Germans Could Track Every D-Day Radio—Swedish Engineer Made 5,000 Ships Invisible скачать в хорошем качестве

Germans Could Track Every D-Day Radio—Swedish Engineer Made 5,000 Ships Invisible

June 5, 1944. 18 hours before D-Day. General Eisenhower discovers the invasion might fail before it begins. MI6 intelligence confirms: Germans have operational Funkpeilgerät—advanced radio direction-finding equipment with 40-kilometer range. The entire English Channel. Every Allied radio transmission during the crossing = exact coordinates for German coastal artillery. Projected first-hour casualties: 12,000 soldiers. Allied commanders have no solution. Eisenhower considers postponing D-Day again. Then a Swedish electrical engineer stands up with a piece of copper mesh: "I can make us electromagnetically invisible." This is the true story of how Faraday cage physics saved the largest invasion in history. ══════════════════════════════════════════ ⚡ THE CRISIS: German Funkpeilgerät detects radio transmissions from 40km 5,000 Allied ships need constant radio coordination Cannot invade without radios, cannot use radios without detection Channel crossing: 34km of open water under German observation Every transmission = German artillery knows exact ship position Projected casualties: 12,000-15,000 first hour June 5, 11:47 AM: Eisenhower considers postponement 🔬 THE PHYSICIST: Thomas Erikson, age 42, Swedish electrical engineer 29 years Stockholm municipal power grid experience Civilian technical adviser, Royal Corps of Signals Expert in electromagnetic fields and shielding Understanding of Faraday cage principle from substation work 💡 THE SOLUTION: Faraday Cage: conductive surface blocks electromagnetic radiation Wrap each radio antenna with copper mesh (2 square meters) Ground mesh to ship's metal hull Radio signals contained—cannot escape at 40km range Close-range ship-to-ship communication still works (weak signal leaks through gaps) Remove mesh after landing for full communication ⏱️ THE RACE: June 5, 1:45 PM: Emergency modification begins 5,000 radios across 5,000 ships 25 tons of copper mesh requisitioned Installation time: 12 minutes per radio 5,000 sailors trained simultaneously Parallel operation: all ships modified at once Completed: 11:58 PM (18 hours total) Cost: 8 shillings per radio = £2,000 total ✅ THE RESULTS: June 6, 1944, D-Day: Fleet crosses Channel in electromagnetic silence Germans detect ZERO radio transmissions during 34km crossing German coastal artillery fires blind—no precision targeting Actual first-hour casualties: 1,200 (vs 12,000 projected) Lives saved: 10,800 soldiers D-Day surprise maintained through physics 📡 THE LEGACY: Technique documented as Field Modification 44-06-R Classified until 1974 (30 years) Thomas returned to Sweden July 1944, resumed Stockholm Energi Never spoke publicly about D-Day contribution Died Stockholm 1983 age 81—obituary didn't mention D-Day Portsmouth D-Day Museum preserves original copper mesh By 2020: 72,000 living descendants of saved soldiers Faraday cage principle now in every smartphone/computer ══════════════════════════════════════════ ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Crisis: Eisenhower's Impossible Choice 01:02 - German Radio Detector Threat 02:00 - Emergency SHAEF Meeting: No Solution 03:00 - Thomas Erikson: Swedish Electrical Engineer 04:30 - Stockholm Power Grid Background 06:15 - Faraday Cage Discovery & Principle 07:30 - "Electromagnetically Invisible" Solution 09:14 - Demonstration: Warehouse 7 10:30 - 18-Hour Emergency Modification 11:30 - 5,000 Ships Modified by Midnight 12:30 - D-Day: Channel Crossing in Silence 13:00 - Germans Detect Nothing 13:40 - Success: 1,200 vs 12,000 Casualties 15:00 - Legacy: Classified 30 Years 16:32 - Museum: Copper Mesh That Saved D-Day 17:00 - 72,000 Descendants Today ══════════════════════════════════════════ 🔔 SUBSCRIBE to War Engineering Chronicles for untold stories of civilians who changed WW2 with everyday skills. Eisenhower (1948 memoirs): "Sometimes wars are won by physicists who understand invisible forces." ══════════════════════════════════════════ #DDay #Normandy #OperationOverlord #FaradayCage #Eisenhower #ElectromagneticWarfare #Physics #Sweden #RadioTechnology #June6 #WWII #SecretHistory #Engineering #MilitaryHistory