Does anyone know anything about work carried out, apparently at Boscombe Down, during the war to try and make Coastal Command aircraft invisible?
The theory was that a CC a/c approaching a U-boat could only be seen because of the shadow of its undersurfaces, which was visible against the light-coloured sky. In an attempt to counter this, the a/c had lights along its leading edges, thereby making the undersurfaces as light as the sky and effectively rendering the a/c invisible to the U-boat until it was too late for the sub to save itself.
The scheme was never adopted because the lights were too much of a drain on the aircraft’s generator.
If anyone can provide any more information on this scheme, such as dates, names of people involved, etc, etc, I’d be very grateful.
PS This has nothing to do with the invisibility of Janie:D
By: RadarArchive - 18th August 2003 at 09:02
Cheers for the offer, Neilly. Much appreciated.
By: neilly - 17th August 2003 at 21:56
Hi Ian,
Don’t waste your money! I bought it for the same reasons & to be honest, whilst there are lots of interesting photos, it’s very light on the spec & performance data.
If there’s anything specific, let me know & I’ll scan & send to you.
Cheers,
Neilly
By: RadarArchive - 17th August 2003 at 21:48
Thanks, Neilly. That’s actually really helpful. I have tried to order a copy of this book from the Hikoki website – three times – and still not managed to do so!:mad:
I had assumed the book might refer to these trials, even if only briefly. However, now that I know the book makes no mention of this work, I can save myself from a little expenditure.:p
Especially useful since I’ve just bought the two volume history of 603 Squadron at a total cost of £60.:)
By: neilly - 17th August 2003 at 21:38
Hi Ian,
Just had a quick look through Tim Mason’s book – The Secret Years – Flight Testing at Boscombe Down, & there nothing about the sort of installations you’re interested in. However, that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist, as I found this book to be fairly brief with each aircraft type.
Cheers,
Neilly
By: RobAnt - 17th August 2003 at 19:22
See it (or rather you don’t) all the time down here – affects all the aircraft at whole airshows sometimes!!!
By: RadarArchive - 17th August 2003 at 19:12
Even the background has been affected, unless of course it was 10/10ths cloud that day! 😀
By: Bluebird Mike - 17th August 2003 at 16:53
Here’s a photo of the trials;
Effective, innit?! 😀
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August 17, 2003 at 12:21 pm