The Battle Field.
In the south the Atlantikwall, a wall of steel and concrete.
In the north a countryside full of airfields, camps and ports.
Air Ministry Photograph.
Allied Radar Counter Measures.
Diagram showing the various diversionary attacks, patrols and counter measures carried out during the night of June 5th/6th June 1944.
The code names indicated: -
''Glimmer'' and ''Taxable'' - Naval and air feint attacks.
''ABC Patrol'' - Aircraft jamming enemy radar and simulating top cover to a naval invasion.
''Mandrel'' - Areas of jamming by aircraft.
''Titanic'' - Dummy airborne drops plus SAS units.
SAS team behind the lines.
Radar image 0653 hours 6th June 1944.
D-Day.
Glimmer
'Glimmer' was to show German radars that a very large naval landing was going to take place in the Calais area. Bombers of 218Sqn RAF were tasked to fly a very tight 'S' pattern to make it look as though a slow force of ships were on there way by dropping 'Window'.
Window.
Window effected radar.
Glimmer
Small Royal Naval harbour defence and RAF pinnaces were also used on the water with radar reflectors to make a small boat look like a large ship.
Radar Reflector.
ABC Defence Line.
Lancaster's of No 101Sqn RAF and five B-17 Flying Fortresses of No 214Sqn RAF established an Air-Borne Cigar (ABC) ground-air radio jamming and Window barrage along the line of the Somme Estuary to distract enemy night-fighters away from the transport aircraft carrying airborne troops. One Lancaster was lost.
101Sqn Lancaster crew.
Titanic (East Cotentin / West Haute Normandy)
Stirling's, Halifax and Hudson's parachuted SAS teams and hundreds of dummies to simulate a massed parachute drop. The SAS teams met up with French underground to disrupt a German advance.
Halifax.
Hudson.
A ''Rupert'' dummy parachute.
Taxable
617Sqn RAF with ships of the Royal Navy used the same methods as Glimmer.
Mandrel
Twenty MANDREL equipped aircraft were flying barrage jamming operations. Sixteen Short Stirling bomber aircraft of 199 Sqn RAF were deployed in positions 1-8 along with four B17's 803rd Bomb Squadron USAAF in positions 9-12.
USAAF B17.
© 2013 Richard Drew