Tinsel (codename)
Encyclopedia
The codename Tinsel referred to a type of equipment carried by RAF
bombers and used for jamming
Luftwaffe
night-fighter controllers' speech radio
-frequencies during the Second World War.
The equipment consisted of an audio
microphone
mounted inside one of the bomber's engine nacelles, the output of which fed into the aircraft's standard radio transmitter
. The wireless operator could listen in to the frequencies used by the defending forces and then, when he heard a German transmission, tune his transmitter into the Luftwaffe frequency and transmit the amplified engine-noise on the same frequency, thus jamming the enemy transmission.
Although not very effective as a jammer - the noise produced merely acted as background noise to the transmitted speech - Tinsel did have the effect of making the night-fighter crews' job of distinguishing the instructions received from the ground more difficult.
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...
bombers and used for jamming
Radio jamming
Radio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Unintentional jamming occurs when an operator transmits on a busy frequency without first checking whether it is in use, or without being able to hear stations using the frequency...
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....
night-fighter controllers' speech radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
-frequencies during the Second World War.
The equipment consisted of an audio
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
mounted inside one of the bomber's engine nacelles, the output of which fed into the aircraft's standard radio transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
. The wireless operator could listen in to the frequencies used by the defending forces and then, when he heard a German transmission, tune his transmitter into the Luftwaffe frequency and transmit the amplified engine-noise on the same frequency, thus jamming the enemy transmission.
Although not very effective as a jammer - the noise produced merely acted as background noise to the transmitted speech - Tinsel did have the effect of making the night-fighter crews' job of distinguishing the instructions received from the ground more difficult.