BBC - Science at War (1998) Part 3 Echoes of War

Scientific breakthroughs in the practice of warfare world. The twentieth century witnessed the arrival of science as the most potent force a country could wield - in peace or at war. Of the enduring legacies from the two world wars that changed all aspects of life—from economics, to justice, to the nature of warfare itself—the scientific and technological legacies of World War II had a profound and permanent effect on life after 1945. Technologies developed during World War II for the purpose of winning the war found new uses as commercial products in the decades that followed the war's end. This series of six programs shows how scientific breakthroughs in the practice of warfare have shaped the age in which we live. Each episode examines a key area of science - from physics to engineering and the life sciences - and shows the impact they had both at the time and on later generations. Scientists and military planners explain the role they have played in the discoveries and the series features both archive and specially shot film.

Part 3 Echoes of War

This episode of Science At War looks at the achievements of the young radar scientists on both sides of the Atlantic who carried out their pioneering experiments in the shadow of war. No single scientific invention was to have a more devastating effect on the enemy. Edward George “Taffy” Bowen, CBE, FRS, was a Welsh physicist who made a major contribution to the development of radar. On August 29, 1940 Taffy Bowen had arrived at London with a small black box. Inside lay Britain's most closely guarded secret the box contained the first production copy of a mysterious device so powerful conventional scientific wisdom predicted anything like it was years off. It was a microwave transmitter that could take radar out of the stone age and into the present day. The device called a cavity magnetron held the key to the continued defence of Britain and the radar war against Germany. But war-torn Britain was nearly at the limit of its production capacity. The only hope lay with America . Scientists in New York had failed to design a powerful microwave transmitter. The Americans needed our magnetron, we needed their manufacturing capability. Churchill met with Roosevelt and made an extraordinary decision - to share the secret of the new radar device with the Americans. Radar not only helped the Allies win the Battle of the Atlantic and allowed Britain and America to carry out bombing campaigns over Germany, it also ensured the D-day Landings in Normandy were a success. The unprecedented scientific collaboration that came about because of radar would transform the face of British and American science and its relationship to war.

Full Version Available Upon Request