the commander of Combined Operations, that a raid be mounted against the Bruneval installation and that a Würzburg radar system be captured and brought back to Britain for study. Mountbatten in turn took the proposal to the Chiefs of Staff Committee
, who approved the raid after a brief debate. Having received permission to conduct the raid, Mountbatten and his staff studied the Bruneval installation and its defences, rapidly coming to the conclusion that due to the extensive coastal defences erected in the area around the installation it was too well-guarded to permit a commando raid. They considered that such a raid would be costly in terms of casualties for the commando force and would not be fast enough to capture the Würzburg radar before it was destroyed. Believing that surprise and speed were to be the essential requirements of any raid against the installation to ensure the radar was captured, Mountbatten saw an airborne assault as the only viable method. On 8 January 1942, he therefore contacted the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division and 38 Wing RAF, asking if they could cooperate together to conduct such a raid. Major-General
Frederick Browning
, commander of 1st Airborne Division, and Group Captain
Nigel Norman
, commander of 38 Wing, both agreed to conduct the raid; Browning was particularly enthusiastic, as a successful operation would be an excellent morale boost to the airborne troops under his command, as well as a good demonstration of their value.
The two commanders believed that training by both airborne troops and aircrews could be completed by the end of February, when there would be suitable meteorological conditions for such an operation to take place. Training for the raid was begun immediately, but encountered several problems. 38 Wing was a new formation and was unable to provide any aircraft or trained aircrews for the raid, meaning that No. 51 Squadron RAF
under Wing Commander
Percy Charles Pickard
was selected to provide the aircraft and aircrew needed for the operation, although Group Captain Norman would remain in overall command. Another problem encountered was the state of the company of airborne troops chosen to raid the installation. During this period, 1st Airborne Division was composed of only two parachute battalions, of which only one, 1st Parachute Battalion, was fully trained; Major-General Browning, wishing to keep 1st Parachute Battalion intact for any larger operation the division might be selected for, ordered 2nd Parachute Battalion to provide a company for the operation. 'C' Company, commanded by Major
John Frost
was selected, but the company had been so recently formed that Major Frost and many of his men had not yet completed their parachute jumping course. The level of security imposed on the planning for the raid was so high that when Major Frost was first briefed by a liaison officer from the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division, he was informed that his company was to take part in an airborne warfare demonstration for the War Cabinet. He was also informed that C company would be divided into four sections for the exercise, which went against a plan Frost had devised for the exercise and confused him. It was only after Frost raised several objections with a more senior officer at the headquarters that he was informed of the intended raid, after which the Major dropped his objections and turned his attention to training the company.
The company spent a period training on Salisbury Plain
in Wiltshire
, and then travelled to Inveraray
in Scotland
where they underwent specialized training on Loch Fyne
, practising night embarkations on landing craft. After finishing this training, which was designed to prepare the company for being evacuated by sea after raiding the radar installation, the company returned to Wiltshire and began carrying out practice parachute drops with the aircraft and aircrews of 51 Squadron. Despite the aircrews of the Squadron having no previous experience in dropping parachutists, these exercises proved to be successful. The company's training was aided by the creation of a scale-model of the radar installation and the surrounding buildings being built by the Photographic Interpretation Unit. During this period, Major Frost was introduced to Commander F. N. Cook of the Royal Australian Navy
who would be commanding the naval force intended to evacuate the company at the completion of the raid, as well as to the party of thirty-two officers and men from No. 12 Commando
who would remain in the landing craft and cover the company as it withdrew from the beach. Frost also met Flight Sergeant
C.W.H Cox of the RAF, who had volunteered for the operation; as an expert radio mechanic, it would be his job to locate the Würzburg radar set and photograph it, as well as disassemble it for transportation back to Britain. Garrard had asked R. V. Jones to get Cox an Army uniform and number for the raid, as if they were captured and Cox was the only one in Air Force uniform he would be the object of special attention, but the War Office were obdurate.
