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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Luftwaffe, comments, etc.
Message-ID: <10746@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 30 Oct 89 02:51:28 GMT
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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From: msmiller@gonzoville.East.Sun.COM (Mark Miller - Sun BOS Contractor)
>... When they found out about these
>targets later, they couldn't believe that primary air defense centers
>would be housed in above-ground shacks.

In particular, this played a considerable part in the German decision not
to mount major attacks on British radar stations.  The radar antennas
themselves were difficult to attack.  These were transmitting-tower types,
not dishes, and the latticework towers were almost immune to anything but
a direct hit.  Direct hits required dive-bombing, which was hazardous in
areas thick with towers and guy wires.  And the Germans were positive that
the electronics and operators would be deep underground and well protected,
not in flimsy shacks on the surface (where they actually were).  This
mistaken impression was strengthened when some early attacks took the
stations off the air only briefly; the Germans interpreted this as
evidence that no significant damage was being done, when in fact the
stations were being hurt seriously and the repair crews were improvising
desperately.

                                     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
                                 uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu