Technology and Operations
This forum is for discussing technological & operational matters pertaining to U-boats.
RE: Allied Infra-red technology?/Metox Deception
Posted by:
Jamie Everitt
()
Date: September 01, 2000 10:35AM
Thanks for all the responses!
The note about the red signal lamp seems to be quite a likely explanation for the incident mentioned in Werner's book, so perhaps we can clear that one up.
The Metox question is, however, a real can of worms. There is debate as to whether or not Metox could be detected at all, let alone whether it was actually used to search for U-boats; moreover, there does not seem to be a definitive answer, with proofs, to the question I was asking, namely was there a deliberate attempt to mislead the Germans? I do not find this surprising as all the authors that mention it pass over the subject rather quickly, as if they themselves are unsure of the evidence. Personally I think that the answer to this is that it is quite likely that the Germans were deliberately misled, but one thing which puzzles me is that I have found no definite confirmation of this anywhere. This is unusual considering that many more high-profile Allied intelligence coups and deceptions of the war are well-known and publicised. One thing is certain, more research in needed in this area, hopefully with the cooperation of the archives of the RAF. Alas, it will not be me who is doing it, I haven't got the time, but if anyone knows of any history students wanting a project, there is a nice little mystery waiting to be solved and the truth to be revealed....
Jamie
The note about the red signal lamp seems to be quite a likely explanation for the incident mentioned in Werner's book, so perhaps we can clear that one up.
The Metox question is, however, a real can of worms. There is debate as to whether or not Metox could be detected at all, let alone whether it was actually used to search for U-boats; moreover, there does not seem to be a definitive answer, with proofs, to the question I was asking, namely was there a deliberate attempt to mislead the Germans? I do not find this surprising as all the authors that mention it pass over the subject rather quickly, as if they themselves are unsure of the evidence. Personally I think that the answer to this is that it is quite likely that the Germans were deliberately misled, but one thing which puzzles me is that I have found no definite confirmation of this anywhere. This is unusual considering that many more high-profile Allied intelligence coups and deceptions of the war are well-known and publicised. One thing is certain, more research in needed in this area, hopefully with the cooperation of the archives of the RAF. Alas, it will not be me who is doing it, I haven't got the time, but if anyone knows of any history students wanting a project, there is a nice little mystery waiting to be solved and the truth to be revealed....
Jamie
