On this Day – 9th October

On the 9th October 1944, a V2 rocket exploded off the coast of Bawdsey.

The radar station at RAF Bawdsey played an important role in defending against these incoming missiles. A monitoring system codenamed ‘Oswald’ was set up at Bawdsey and other stations in the Southeast to detect and track V2 rockets. Although these rockets travelled at such high speeds and altitudes that there was little that could be done to stop them after they were launched, the radar system at Bawdsey allowed the trajectories of the V2s to be tracked in order to identify their launch site. These were then attacked by the Mosquitos and other aircraft of Bomber Command, helping to stem to flow of missiles into England.