Information about the Bruneval radar installation was also gathered during the training period, often with the help of the French resistance, without whom detailed knowledge of the disposition of the German forces guarding the installation would have been impossible. This reconnaissance was gathered by Gilbert Renault
, known to the British by the code-name 'Remy' and several members of his resistance cell. The installation was composed of two distinct areas; a villa approximately 100 yards (300 ft) from the edge of a cliff which contained the radar station itself, and an enclosure containing a number of smaller buildings which contained a small garrison. The Würzburg apparatus had been erected between the villa and the cliff. The radar station was permanently manned by signallers and was surrounded by a number of guard posts and approximately thirty guards; the buildings in the small enclosure housed approximately 100 German troops, including another detachment of signallers. A platoon of infantry was stationed to the north in Bruneval itself, and was responsible for manning the defences guarding the evacuation beach; these included a strong-point near the beach as well as pillboxes and machine-gun nests on the top of the cliff overlooking the beach. The beach was not mined
and had only sporadic barbed-wire defences, but it was patrolled regularly, and a mobile reserve of infantry was believed to be available at one hour's notice and stationed some distance inland. On the basis of this information, Frost decided to divide the company into five groups of forty men for the raid, each named after a famous Royal Navy
admiral: Nelson
, Jellicoe
, Hardy, Drake
and Rodney
. Nelson would clear and secure German positions defending the evacuation beach, whilst Jellicoe, Hardy and Drake would capture the radar site and a nearby villa occupied by Luftwaffe radar technicians and their guards; Rodney was the reserve formation, placed between the radar site and the main likely enemy approach to block any counter-attack. It was considered that the combination of a full moon, for visibility, and a rising tide, to allow the landing craft to manoeuvre in shallow water, was vital for the success of the raid, which narrowed the possible dates to a four day period between 24–27 February. On 23 February, a final rehearsal exercise took place, which proved to be a drastic failure; despite ideal weather conditions, the landing craft meant to evacuate the airborne troops became grounded 60 yards (180 ft) offshore and could not be shifted despite the efforts of all of C company.
The raid was postponed for several days after the end of the exercise on 23 February due to weather conditions, but on 27 February the weather proved to be ideal, with clear skies and good visibility for the aircraft of 51 Squadron, and a full moon scheduled which would provide illumination for the evacuation of the raiding force. The naval force under Commander Cook departed from Britain during the afternoon, and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
transport aircraft carrying C company took off from RAF Thruxton
in the evening. The transport aircraft crossed the English Channel
in safety, but as they reached the French coast they came under heavy anti-aircraft fire; none were hit, however, and successfully delivered C company to the designated drop-zone near to the installation. The drop was almost a success, with all of the raiding force landing on the edge of the drop-zone with the exception of half of 'Nelson' detachment, which landed two miles short. Once the other detachments had gathered their equipment and orientated themselves, they moved off to undertake their arranged tasks. 'Jellicoe', 'Hardy and 'Drake' encountered no enemy opposition as they moved towards the villa housing the radar installation, and after surrounding the villa Major Frost gave the order to open fire with grenades and automatic fire. One German guard was killed as he returned fire from an upstairs window, and two more were taken prisoner by the airborne troops; upon interrogation, the prisoners revealed that the majority of the garrison were stationed further inland. However, there still remained a substantial enemy force in the buildings in the small enclosure near to the villa, and this now opened fire on the raiding force after being alerted by the initial fire-fight, killing one of the airborne troops. The volume of fire rapidly began to increase, and enemy vehicles could be seen moving towards the villa from the nearby woods; this in particular worried Frost, as the radio sets the force had been issued failed to work, giving him no means of communication with his other detachments, including 'Nelson' who were tasked with clearing the evacuation beach. Fortunately Flight Sergeant Cox and several sappers arrived at this time and proceeded to dismantle the radar equipment, placing the pieces on specially designed trolleys.
