The Wheezers & Dodgers

The Wheezers & Dodgers PDF Author: Gerald Pawle
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473819768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
A rare look inside the Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, “a fascinating report on the trials—and some tribulations—of a clandestine world” (Kirkus Reviews). Previously published under the title The Secret War 1939-1945, this is a firsthand account of the Admiralty’s Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, the so-called “Wheezers and Dodgers,” and the many ingenious weapons and devices it invented, improved or perfected. Gerald Pawle was one of a group of officers with engineering or scientific backgrounds who were charged with the task of winning the struggle for scientific mastery between the Allies and the Germans in what Churchill enthusiastically called “the wizard war.” Their work ranged from early stop-gap weapons like the steam-powered Holman projector, via great success stories like the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, to futuristic experiments with rockets, a minefield that could be sown in the sky, and the spectacularly dangerous Great Panjandrum, a giant explosive Catherine-wheel intended to storm enemy beaches. The development of these and many other extraordinary inventions, their triumphs and disasters, is told with panache and humor by Pawle, and a diverse group of highly imaginative and eccentric figures emerge from the pages.

The Wheezers & Dodgers

The Wheezers & Dodgers PDF Author: Gerald Pawle
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473819768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 461

Get Book Here

Book Description
A rare look inside the Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, “a fascinating report on the trials—and some tribulations—of a clandestine world” (Kirkus Reviews). Previously published under the title The Secret War 1939-1945, this is a firsthand account of the Admiralty’s Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, the so-called “Wheezers and Dodgers,” and the many ingenious weapons and devices it invented, improved or perfected. Gerald Pawle was one of a group of officers with engineering or scientific backgrounds who were charged with the task of winning the struggle for scientific mastery between the Allies and the Germans in what Churchill enthusiastically called “the wizard war.” Their work ranged from early stop-gap weapons like the steam-powered Holman projector, via great success stories like the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, to futuristic experiments with rockets, a minefield that could be sown in the sky, and the spectacularly dangerous Great Panjandrum, a giant explosive Catherine-wheel intended to storm enemy beaches. The development of these and many other extraordinary inventions, their triumphs and disasters, is told with panache and humor by Pawle, and a diverse group of highly imaginative and eccentric figures emerge from the pages.

A Genius for Deception

A Genius for Deception PDF Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199756716
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 490

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Book Description
In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.

Weird War Two: Strange Facts and Tales from the World's Weirdest Conflict

Weird War Two: Strange Facts and Tales from the World's Weirdest Conflict PDF Author: M. J. Trow
Publisher: BLKDOG Publishing
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Welcome to the wonderfully weird World War Two... The Second World War is the bloodiest on record. It was the first total war in history when civilians; men, women and children were in the front line as never before. With so many millions involved, the rumour machine went into overdrive, tall stories built on fear of the unknown. With so much at stake, boffins battled with each other to build ever more bizarre weapons to out-gun the enemy. Nazi Germany alone had so many government-orchestrated foibles that they would be funny if they were not so tragic. Parachuting sheep? Pilot pigeons? Rifles that fire round corners? Men who never were? You will find them all in these pages, the weird, wonderful and barely believable of World War Two

The Effect of Science on the Second World War

The Effect of Science on the Second World War PDF Author: G. Hartcup
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230596177
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The latest advances in science were fully exploited in the Second World War. They included radar, sonar, improved radio, methods of reducing disease, primitive computers, the new science of operational research and, finally, the atomic bomb, necessarily developed like all wartime technology in a remarkably short time. Such progress would have been impossible without the cooperation of Allied scientists with the military. The Axis powers' failure to recognise this was a major factor in their defeat.

South West Secret Agents

South West Secret Agents PDF Author: Laura Quigley
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750959266
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
True tales of Second World War spies from across the West Country have been collected together for the very first time in this fascinating book. From the rescue operations as the exodus from France began to the secret guerrilla army in Devon and Cornwall, this book will amaze and intrigue with the incredible stories of Jasper Lawn of N51, the Helford Flotilla and the first escape routes for POWs, agents and crashed airmen.

Shute

Shute PDF Author: Richard Thorn
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1788030486
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Nevil Shute was a writer whose books were looked down on by literary critics and yet when he died he was one of the best selling novelists of his day. Books such as A Town Like Alice and On the Beach still attract new generations of fans and his novels are still in print. However there was far more to the man than his books.

Ian Fleming's Commandos

Ian Fleming's Commandos PDF Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199782822
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
Rankin tells the story of a secret intelligence outfit conceived and organized by Ian Fleming during World War II, named "30 Assault Unit", a group who was expected to seize enemy codebooks, cipher machines, and documents in high-stakes operations, and which inspired his creation of the James Bond character.

The Red Horse

The Red Horse PDF Author: James R. Benn
Publisher: Soho Press
ISBN: 164129101X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
England, 1944: Recovering from physical and psychological wounds sustained in the liberation of Paris, US Army detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are sent to a convalescent hospital in the English countryside—only to discover that St. Albans may have its own war secrets, including a killer. "As historical detective series go, this one is extremely well tended by an author who clearly dotes on his hero. As do we."—The New York Times Just days after the Liberation of Paris, US Army Detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are brought to Saint Albans Convalescent Hospital in the English countryside. Kaz has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and Billy is dealing with emotional exhaustion and his recent methamphetamine abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s love, Diana Seaton, has been taken to Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women, and Kaz’s sister, Angelika, who he recently learned was alive and working with the Polish Underground, has also been captured and transported to the same camp. This news is brought by British Major Cosgrove, who asks Billy for help, unofficially, in solving what he thinks was the murder of a British agent recuperating at Saint Albans. The convalescent hospital is really a secret installation for those in the world of clandestine warfare to recover from wounds, physical and emotional. Some are allowed to leave; others are deemed security risks and are detained there. When a second body is found, it is evident that a killer is at work in this high-security enclave. Now Billy must carry out his covert investigation while maintaining his tenuous recovery, shielding his actions from suspicious hospital authorities, and dodging the unknown murderer.

Wheezers and Dodgers

Wheezers and Dodgers PDF Author: Gerald Pawle
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 9781848320260
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This is the fascinating story of the Admiralty's Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, the so-called 'Wheezers and Dodgers', and the many ingenious weapons and devices it invented, improved or perfected. The author was one of a group of officers with engineering or scientific backgrounds who were charged with the task of winning the struggle for scientific mastery between the Allies and the Germans in what Churchill enthusiastically called 'the wizard war'. Their work ranged from early stop-gap weapons like the steam-powered Holman projector, via great success stories like the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, to futuristic experiments with rockets, a minefield that could be sown in the sky, and the spectacularly dangerous Great Panjandrum, a giant explosive Catherine-wheel intended to storm enemy beaches. The development of these and many other extraordinary inventions, their triumphs and disasters, is told with panache and humour, and a diverse group of highly imaginative and eccentric figures emerge from the pages.

The Secret War with Germany

The Secret War with Germany PDF Author: William B. Breuer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Chronicles the history of World War II in Western Europe including the uses of espionage, sabotage, propaganda, and double agents in the "secret war."