My uncle, Pilot Officer Gordon Herbert Batchelor, was a member of 54 Squadron, joining in 1940. I have been researching the role of 54 Squadron during the Battle of Britain and studying the Operations Record Books in AIR 27. On July 24th, there is an entry about an attack by Do 215s. It was observed that the enemy bombers, when forced to flee the scene by 54 Squadron, jettisoned coils of wire, 50 feet in length. It was the first time this action had been seen. Presumably this was done to ensnare the propellors of their pursuers. I was wondering if this was a common tactic? If you would like to read my blog on 54 Squadron during the Battle of Britain you can find it here: The “Dunkirk Warriors” of 54 Squadron – Battle of Britain – July 1940 Thanks, Jude
I wonder if the wire was not jettisoned by the bombers but came from ground fire aimed at them. The secret P.A.C. anti aircraft system fired a shell containing a tightly coiled length of wire which when the shell burst would entangle a bomber and cut through parts of the structure. There is only one recorded instance of a bomber brought down by P.A.C. - a He 111 in Feb 1941
AC2 Roberts at RAF Kenley might take issue with your "only one recorded instance" Bravery Rewarded - AC David G. Roberts and Kenley's Unusual Weapon Also the PAC system was a rocket drawing out the cable rather than shell fused to burst. Parachute and Cable? Schermuly Not Ross
Interesting that the wire could have come from a P.A.C. anti-aircraft system. Obviously the pilots of 54 Squadron thought it came from the bomber but of course, it would be easy to be mistaken in the heat of battle.
It just seemed something of a coincidence that both sides were using an unconventional wire based weapon in 1940 - however coincidences do happen! Experiments in bringing down aircraft by firing or dropping wire were first made in 1914 and towards the end of WW2 the Japanese were playing with using a mortar in the rear gun position to fire wire in front of attacking fighters.
Great to have your input. Thanks for your thoughts on this. It never occurred to me that the wire could have come from the ground.
I've heard stories of bombers releasing a trailing aerial (that was a length of wire with a weight on the end) in the hope it would ensnare a following fighter. If a fighter was that close though I would have thought the damage was already done. The aerials I believe could be up to 200 feet long, which sounds quite long, but not if its the distance away of an aircraft shooting!
Such aerials were standard for aircraft radios in WW1 but by WW2 I think they had been replaced by the wire from mast to tail or wing
FuG10 Note the trailing antenna is 75 m long. Here’s the communications setup used in Luftwaffe bombers. Trailing antenna was still in use on an electrically driven spool in combination with fixed antenna. On the He 111 it was deployed through a faired hole in the ventral gondola. I think this is your most likely source of the wire. If under attack it may have released rather than wound back in. Trailing antennas were still quite common on WW2 long range aircraft The Bayo-Hunter: November 2017 if you scroll down you can see and read about the Lancaster’s trailing antenna. American bombers had them too.