Having secured the radar equipment and under heavy enemy fire, Major Frost gave the order for the three detachments to withdraw to the evacuation beach; it quickly became apparent, however, that the beach had not been secured by 'Nelson' when a machine-gun opened fire on the airborne troops, severely wounding a Company Sergeant Major
. Major Frost ordered 'Rodney' and the remains of 'Nelson' to clear the machine-gun nest, whilst he led the other three detachments back to the villa, which had been reoccupied by enemy troops. The villa was soon cleared of enemy troops again, and when Major Frost returned to the beach, he found that the machine-gun nest had been assaulted and cleared by the troops of 'Nelson' that had been mis-dropped; having skirted a number of enemy positions, they had reached the beach and attacked the machine-gun nest from the flank. By this time, it was 02:15 but there was no sign of the naval force that was to evacuate the airborne troops. Frost ordered 'Nelson' to guard the inland approaches to the beach and then fired off an emergency signal flare
, and soon after the naval force was seen approaching. The original plan for the operation had called for two landing craft to land on the beach at a time, but this had never been satisfactorily achieved during the training manoeuvres; instead, all six landing craft landed at the same time, with the troops in the landing craft opening fire on German troops gathering by the top of the cliff. This deviation from the original plan, and the enemy fire caused considerable confusion on the beach; some of the landing craft left the beach over-crowded, whilst others left half-empty. However, the radar equipment and the German prisoners were evacuated safely, and the entire raiding force was taken off of the beach and soon transferred to motor gun boats for transport back to Britain. On the journey back, Frost learnt that the naval force had received no signals apart from the last signal flare fired, and had spent much of the time hiding from a German naval patrol that had nearly discovered them. The journey back to Britain was uneventful, with the force being escorted by four destroyers and a flight of Supermarine Spitfire
fighters.
The success of the raid against the Bruneval installation had two important effects. Firstly, a successful raid against German-occupied territory was a welcome morale boost for the British public, and was featured prominently in the British media for several weeks after the end of the raid. The British Prime Minister
, Winston Churchill
took a personal interest in the raid, and on 3 March assembled the War Cabinet
to hear from Major Frost and several other officers who had participated in it. Several medals were awarded as a result. On 15 May 1942 a special supplement to the London Gazette
carried the announcement of 19 decorations; Frost was awarded the Military Cross
(MC), Cook the Distinguished Service Cross
(DSC) and Cox the Military Medal
(MM); there were two other DSCs, two Distinguished Service Medal
s, one other MC, two further MMs and 9 Mentions in Despatches. Pickard was also subsequently awarded a bar
to his Distinguished Service Order
, on 26 May. The success of the raid also prompted the War Office
to expand the existing British airborne forces, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire
in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting a number of infantry battalions to airborne battalions in August 1942.
The other important effect was the technical knowledge that British scientists gained. Examination of the components of the radar array showed that it was of a modular design
that aided maintenance and made fixing faults far simpler than on similar British radar models. This was confirmed during the interrogation of the captured German technician, who proved to be less well trained than his British counterparts. Examination of the radar array also allowed British scientists to conclude that they would have to deploy a radar countermeasure that had recently been developed, code-named Window. Examination of the Würzburg array showed that it was impervious to being jammed by conventional means used by the British during the early years of the conflict, and thus Window would have to be deployed against German radar installations from this point onwards. The effectiveness of Window against Würzburg radar arrays was confirmed by a raid conducted by RAF Bomber Command
on 24 July 1943 against Hamburg
(Operation Gomorrah); when the bombers utilized Window, all of the radar arrays in Hamburg were blinded and their operators confused, unable to distinguish between the radar signature of a real bomber and several pieces of Window giving off a similar signature. An unexpected bonus of the raid was the Germans' efforts to improve defences at Würzburg stations and prevent similar commando raids. The radars were surrounded by rings of barbed wire
which increased their visibility from the air, making them easier to target prior to Operation Overlord
. One final consequence of the raid was that the Telecommunications Research Establishment
, where much of the Bruneval equipment was analysed, and British radar systems were designed and tested, was moved from Swanage
further inland to Malvern
to ensure that it was not the target of a reprisal raid by German airborne forces.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
that occurred between 27–28 February 1942 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A number of these installations had been identified from Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
during 1941, but their exact purpose and the nature of the equipment that they possessed was not known. However, a number of British scientists believed that these stations had something to do with the heavy losses being experienced by RAF bombers conducting bombing raids against targets in Occupied Europe. A request was therefore made by these scientists that one of these installations be raided and the technology it possessed be studied and, if possible, extracted and taken back to Britain for further study. Due to the extensive coastal defences erected by the Germans to protect the installation from a sea-borne raid, it was believed that a commando raid from the sea would only incur heavy losses on the part of the attackers, and give sufficient time for the garrison at the installation to destroy the Würzburg radar
Würzburg radar
The Würzburg radar was the primary ground-based gun laying radar for both the Luftwaffe and the German Army during World War II. Initial development took place before the war, entering service in 1940. Eventually over 4,000 Würzburgs of various models were produced...
