256 - Bomber Command Minelaying Operations

The WW2 Podcast

Angus Wallace

Rifle, Gun, Second, Army, Ww2, War, Society & Culture, Carlin, Aircraft, Military, Navy, Wwii, World, History, Plane, Armour, Infantry, Tank

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Aerial mining by RAF Bomber Command played a crucial role in the Allied war effort, sinking far more Axis shipping than direct attacks by either Coastal Command or Bomber Command itself. Minelaying operations began in April 1940 and expanded significantly throughout the war, yet today, this critical campaign—along with its impact on Axis merchant vessels, Kriegsmarine warships, and U-boats—remains largely overlooked.

Joining me today is Jane Gulliford Lowes, author of The Invisible Campaign: Assessing Bomber Command's Minelaying Operations 1940-1945. We explore the RAF’s minelaying efforts during the war, their strategic importance, and why they’ve been so often forgotten.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. So how do you find amazing candidates fast?
0:07.8	Simple. Just use Indeed. Stop wasting time with other job sites that aren't getting your post seen.
0:14.4	With Indeed's sponsored jobs, your post jumps to the top getting in front of the right candidates fast.
0:20.6	And it works. According to Indeed
0:22.8	data, sponsor jobs get 45% more applications than non-sponsored ones. Join the 3.5 million employers
0:31.0	worldwide who are hiring great talent with Indeed. Best part? No monthly subscriptions, no long-term contracts, and you only pay for results.
0:41.1	There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed, and listeners of the show will get a 100-pound
0:48.8	sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash show.
0:54.8	Just go to Indeed.com slash show right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.
1:02.4	Indeed.com slash show. Terms and conditions apply.
1:07.5	This country is at war with Germany.
1:11.6	We shall go on to the end.
1:15.2	I remember the sheets of flame which came up and almost blinded us from our guns.
1:33.3	Aerial mining by RAF Bomber Command played a crucial role in the Allied War effort,
1:39.8	sinking far more access shipping than direct attacks by either Coastal Command or Bomber Command itself.
1:45.8	Mine laying operations began in April 1940 and expanded significantly.
1:52.5	Yet today, this critical campaign, along with its impact on Axis merchant vessels,
1:57.4	Craig's Marine Warships and U-Boats, remains largely overlooked.
2:04.1	I'm Angus Wallace and this is the World War II podcast. Today, joining me is Jane Gulliford Lowe's author of The Invisible Campaign, assessing bomber commands minelaying operations
2:10.5	1940 to 45. So in this episode, we'll be exploring the RAF mine laying efforts during the war,
2:17.0	their strategic importance and why they've been so often forgotten.
2:21.8	Jane, welcome. So before we get to the specifics of the RRF operations, I thought it would be
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Angus Wallace, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Angus Wallace and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.