h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Peter,

I see you were a fellow Gunner like my self now. I am a SSgt in the RA in the Air Defence I am currently on a course they call GCC and after the course we become SMIGS in Gunnery as part of the course I am doing a project in Operation Diver and I need as much information as possisible but the thing is it all seems to be in the public records office London is this true? I can not get to London and I am writing to yourself if you know any more on the Operation and is there any were else were I could get some more information. Your help in this subject is much appricated..

Don't invent the wheel twice if you possibly can avoid it, Peter. All the research for Diver has already been done with great care. It is all in Volume IV "Operation Diver" by C.S. Dobinson in his mammoth eleven volume work "20th Century Fortifications in England", published by the Council for British Archaeology.

This work is not for sale, but it is accessible. Get details here: http://www.ukfortsclub.org.uk/aldis/69/69_3.html

Meanwhile, although only a part of Operation Diver, you can get the RAF Regiment's Order of Battle for Diver here: http://orbat.com/site/uk_orbats/files/3/uk_rafreftww2.pdf

Good luck with your research,

Peter

P.S. What do you mean, "I see you were a Gunner"! Remember the Royal Artillery's proud slogan, "Once a Gunner, always a Gunner"

Had I known what you were looking for and who you were I may well have replied earlier SMIG's were my favourite breakfast food.
Operation Diver.
Enemy forces.
The Germans had produced the first cruise missile to be fired from France and apparently aimed at London. It was designed to fly at a constant height speed and direction carrying about one ton of HE flying a height to low for HAA and to high for LAA
Own forces
Mainly 3.7 AA guns and 40 mm Bofors sited for the defence of British cities against manned bombers. A large number of the 3.7 guns were in fixed inplacements there were some battalions of American AA in reserve.
Intention.
Destroy the cruise missiles before they reached the target area.
Method.
Redeploy the guns to engage the missiles with the cooperation of the RAF before reaching the target area.
Information.
The cruise missile flew just slightly slower than a fighter aircraft. Hand operated 3.7 guns could not traverse fast enough to hold the target. Only power operated guns were steady enough. Most of these were in fixed positions and not mobile. Destroying the missile had to be either over open ground or the sea. Unless the warhead was hit. Fighter aircraft could close with the missile but if they fired too late and hit the warhead it took the fighter out. If the missile crashed over the target area it achieved its object.
The problem was when to move the guns to a position where they could destroy the missile without too much damage. This meant moving about 300 odd fixed 3 7 guns to the south coast and bringing them into action complete with predictors, radar and probably over one million rounds of ammunition. A large number of the gunners were ATS. A special holdfast was designed for the fixed guns and by the middle of July the guns were in position. There were four main lines of defence. A fighter zone over the sea, a gun zone on the coast, another fighter zone behind this and finally barrage balloons on the North Downs. As the launching sites were overrun the gun line had to move up the east coast. The combination of Proximity fuses, power control and Canadian radar finally beat the missile. The combination of the Kerrison predictor and power operated 40 mm Bofors would probably have been quite effective, but, unfortunately this weapon had been abandoned as being too cumbersome for mobile operations. Personally I have used this system and with early warning was extremely effective but a lot of training was required also it was extremely expensive.
And I realised that you were a gunner I would have passed this information to you earlier. I would recommend for your further reading you get hold of AA by General Sir Frederick Pile now out of print, my copy was published by Panther books. Please let me know how your lecture went. I would be interested in which unit you are in. You can count me as one of the Gunner Mafia.
Yours Aye
John Absolon
ps The guns had the highest kill rate.