set. It was therefore decided that an airborne assault, followed by sea-borne evacuation would be the ideal way to surprise the garrison of the installation and seize the technology intact, as well as minimize casualties inflicted on the raiding force.
On the night of 27 February, after a period of intense training and several delays due to poor weather, a small detachment of airborne troops under the command of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John Frost
John Dutton Frost
Major General John Dutton Frost CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was a British airborne officer best known for being the leader of the small group of airborne forces that actually got to Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem...
parachuted into France a few miles from the installation. The force then proceeded to assault the villa in which the radar equipment was kept, killing several members of the German garrison and capturing the installation after a brief fire-fight. A technician that had come with the force proceeded to dismantle the Würzburg radar array and remove several key pieces to take back to Britain, and the raiding force then retreated to the evacuation beach. The detachment assigned to clear the beach had failed to do so, however, and another brief fire-fight was required to eliminate the Germans guarding the beach. The raiding force was then picked up by a small number of landing craft and transferred to several Motor Gun Boat
Motor Gun Boat
Motor Gun Boat was a Royal Navy term for a small military vessel of the Second World War. They were physically similar to the Motor Torpedo Boats but equipped with a mix of guns instead of torpedoes. Their small size and high speed made them difficult targets for E-boats or torpedo bombers, but...
s which took them back to Britain. The raid was entirely successful. The airborne troops suffered only a few casualties, and the pieces of the radar they brought back, along with a German radar technician, allowed British scientists to understand German advances in radar and to create counter-measures to neutralize those advances.
Background
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo
Operation Dynamo
The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...
, much of Britain's war production and effort was channelled into 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...
and the strategic bombing offensive against Germany. However, bomber losses on each raid began to increase during 1941, which British intelligence concluded was due to German use of advanced radar techniques. British and German radar technology and techniques had been in competition for nearly a decade at this point, with the Germans often either at the same level as the British or even surpassing them due to heavy military investment in the fledgling technology. By the beginning of World War II, British radar technology had managed to rise to an effective level, primarily due to the work of Robert Watson-Watt
Robert Watson-Watt
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, KCB, FRS, FRAeS is considered by many to be the "inventor of radar". Development of radar, initially nameless, was first started elsewhere but greatly expanded on 1 September 1936 when Watson-Watt became...
, although much of the technology was still rudimentary in nature and mistakes were made, such as the inability of Watson-Watt and other scientists to devise an effective night-defence system in time for the German night-time bombing of Britain
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
during 1940. Another British scientist working on radar technology and techniques was R. V. Jones
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones, CH CB CBE FRS, was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in -Education:...
, who had been appointed in 1939 as Britain's first Scientific Intelligence Officer and had spent the first years of the conflict researching how advanced the German radar technology was in comparison to Britain, and convincing doubters that the Germans actually had radar.
