On this Day – 6th June

On this day in 1944, Operation Overlord commenced, with thousands of Allied soldiers landing on the Normandy coast.

Radar, and technology used to jam it, played a decisive role in the landings. Developed by Joan Curran, ‘chaff’, also known as ‘window’, was dropped by Avro Lancasters over the Straits of Dover to confuse German radar sets, creating a signal that was mistaken by German radar operators as an invasion fleet heading towards Calais. These operations, known as Operation Glimmer and Taxable, helped to deceive German High Command about the true location of the main landings.

Lest we forget.