"Operation Crossbow", BBC 4 Tonight, 10:30, Spitfire Photography. + other programmes

[Guest]

Technicians used 3D photography to map enemy territory in WWII.

Also, at 9 pm, "Churchill's First World War", repeated at 2:00 am, and

at 11:30 "Fifties British War Films". A discussion of "The Dambusters" and "The Cruel Sea".

[Guest]

Very interesting Steve. Got the Dambusters & Cruel Sea on both DVD & the Books.

Two others I have in books & film. Herman Woulk the Caine Mutiny. The Yangste Incident the story of HMS Amythest stuck up the river in China another best for the senior service the RN.

Thanks Steve will have a look.

Laurie

[mossiepilot]

Thanks for the heads up Steve.

Tony.

[john i am]

Watched both last night very interesting. I really admire the people from this era. I also watched one about Churchill WW1 the other day and a part of it was about a tank stranded in no mans land the commander who was a butcher he called it the Fray bentos tank all survived

[Guest]

I recorded the CROSSBOW program and watched it tonight, and it was truly remarkable and brilliant, I never knew a single thing about the 3D photos etc.

I take my hat off to all the people involved and especially the daredevil pilots who did exceptional work... Bravo boys

[Guest]

At last I got round to watching "Crossbow". Fascinating. I was shocked by the man who said that Hitler planned to send 2,000 rockets PER DAY! I replayed the clip to be sure. A map in the programme showed abut 25 rocket launching sites, in France, so that would work out at 80 launches per day. That's over 3 per hour which could have been done as far as the actual launching is concerned but building rockets at that rate and delivering them to site would have been a formidable task. It seems a very big number. Imagine the devastation. London (and other cities) would have been like Berlin or Stalingrad.

Another worrying thing was that the only way to neutralise the launch sites was by boots on the ground and that was accomplished (after D-Day of course) just in time to prevent that devastation. And if the rockets had been ready even a coupe of months earlier, the D-Day landings (and London etc.) could have been wiped out. R V Jone's book "Most Secret War", and "Crossbow" showed that Linderman, later Lord Cherwell, Churhill's Chief Scientific Adviser, obstinately advised for some time that Germany was incapable of building such a large rocket so there was no need to target them, and was only convinced after being shown clear evidence. What with all that and the dicey weather on D-Day, we could have lost the war, even allowing for a bit of over-dramatisation in the programme. I wasn't fully aware of that. Whew!

A comforting thought is that Hitler was not close to having a nuclear bomb, but given another few years of war.......

[Guest]

Interestingly Steve Hitler was trying to knock me on the head with his Doodle Bombs as they were called in 1944. But I have crucial damning evidence to prove they he failed very miserably.

Not only Linderman who did not agree with Jone's. They all lined up. Jones however knew by scientific means the strength of fuels etc & based his arguments on that. He was so accurate to be unbelievable. The same scenario happened with the V2.

Actually the RAF & USAF were knocking the launch sites out daily before D day. Jones also from his intelligence observations was the prime mover in the Penumunde raids. He did so much for the RAF in their intelligence section at the expense of his own career during those years when his faculties were, thank god for the sake of Britain, at their zenith. A great man who saved many lives.

Interestingly the V1 was being targeted on Beliguim when the British arrived after D Day. By then the launch sites had been pushed back & they could not reach London.

Think some care has to be taken with some of the stuff pushed out on TV. An example is the Falklands war. Some of the hasty conclusions by historians do not bare deep research. Not enough Jone's type books which give the hands on history.

Laurie