By scrutinizing leaked German documents, crashed Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombers and Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
decrypts, as well as interrogating German prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, Jones discovered that high-frequency radio signals were being transmitted across Britain from somewhere on the continent, and he believed they came from a directional radar system. Within a few months of this discovery, Jones had identified several such radar systems, one of which was being used to detect British bombers; this was known as the "Freya-Meldung-Freya
Freya radar
Freya was an early warning radar deployed by Germany during World War II, named after the Norse Goddess Freyja. During the war over a thousand stations were built. A naval version operating on a slightly different wavelength was also developed as Seetakt...
" system, named after an ancient Nordic goddess. Jones was finally able to see concrete proof of the presence of the Freya system after being shown several mysterious objects caught in reconnaissance pictures taken by the RAF near The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
- two circular dishes approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter which were being rotated. Having found proof of these Freya installations, Jones and the other scientists under his command could begin devising counter-measures against the system, and the RAF could begin to locate and destroy the installations themselves. Jones had also found evidence of a second part of the Freya system, referred to in Enigma decrypts as "Würzburg
Würzburg radar
The Würzburg radar was the primary ground-based gun laying radar for both the Luftwaffe and the German Army during World War II. Initial development took place before the war, entering service in 1940. Eventually over 4,000 Würzburgs of various models were produced...
", but it was not until he was shown another set of RAF reconnaissance photographs in November 1941 that he learnt what Würzburg was. It consisted of a parabolic reflector about 10 feet (3 m) in diameter, which worked in conjunction with Freya to locate British bombers and then direct Luftwaffe night-fighters to their position. The two systems complemented each other: Freya was a long-distance radar system, but lacked precision, whereas Würzburg possessed a far shorter range but was far more precise. Würzburg also had the advantage of being much smaller than the Freya system and easier to manufacture in the quantities needed by the Luftwaffe to defend German territory.
Prelude
In order to effectively neutralize the Würzburg system by developing counter-measures against it, Jones and his team needed to study one of the systems, or at very least the more vital pieces of technology that the system was composed of. Fortunately for Jones, one such site had recently been located by an RAF reconnaissance Spitfire from the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit during a flight over part of the Channel coast near Le HavreLe Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. The site was located on a cliff-top immediately north of the village of Bruneval, which was itself twelve miles north of Le Havre, and was the most accessible German radar site that had been located so far by the British; several other installations had been located in France, but were landlocked, and others were as far away as Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. A request was therefore passed along to Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, the commander of Combined Operations, that a raid be mounted against the Bruneval installation and that a Würzburg radar system be captured and brought back to Britain for study. Mountbatten in turn took the proposal to the Chiefs of Staff Committee
Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chiefs of Staff Committee is composed of the most senior military personnel in the British Armed Forces.-History:The Chiefs of Staff Committee was initially established as a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence in 1923. It remained as such until the abolition of the CID upon the...
, who approved the raid after a brief debate. Having received permission to conduct the raid, Mountbatten and his staff studied the Bruneval installation and its defences, rapidly coming to the conclusion that due to the extensive coastal defences erected in the area around the installation it was too well-guarded to permit a commando raid. They considered that such a raid would be costly in terms of casualties for the commando force and would not be fast enough to capture the Würzburg radar before it was destroyed. Believing that surprise and speed were to be the essential requirements of any raid against the installation to ensure the radar was captured, Mountbatten saw an airborne assault as the only viable method. On 8 January 1942, he therefore contacted the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division and 38 Wing RAF, asking if they could cooperate together to conduct such a raid. Major-General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Frederick Browning
Frederick Browning
Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning GCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a British Army officer who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He is best known as the commander of the I Airborne Corps and deputy commander of First Allied Airborne Army during Operation...
, commander of 1st Airborne Division, and Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
Nigel Norman
Nigel Norman
Air Commodore Sir Henry Nigel St Valery Norman Bt, CBE, RAF was a consulting civil engineer and Royal Air Force officer during the first half of the 20th century.-Early years:...
