BBC1 " The One Show" tonight FIDO

I thought I heard it said as “55,000 casualties”. Casualties usually means persons killed and injured not solely those who died???

Roger Smith.

The Air Ministry supplied to the authors of “The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany” figures of all RAF,WAAF,Dominion and Allied personnel serving with Bomber Command between 3 September 1939 and May 1945 47,120 aircrew killed and presumed dead, 8090 killed on Non-operational not to mention 530 ground staff killed. My source Denis Richards “The Hardest Victory”.

Those of you unfamiliar with WW2 meteorological procedures (including PeeDee at post #10!) might well read http://www.rmets.org/pdf/hist03.pdf. I worked with Dick Ogden in the late 50’s. He was no purveyor of “bull faeces”. That paper gives an idea what the met staffs had to do with considerably less technical/comms abilities that would be the norm today. It has to be said, however, that that paper has been updated by some considerable investigation in the interim – but its primary thoughts remain good.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will note that the photo of J M Stagg at the start has been reversed (possibly by an editor who did not quite appreciate on which side of an Officer’s No 1 HD jacket his/her medal ribbons should appear!!).
HTH
Resmoroh

……..and a mention of the 55,000 aircrew who died flying in Bomber Command………..

I thought I heard it said as “55,000 casualties”. Casualties usually means persons killed and injured not solely those who died???

Roger Smith.

I just missed it and we do not have iplayer in Holland 🙁

It was well put together I liked the aerial view of Fiskerton then and now. There was some old film a crew entering a Lancaster clearly marked as PB113. This spent all its life with 405 Squadron so must have been filmed at Gransden Lodge. Some shots of Just Jane and a mention of the 55,000 aircrew who died flying in Bomber Command. A positive piece perhaps Robin Gibbs drive and mention on ” Hard Talk” interview is making a wider public take note.

To view the programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007tcw7 scroll down to 21 Jan.

It is usually available for at least one week ? Correction it is Robin Gibbs apologies.

It was well put together I liked the aerial view of Fiskerton then and now. There was some old film a crew entering a Lancaster clearly marked as PB113. This spent all its life with 405 Squadron so must have been filmed at Gransden Lodge. Some shots of Just Jane and a mention of the 55,000 aircrew who died flying in Bomber Command. A positive piece perhaps Maurice Gibbs drive and mention on ” Hard Talk” interview is making a wider public take note.

To view the programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007tcw7 scroll down to 21 Jan.

for there was not only FIDO but also PLUTO – maybe also there was LASSIE and BONZO as well. I’ll have to give some thought to what might have been the constituent words of those acronyms!

I know of PLUTO!

PIPELINE UNDER THE OCEAN –after the Normandy landings of 1944 this ran from the mainland to the Isle of Wight then across to Normandy. Was used to supply fuel for tanks, lorries, etc.
I have seen the remains of the Isle of Wight end which are still visible at Sandown.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pluto

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PLUTO_Pump_Sandown_Isle_of_Wight.jpg

FIDO

Aw, shame I missed it. For the last year or so I’ve been researching landings at RAF Woodbridge which was of course one of the primary Bomber Command Emergency Airfields. Have so far managed to compile notes (in varying degrees of detail) of about 1,150 a/c arrivals. Unfortunately there were about 3,000 others which don’t seem to have been recorded. Many or most of those, I guess, were routine fuel top-up stop offs.

Perhaps it’ll be on i-player or something like that.

Was it any good?

Ian

Good little piece I thought, nice to hear from the guys that had to rely on it at times.

Will be watching.

Fog (And other airborne particles) could easily be flattened with a combination of Ultrasound and UHF. Downside is that it boils things, like animals and people.
Or, use the Soviet method to ensure the Arms parades were rain-free. Disperse cement dust into the upwind clouds, the particles attract the moisture which falls as rain, way before the parade. Downside, coating the proletariat and peasants in a film of concrete. Which probably wasn’t seen as a downside then.

While it was under development it became Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation and as you suggest the words were rearranged to give it the rescue dog connotation, I’m away from sources but it was something like FDIO originally.
It was Fog Intensive Dispersal Operation when in service use, ‘Of’ is seen as a slang use of the acronym.

I think all have applied at one time or another…………..;)

Acronyms

It’s amazing what the powers that be did to be able to employ a catchy acronym! But exactly what were the words originally used to form the acronym FIDO? I have always believed that it was Fog Intense Dispersal Of, but I have also read that it was Fog Intense Dispersal Operation and Fog Investigation & Dispersal Operation. I’ve also heard tell of another that’s too rude to repeat here. Furthermore, was there something of a canine fixation within the War Office, for there was not only FIDO but also PLUTO – maybe also there was LASSIE and BONZO as well. I’ll have to give some thought to what might have been the constituent words of those acronyms!

FIDO was trialled at Graveley, Martlesham Heath, and Lakenheath, and in part at Blackbushe.
From what I can ascertain is that RAF Downham Market was the first to use it on full operational trials in Nov ’43, and RAF Gravely the first to use it in anger at about the same time.
Manston was the last station to be equiped, and also by far the last to still be in use, not being taken out of service until 1958.

Thanks for the correction….:)

That’s right, this is a list of the 15 RAF stations
RAF Blackbushe
RAF Bradwell Bay
RAF Carnaby
RAF Downham Market
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Foulsham
RAF Graveley
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Manston
RAF Melbourne
RAF Metheringham
RAF St Eval
RAF Sturgate
RAF Tuddenham
RAF Woodbridge

Also installed at RAF Bradwell Bay

FIDO was trialled at Graveley, Martlesham Heath, and Lakenheath, and in part at Blackbushe.
From what I can ascertain is that RAF Downham Market was the first to use it on full operational trials in Nov ’43, and RAF Gravely the first to use it in anger at about the same time.
Manston was the last station to be equiped, and also by far the last to still be in use, not being taken out of service until 1958.

Trialled at Manston, I believe and the original tanks are still there, used as petroleum storage by a private company.