The Battle of the Beams
The secret science of radar that turned the tide of the Second World War
Published on 11. May 2023
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-78763-413-8 (ISBN)
Description
'Deeply researched and engagingly written' The Times
'Has the pace and style of a well-crafted thriller' Mail on Sunday
'Chock full of memorable characters and written with all the drama and pace of a Robert Harris thriller' Rowland White, author of Harrier 809
The radio war of 1939-45 is one of the great scientific battles in history.
This is the story of that war.
Relying on first-hand accounts as well as papers recently released by the Admiralty, The Battle of the Beams fills a huge missing piece in the canon of WW2 literature.
It combines history, science, derring do and dogged determination and will appeal as much to fans of WW2 history as to those fascinated by the science behind the beams that changed our lives.
The British believed that, through ingenuity and scientific prowess, they alone have a war-winning weapon: radar. They are wrong. The Germans have it too.
They believe that their unique maritime history means their pilots have no need of navigational aids. Flying above the clouds they, like the seafarers of old, had the stars to guide them, and that is all that is required. They are wrong. Most of the bombs the RAF will drop in the first years of the war land miles from their target.
They also believe that the Germans, without the same naval tradition, will never be able to find targets at night. They are, again, wrong. In 1939 the Germans don't just have radar to spot planes entering their airspace, they have radio beams to guide their own planes into enemy airspace.
Luckily there was one young engineer, Reginald Jones, helping the British government with their own scientific developments. In June 1940, when Jones quietly explained the beams the Germans had devised to a room full of disbelieving sceptics, Churchill later described the moment as like sitting in the parlour while Sherlock Holmes finally reveals the killer. Churchill immediately supported Jones's efforts to develop radar technology that went on to help the Allies win the war.
'Has the pace and style of a well-crafted thriller' Mail on Sunday
'Chock full of memorable characters and written with all the drama and pace of a Robert Harris thriller' Rowland White, author of Harrier 809
The radio war of 1939-45 is one of the great scientific battles in history.
This is the story of that war.
Relying on first-hand accounts as well as papers recently released by the Admiralty, The Battle of the Beams fills a huge missing piece in the canon of WW2 literature.
It combines history, science, derring do and dogged determination and will appeal as much to fans of WW2 history as to those fascinated by the science behind the beams that changed our lives.
The British believed that, through ingenuity and scientific prowess, they alone have a war-winning weapon: radar. They are wrong. The Germans have it too.
They believe that their unique maritime history means their pilots have no need of navigational aids. Flying above the clouds they, like the seafarers of old, had the stars to guide them, and that is all that is required. They are wrong. Most of the bombs the RAF will drop in the first years of the war land miles from their target.
They also believe that the Germans, without the same naval tradition, will never be able to find targets at night. They are, again, wrong. In 1939 the Germans don't just have radar to spot planes entering their airspace, they have radio beams to guide their own planes into enemy airspace.
Luckily there was one young engineer, Reginald Jones, helping the British government with their own scientific developments. In June 1940, when Jones quietly explained the beams the Germans had devised to a room full of disbelieving sceptics, Churchill later described the moment as like sitting in the parlour while Sherlock Holmes finally reveals the killer. Churchill immediately supported Jones's efforts to develop radar technology that went on to help the Allies win the war.
Reviews / Votes
Many histories claim without justification that their particular area of study changed the course of the Second World War. Whipple's deeply researched and engagingly written account of the secret science of radar is, by contrast, a genuine contender. * The Times * The struggle for electronic supremacy, the so-called battle of the beams, is enthrallingly recreated by Tom Whipple in a book that has the pace and style of a well-crafted thriller. * Mail on Sunday * The gripping true story of a war fought in the shadows. From critical strategic decisions made in Whitehall to daring special forces operations behind enemy lines, Tom Whipple has vividly brought to life a scientific arms race that would determine the outcome of the war. Chock full of memorable characters and written with all the drama and pace of a Robert Harris thriller, The Battle of the Beams reminds us that both brains and brawn were required to stay ahead of a sophisticated and dangerous enemy. Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear lab coats. * Rowland White, author of Mosquito * Told with humour, the science is easy to understand in this tribute to a war without weapons. * Sun * Decoding the science in a digestible way for readers, The Battle of the Beams is a fantastic way into to a less discussed period of World War Two history. * Britain at War * An extremely well-researched and readable account, full of fascinating, anecdotal evidence of how, almost single handedly, the young radio scientist, RV Jones, worked out how the Germans were painting the night skies over Britain with electromagnetic crosses, enabling them to drop their bombs with accuracy. Highly recommend. * Soldier * Tales to delight and excite ... A highly enjoyable account of a largely forgotten slice of wartime history. * The Critic * An account of real-life WWII technology is as engaging as a thriller and provides a 'howdunit' rather than a 'whodunit'. Excellent. * Engineering and Technology *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
530 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78763-413-8 (9781787634138)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tom Whipple is the science editor at The Times. He covers everything from archaeology to zoology. He writes news, features, reviews and commentary across the paper, as well as appearing regularly on Times Radio. He joined the paper in 2006, shortly after graduating with a degree in mathematics.
During the course of his job he has visited the tunnels below Cern and the top of Mont Blanc above it. He has seen the inside of the world's hottest sauna and the world's most irradiated nature reserve. He has interviewed Stephen Hawking and Jedward. He has been arrested in three different countries.
As well as The Times, he has written for the Guardian and The Economist. He was named science journalist of the year for his coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the course of his job he has visited the tunnels below Cern and the top of Mont Blanc above it. He has seen the inside of the world's hottest sauna and the world's most irradiated nature reserve. He has interviewed Stephen Hawking and Jedward. He has been arrested in three different countries.
As well as The Times, he has written for the Guardian and The Economist. He was named science journalist of the year for his coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.