, commander of 38 Wing, both agreed to conduct the raid; Browning was particularly enthusiastic, as a successful operation would be an excellent morale boost to the airborne troops under his command, as well as a good demonstration of their value.
No. 51 Squadron RAF
No. 51 Squadron of the Royal Air Force most recently operated the Nimrod R1 from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire until June 2011. Crews from No. 51 Squadron are currently training alongside the US Air Force on the Boeing RC-135, which is planned to enter service with the RAF over the next seven years...
under Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Percy Charles Pickard
Percy Charles Pickard
Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard DSO & Two Bars, DFC, was a British bomber pilot and commander during World War II. He is best remembered by the public for his role in the 1941 wartime propaganda film Target for Tonight in which he featured as the pilot of 'F for Freddie' – a Wellington...
was selected to provide the aircraft and aircrew needed for the operation, although Group Captain Norman would remain in overall command. Another problem encountered was the state of the company of airborne troops chosen to raid the installation. During this period, 1st Airborne Division was composed of only two parachute battalions, of which only one, 1st Parachute Battalion, was fully trained; Major-General Browning, wishing to keep 1st Parachute Battalion intact for any larger operation the division might be selected for, ordered 2nd Parachute Battalion to provide a company for the operation. 'C' Company, commanded by Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John Frost
John Dutton Frost
Major General John Dutton Frost CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was a British airborne officer best known for being the leader of the small group of airborne forces that actually got to Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem...
was selected, but the company had been so recently formed that Major Frost and many of his men had not yet completed their parachute jumping course. The level of security imposed on the planning for the raid was so high that when Major Frost was first briefed by a liaison officer from the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division, he was informed that his company was to take part in an airborne warfare demonstration for the War Cabinet. He was also informed that C company would be divided into four sections for the exercise, which went against a plan Frost had devised for the exercise and confused him. It was only after Frost raised several objections with a more senior officer at the headquarters that he was informed of the intended raid, after which the Major dropped his objections and turned his attention to training the company.
The company spent a period training on Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, and then travelled to Inveraray
Inveraray
Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where they underwent specialized training on Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
, practising night embarkations on landing craft. After finishing this training, which was designed to prepare the company for being evacuated by sea after raiding the radar installation, the company returned to Wiltshire and began carrying out practice parachute drops with the aircraft and aircrews of 51 Squadron. Despite the aircrews of the Squadron having no previous experience in dropping parachutists, these exercises proved to be successful. The company's training was aided by the creation of a scale-model of the radar installation and the surrounding buildings being built by the Photographic Interpretation Unit. During this period, Major Frost was introduced to Commander F. N. Cook of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
who would be commanding the naval force intended to evacuate the company at the completion of the raid, as well as to the party of thirty-two officers and men from No. 12 Commando
No. 12 Commando
No. 12 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in 1940 in Northern Ireland, they carried out a number of small-scale raids in Norway and France between 1941 and 1943 before being disbanded and its personnel dispersed to other commando...
who would remain in the landing craft and cover the company as it withdrew from the beach. Frost also met Flight Sergeant
Flight Sergeant
Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...
C.W.H Cox of the RAF, who had volunteered for the operation; as an expert radio mechanic, it would be his job to locate the Würzburg radar set and photograph it, as well as disassemble it for transportation back to Britain. Garrard had asked R. V. Jones to get Cox an Army uniform and number for the raid, as if they were captured and Cox was the only one in Air Force uniform he would be the object of special attention, but the War Office were obdurate.
Gilbert Renault
Gilbert Renault was known during the French Resistance under the name Colonel Rémy. He is one of the most famous secret agents of occupied France during the Second World war, and was known under various pseudonyms such as Raymond, Jean-Luc, Morin, Watteau, Roulier, Beauce and...
