Blind Bombing

How Microwave Radar Brought the Allies to D-Day and Victory in World War II

By: Norman Fine

Narrated by: Marlin May

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Awarded the silver medal in History (World) Category in the 2020 IPPY Awards

Since the discovery of radar early in the 20th century, development across most of the world had progressed only incrementally. Germany and Japan had radar as well, but in just three years, the Allies’ new radar, incorporating the top-secret cavity magnetron, turned the tide of war from doubtful to a known conclusion before the enemy even figured out how. The tactical difference between the enemy’s primitive radar and the Allies’ new radar was similar to that between a musket and a rifle. The cavity magnetron proved to be the single most influential new invention contributing to winning the war in Europe.

Norman Fine tells the relatively unknown story of radar’s transformation from a technical curiosity to a previously unimaginable offensive weapon. We meet scientists and warriors critical to the story of radar and its pressure-filled development and implementation. Blind Bombing brings to light two characters who played an integral role in the story as it unfolded: one, a brilliant and opinionated scientist, the other, an easygoing 21-year-old caught up in the peacetime draft.

This unlikely pair and a handful of their cohorts pioneered a revolution in warfare. They formulated new offensive tactics by trying, failing, and persevering, ultimately overcoming the naysayers and obstructionists on their own side and finally the enemy.

The book is published by University of Nebraska Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2019 Norman Fine (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“This is an extremely accurate and detailed account of the development and use of microwave radar from its inception to its role in ending World War II...” (Col. Dick Rounseville, U.S. Army (Ret.), commander)

“A valuable addition to the backstory of the Allied victory in World War II... A deeply satisfying read on multiple levels.” (Howard Means, author of 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence)

Pretty Good. Could Have Been Better

The development of microwave radar is an important subject, and the author's personal connection (his uncle was an operator) is interesting.

But there are two problems with this book. First, the book could really use a good editing. The story is told in a disjointed manner, jumping back and forth and not on a clear timeline.

Second, the author insists on telling the overall story of World War II in Europe. The author seems to assume that the reader knows nothing about WWII, which is a pretty bad assumption given that this is a rather esoteric bit of WWII history. The author also gets some part of this larger narrative not exactly right, stating, for example, that the British Spitfire and Hurricane were superior to the German bombers during the Battle of Britain. That is true, strictly speaking, but they were not demonstrably superior to the German Me 109, the primary fighter. This understates the efforts of the RAF fighter pilots.

A knowledgeable copy editor could have made this a much better book. If you are looking for a better book on this subject (also with a broader scope), I would recommend Tuxedo Park by Jennet Conant.

Interesting and (mostly) well written

A good resource for those wishing to better understand the development of WW2 radar technology in general, and aircraft mounted radar specifically. If you're the kind of person who is frustrated by the hand-waving that most historians perform in relation to technical advancement, you'll enjoy this.

The book also intertwines the very interesting story of the author's uncle, who happened to be a decorated airborne radar operator. However, the manner in which this personal story was woven into the main storyline could be slightly confusing, with the story of radar finishing a particular time period, then, when jumping back to the personal story, the narration going back a year or so. Not ideal (but not that awful either).

Another annoying issue is that the author unfortunately seems unaware of the extensive historical research done in the past 2+ decades regarding Britain's situation after the fall of France. As a result he repeats the now thoroughly debunked myths that the RAF was vastly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe (it was not, there was rough parity in numbers); that the Luftwaffe's decision to stop targeting the RAF and start area bombing was "inexplicable" (there was a very good reason - they were unable to seriously damage the RAF in the ground and they understood this); or that, had the Battle of Britain been lost, Germany would have successfully invaded Britain (there were multiple impediments to this, including the Royal Navy's complete control of the English Channel and many RAF bases in the north of Britain). This does not impact the quality of the technical content or the story telling, but it is annoying in a book of this kind.

The narrator was not awful, but was not particularly to my liking. He has quite a peculiar accent which I could not quite place (clearly American, but I'm not sure where exactly). I found his vowel pronunciation a little jarring in combination with his rhythm and pacing. A more neutral (Yankee or mid Atlantic) accented reader would probably work better (at least for those of us who are non-American).