WORLD WAR TWO PROBLEMS

© RN Communications Branch Museum/Library

  Above all else, those at the front matter more than any other units acting as combatants engaged in the destruction of the nations enemies: combatants of course include the SOE and the various Allied resistance' and anybody within smelling distance of a German, Italian or Japanese combatant. Only those who through their own endeavours matched the most assiduous of protagonists in that destruction, who were not combatants themselves, deserved to be treated as equals. Such non-combatants belong to the likes of Bletchley Park personnel for example.

  WW2 saw those front line personnel using equipment which wasn't really up to the mark. Whilst the short comings were reported to the authorities back home, and no doubt these authorities diligently sought to rectify these defects, little or no feedback was received by the front line units, which from hereonin, I will call the FLEET.

  In the Introduction file to the files of "PRE WW1 WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY" I mention that feedback was something banded around between the Admiralty and the 'egg head' Establishments, with little or no regard for assessing the problem overall and thereafter for making all at sea aware of the problem and the necessary resolution.

  This state of affairs came to a head in 1944 at a time when it became obvious there was a 'them' and 'us', and the 'them' were the ones dying in the name of the King at the 'coal face'.

  I have already mentioned that the reports about the advances in RADIO and subsequently RADAR, were made by Secret annual and then half-yearly reports with extremely tight and controlled distribution lists. Once dealt with, they were filed for posterity, and, I believe, eventually destroyed as highly sensitive material once the war had been won by the Allies.

  In March 1944 after four and a half years of war, all that changed, and although not clearly stated {so it is my own interpretation} the Admiralty's concern needed a voice. They ordered (I think) the ASE {Admiralty Signal Establishment} to issue regular bulletin's to the FLEET to collate the reported defects {to those of you in the know, the start of the S.2022 system ?} and advances made in technology, so that all in the FLEET with responsibilities for Radar or W/T communications, could know of the common problems and how to circumvent them, and of the promised new equipment which was about to enter Service. However, as you will read over many pages below, what started off for RADAR and W/T officers, soon became almost totally biased towards RADAR, but given the infancy of Radar and its rapidly advancing technology, that was quite understandable. This obvious bias did evoke a comment from the Commander-in-Chief British Pacific Fleet (BFP) when in his signal to S.S.E. repeated to the Admiralty on 250627Z August 1945 congratulating ASE on the Bulletin, he says ".........and it is felt there is room for expansion in the W/T section." - See 1945 Sept edition one EDITORIAL for details.

  I have published ALL of these BULLETIN's as follows - March 1944; June 1944; Sept 1944; December 1944; March 1945; June 1945 and Sept 1945.