, known to the British by the code-name 'Remy' and several members of his resistance cell. The installation was composed of two distinct areas; a villa approximately 100 yards (300 ft) from the edge of a cliff which contained the radar station itself, and an enclosure containing a number of smaller buildings which contained a small garrison. The Würzburg apparatus had been erected between the villa and the cliff. The radar station was permanently manned by signallers and was surrounded by a number of guard posts and approximately thirty guards; the buildings in the small enclosure housed approximately 100 German troops, including another detachment of signallers. A platoon of infantry was stationed to the north in Bruneval itself, and was responsible for manning the defences guarding the evacuation beach; these included a strong-point near the beach as well as pillboxes and machine-gun nests on the top of the cliff overlooking the beach. The beach was not mined
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
and had only sporadic barbed-wire defences, but it was patrolled regularly, and a mobile reserve of infantry was believed to be available at one hour's notice and stationed some distance inland. On the basis of this information, Frost decided to divide the company into five groups of forty men for the raid, each named after a famous Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
admiral: Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
, Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
, Hardy, Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
and Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
. Nelson would clear and secure German positions defending the evacuation beach, whilst Jellicoe, Hardy and Drake would capture the radar site and a nearby villa occupied by Luftwaffe radar technicians and their guards; Rodney was the reserve formation, placed between the radar site and the main likely enemy approach to block any counter-attack. It was considered that the combination of a full moon, for visibility, and a rising tide, to allow the landing craft to manoeuvre in shallow water, was vital for the success of the raid, which narrowed the possible dates to a four day period between 24–27 February. On 23 February, a final rehearsal exercise took place, which proved to be a drastic failure; despite ideal weather conditions, the landing craft meant to evacuate the airborne troops became grounded 60 yards (180 ft) offshore and could not be shifted despite the efforts of all of C company.
Battle
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
transport aircraft carrying C company took off from RAF Thruxton
RAF Thruxton
RAF Station Thruxton is a former World War II airfield in Hampshire, England. The airfield is located approximately west of Andover; about southwest of London...
in the evening. The transport aircraft crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in safety, but as they reached the French coast they came under heavy anti-aircraft fire; none were hit, however, and successfully delivered C company to the designated drop-zone near to the installation. The drop was almost a success, with all of the raiding force landing on the edge of the drop-zone with the exception of half of 'Nelson' detachment, which landed two miles short. Once the other detachments had gathered their equipment and orientated themselves, they moved off to undertake their arranged tasks. 'Jellicoe', 'Hardy and 'Drake' encountered no enemy opposition as they moved towards the villa housing the radar installation, and after surrounding the villa Major Frost gave the order to open fire with grenades and automatic fire. One German guard was killed as he returned fire from an upstairs window, and two more were taken prisoner by the airborne troops; upon interrogation, the prisoners revealed that the majority of the garrison were stationed further inland. However, there still remained a substantial enemy force in the buildings in the small enclosure near to the villa, and this now opened fire on the raiding force after being alerted by the initial fire-fight, killing one of the airborne troops. The volume of fire rapidly began to increase, and enemy vehicles could be seen moving towards the villa from the nearby woods; this in particular worried Frost, as the radio sets the force had been issued failed to work, giving him no means of communication with his other detachments, including 'Nelson' who were tasked with clearing the evacuation beach. Fortunately Flight Sergeant Cox and several sappers arrived at this time and proceeded to dismantle the radar equipment, placing the pieces on specially designed trolleys.
Having secured the radar equipment and under heavy enemy fire, Major Frost gave the order for the three detachments to withdraw to the evacuation beach; it quickly became apparent, however, that the beach had not been secured by 'Nelson' when a machine-gun opened fire on the airborne troops, severely wounding a Company Sergeant Major
Company Sergeant Major
A company sergeant major is the senior non-commissioned soldier of a company in the armies of many Commonwealth countries, responsible for standards and discipline. In combat, his prime responsibility is the supply of ammunition to the company...
