E171 - Bletchley Park & Bomber Command Part 2

Bletchley Park

History

4.8 • 177 Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2024

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

November 2024

The crews of RAF Bomber Command had one of the most hazardous jobs of the war. Flying by night to their targets in occupied Europe, they were alone and vulnerable to the prowling German night-fighters.

Helping them reach their targets was one of the least-known, but most significant achievements of the signals intelligence operation at Bletchley Park. Analysis of the night-fighters’ communications revealed priceless insights into the German defensive system – and how it could be evaded, outwitted and ultimately manipulated.

In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, Bletchley Park Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham tells us about one of Bletchley Park’s most important contributions to Britain’s total war against Nazi Germany.

Many thanks to Mr Lindsay Spence for voicing our archival documents.

Image: Herbert Olivier, Operations Room: Bomber Command Conference. Oil on canvas, 1944. From the Collection: Air Historical Branch, MOD, on long loan to the RAF Museum as part of the Second World War Official War Artists’ collection.

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma, #BomberCommand,

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Mark, a podcast producer.
0:04.0	Just a quick note before this episode starts.
0:07.0	Because of the amount of detail in the story of Bletchley Park's work for the Allied Strategic bombing campaign,
0:12.0	we've split this show into two episodes.
0:15.0	This second show covers the latter part of the war.
0:18.0	Now over to the show. From the home of the codebreakers and the birthplace of modern computing, this is the Bletchley Park podcast.
0:56.6	Welcome to this additional episode of the Bletchley Park podcast.
1:01.9	Bletchley Park and Bomber Command, Part 2.
1:06.3	The crews of RAF Bomber Command had one of the most hazardous jobs of the war.
1:11.6	Flying by night to their targets and occupied Europe, they were alone and vulnerable
1:16.6	to the prowling German night fighters.
1:19.6	Helping them reach their targets was one of the least known but most significant achievements
1:24.6	of the Signals Intelligence operation at Bletchley Park.
1:32.9	Analysis of the Knight Fighter's communications revealed priceless insights into the German defensive system, and how it could be evaded, outwitted and ultimately manipulated.
1:40.7	In this It Happened Here episode, Bletchley Park's research officer, Dr Thomas Cheatham,
1:46.0	tells us about one of Bletchley Park's most important contributions to Britain's total war against Nazi Germany.
1:53.0	Many thanks to Dean Anneson and Mr Lindsay Spence for voicing our archival documents. This is Bletchley Park.
2:15.6	It happened here.
2:20.3	The green light flashes from the control tower.
2:25.3	That's the sign.
2:27.3	It's our turn to go now. We're fourth to go.
2:30.3	And the whole of our four engines are giving out a full-throated roar as we start to slowly gather speed down the mile and a half wrong runway.
	...

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