The FuG 227 Flensburg was a German passive radar receiver developed by Siemens & Halske and introduced into service in early 1944. It used wing and tail-mounted dipole antennae and was sensitive to the mid-VHF band frequencies of 170–220 MHz, subharmonics of the Monica radar's 300 MHz transmissions. It allowed Luftwaffe nightfighters to home in on the Monica tail warning radar fitted to RAF bombers.
An RAF bomber with Monica radar crashed in German-occupied territory in February 1943 allowing for the development of Flensburg. The British set was captured just seven days into its operational life in February 1943.[1][2] On the morning of 13 July 1944, a Junkers Ju 88G-1 night fighter of 7.Staffel/NJG 2 equipped with Flensburg landed at RAF Woodbridge by mistake and was captured. When British military scientists examined the Flensburg equipment, they quickly realised its purpose and informed the RAF, who ordered Monica to be withdrawn from all RAF Bomber Command aircraft.[3][4][2]
Subsequently, further variants of Flensburg (Flensburg II to Flensburg VI) were developed for detecting Allied radar jammers. Only Flensburg II and III were used operationally.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Hinsley 1988, p. 563.
- ^ a b Aders 1978, p. 251.
- ^ Boog, Krebs & Vogel 2006, p. 315.
- ^ Addison & Crang 2006, p. 65.
Further reading
edit- Addison, Paul; Crang, Jeremy (2006). Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden 1945. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-1-84413-928-6.
- Aders, Gebhard (1978). History of the German Night Fighter Force, 1917–1945. London: Janes. ISBN 978-0-354-01247-8.
- Boog, Horst; Krebs, Gerhard; Vogel, Detlef (2006). Germany and the Second World War: Volume VII: The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia, 1943-1944/5. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-822889-9.
- Hinsley, Harry (1988). British Intelligence in the Second World War. Volume 3, Part 2: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). ISBN 0-11-630940-7.
External links
edit- Analysis report on the Ju 88 at Woodbridge (PDF format; 44 kB)
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