. Major Frost ordered 'Rodney' and the remains of 'Nelson' to clear the machine-gun nest, whilst he led the other three detachments back to the villa, which had been reoccupied by enemy troops. The villa was soon cleared of enemy troops again, and when Major Frost returned to the beach, he found that the machine-gun nest had been assaulted and cleared by the troops of 'Nelson' that had been mis-dropped; having skirted a number of enemy positions, they had reached the beach and attacked the machine-gun nest from the flank. By this time, it was 02:15 but there was no sign of the naval force that was to evacuate the airborne troops. Frost ordered 'Nelson' to guard the inland approaches to the beach and then fired off an emergency signal flare
Signal Flare
Signal Flare is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Energon:Signal Flare is a young Omnicon. Signal Flare is one of the greatest Energon welders of his kind. His Omnicon brothers depend greatly on his skills and experience...
, and soon after the naval force was seen approaching. The original plan for the operation had called for two landing craft to land on the beach at a time, but this had never been satisfactorily achieved during the training manoeuvres; instead, all six landing craft landed at the same time, with the troops in the landing craft opening fire on German troops gathering by the top of the cliff. This deviation from the original plan, and the enemy fire caused considerable confusion on the beach; some of the landing craft left the beach over-crowded, whilst others left half-empty. However, the radar equipment and the German prisoners were evacuated safely, and the entire raiding force was taken off of the beach and soon transferred to motor gun boats for transport back to Britain. On the journey back, Frost learnt that the naval force had received no signals apart from the last signal flare fired, and had spent much of the time hiding from a German naval patrol that had nearly discovered them. The journey back to Britain was uneventful, with the force being escorted by four destroyers and a flight of Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
fighters.
Aftermath
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
took a personal interest in the raid, and on 3 March assembled the War Cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
to hear from Major Frost and several other officers who had participated in it. Several medals were awarded as a result. On 15 May 1942 a special supplement to the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
carried the announcement of 19 decorations; Frost was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(MC), Cook the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
(DSC) and Cox the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
(MM); there were two other DSCs, two Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Navy and members of the other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, up to and including the rank of Chief Petty Officer, for bravery and resourcefulness on active service...
s, one other MC, two further MMs and 9 Mentions in Despatches. Pickard was also subsequently awarded a bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
to his Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, on 26 May. The success of the raid also prompted the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
to expand the existing British airborne forces, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting a number of infantry battalions to airborne battalions in August 1942.
The other important effect was the technical knowledge that British scientists gained. Examination of the components of the radar array showed that it was of a modular design
Modular design
Modular design, or "modularity in design" is an approach that subdivides a system into smaller parts that can be independently created and then used in different systems to drive multiple functionalities...
that aided maintenance and made fixing faults far simpler than on similar British radar models. This was confirmed during the interrogation of the captured German technician, who proved to be less well trained than his British counterparts. Examination of the radar array also allowed British scientists to conclude that they would have to deploy a radar countermeasure that had recently been developed, code-named Window. Examination of the Würzburg array showed that it was impervious to being jammed by conventional means used by the British during the early years of the conflict, and thus Window would have to be deployed against German radar installations from this point onwards. The effectiveness of Window against Würzburg radar arrays was confirmed by a raid conducted by 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...
on 24 July 1943 against Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(Operation Gomorrah); when the bombers utilized Window, all of the radar arrays in Hamburg were blinded and their operators confused, unable to distinguish between the radar signature of a real bomber and several pieces of Window giving off a similar signature. An unexpected bonus of the raid was the Germans' efforts to improve defences at Würzburg stations and prevent similar commando raids. The radars were surrounded by rings of barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
which increased their visibility from the air, making them easier to target prior to Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. One final consequence of the raid was that the Telecommunications Research Establishment
Telecommunications Research Establishment
The Telecommunications Research Establishment was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force during World War II and the years that followed. The name was...
, where much of the Bruneval equipment was analysed, and British radar systems were designed and tested, was moved from Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
further inland to Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
to ensure that it was not the target of a reprisal raid by German airborne forces.