The Battle of the Beams
The Secret Science of Radar That Turned the Tide of the Second World War
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The Battle of the Beams
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Narrated by:
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Tom Whipple
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By:
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Tom Whipple
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
Summer 1939. War is coming.
The British believe that, through ingenuity and scientific prowess, they alone have a war-winning weapon: radar. They are wrong. The Germans have it too.
They believe that their unique maritime history means their pilots have no need of navigational aids. Flying above the clouds they, like the seafarers of old, had the stars to guide them, and that is all that is required. They are wrong. Most of the bombs the RAF will drop in the first years of the war land miles from their target.
They also believe that the Germans, without the same naval tradition, will never be able to find targets at night. They are, again, wrong. In 1939 the Germans don't just have radar to spot planes entering their airspace, they have radio beams to guide their own planes into enemy airspace.
War is coming, and it is to be a different kind of war. It will be fought, as expected, on land and sea and in the air. It will also be fought on the airwaves. It will be fought between scientists on both sides at the forefront of knowledge, and the agents and commandos they relied on to bolster that knowledge.
Luckily there was one young engineer, Reginald Jones, helping the British government with their own scientific developments. In June 1940, when Jones quietly explained the beams the Germans had devised to a room full of disbelieving sceptics, Churchill later described the moment as like sitting in the parlour while Sherlock Holmes finally reveals the killer. Churchill immediately supported Jones's efforts to develop radar technology that went on to help the Allies win the war.
Relying on first-hand accounts from Reginald Jones as well as papers recently released by the Admiralty, The Battle of the Beams fills a huge missing piece in the canon of WW2 literature. It is a tale that combines history, science, derring do and dogged determination and will appeal as much to fans of WW2 history as to those fascinated by the science behind the beams that changed our lives.
The radio war of 1939-45 is one of the great scientific battles in history. This is the story of that war.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Tom Whipple (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Battle of the Beams
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Phil H.
- 20-10-23
Great read.
Very fascinating and interesting book. So much went on behind the scenes which I did not know about. Lots of heroes too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- CJM
- 24-05-23
Gripping
I listened intently because it was gripping, very well written and narrated and a very different view of WW2 and the development and use of radio waves and radar.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Paul Macro
- 25-07-23
Fascinating - war in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The fascinating story of the war in the electromagnetic spectrum in WW2. Based around the story of RV Jones. Well written and read - I was gripped from start to finish. Keep listening to the very end for the twist in the tail in the postscript.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andy D.
- 07-06-23
Cracking history of early Radio Deception
And excellent look at early Radio Deception and those efforts during WWII. Compliments RV Jones’s Most Secret War and adds far more.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Paul
- 16-10-23
Very interesting story
Sometimes, individuals can make a huge difference. R V Jones and his colleagues were literally in the right place at the right time, and we all owe them an enormous debt. Wars are won by those fighting, but in this case, scientists and engineers played a vital role.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- MacGyver
- 25-10-24
I really wish the narrator would pronounce X-Gerät correctly
I liked the book but it was really distracting how the narrator mispronounced X-Gerät. It is not x-ger-rate it’s x-ger-rart
The sound quality was not great either to be honest.
Those things aside, I would still recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- David
- 24-05-23
An Important History
I so enjoyed the whole book. All the facts and the telling of such an important piece of history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bob Upndown
- 31-08-24
Not a wasted word. Excellent
Gripping from start to finish. The story is not unknown to many, but here we have significant detail added to the legend of the beams as well as the development of radar and associated countermeasures. Beautifully written, beautifully read, it's essential listening for anyone exploring this field of history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dawn Smith
- 29-09-24
Fantastic and interesting
This book and audio are a wonderful resource. If you’ve read Brian Johnson’s Secret War this will help to fill in a few gaps that could not be disclosed. Again a wonderful read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 19-07-24
Technologiehistorie vom Feinsten
Anschaulich und spannend erzählte Geschichte der parallelen Radarentwicklung in England und Deutschland während WK2.
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