[Iris7]

"With that jump start, the Rad Lab produced the submarine hunter technology that reversed the course of the Battle of the Atlantic and spelled the end for the U-Boat wolfpacks."

I wouldn't say "the end", since there were many contributions, not least of all by the lads at the sharp end. I have a lot of affection for the Bletchley people who mostly did OK with Enigma traffic.

The radar set they are talking about had a parallel six tube circular lay out oscillator - transmitter, had a neat output tuned circuit, a coil in each tube plate lead. Machine was revolutionary for the day, the Germans could barely detect the emissions because the frequency was so high. The cool part of my story is this: the tubes were at the very most cutting edge, and had been designed for and by Radio Amateurs for the Amateur Service, and Radio Amateurs who were mighty fine engineers were the boys who showed the big physicists how to make the circuit and get it working! One for the good guys!

Some technical details are hazy, been forty years since I was an active amateur, KH6EZH.

[colorado tanker]

The story of Bletchley Park and the enigma is amazing. I got to see an enigma on display at the Imperial War Museum. The impact of that little box on the outcome of the war was incredible. There were also some interesting eccentrics who worked there. I read a book that told the story a few years ago, I think it was just called "Bletchley Park."

The impact of the sub hunting radar was immediately felt. Tonnage losses reversed their trend and began trending downward right when the radar was deployed.