Bletchley Park

November 2024 On the 12th of November 1944 Germany’s largest battleship – Tirpitz – was sunk by British RAF Lancaster bombers off Tromso in Norway. Ever since its deployment to the region back in January 1942, the battleship had posed a threat to Arctic convoy operations. A large part of the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet as well as US vessels were tied up protecting convoys from this ship that Winston Churchill christened ‘The Beast’. Despite Tirpitz having never fired its guns in anger at Allied warships, its presence was threat enough. Intelligence experts continued the difficult work of tracking its location and state of readiness. The analysts of Bletchley Park’s Naval Section followed the ship for nearly three years, and played a key part in her final destruction. In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, we are joined by Dr David Kenyon, Bletchley Park’s Research Historian and author of ‘Arctic Convoys: Bletchley Park and the War for the Seas’. Many thanks to Dr Ben Thomson for voicing our archival documents. Image: Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: NH 71318 #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma, #Tirpitz,

November 2024 The crews of RAF Bomber Command had one of the most hazardous jobs of the war. Flying by night to their targets in occupied Europe, they were alone and vulnerable to the prowling German night-fighters.  Helping them reach their targets was one of the least-known, but most significant achievements of the signals intelligence operation at Bletchley Park. Analysis of the night-fighters’ communications revealed priceless insights into the German defensive system – and how it could be evaded, outwitted and ultimately manipulated. In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, Bletchley Park Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham tells us about one of Bletchley Park’s most important contributions to Britain’s total war against Nazi Germany. Many thanks to Mr Lindsay Spence for voicing our archival documents. Image: Herbert Olivier, Operations Room: Bomber Command Conference. Oil on canvas, 1944. From the Collection: Air Historical Branch, MOD, on long loan to the RAF Museum as part of the Second World War Official War Artists’ collection. #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma, #BomberCommand,

October 2024 The crews of RAF Bomber Command had one of the most hazardous jobs of the war. Flying by night to their targets in occupied Europe, they were alone and vulnerable to the prowling German night-fighters. Helping them reach their targets was one of the least-known, but most significant achievements of the signals intelligence operation at Bletchley Park. Analysis of the night-fighters’ communications revealed priceless insights into the German defensive system – and how it could be evaded, outwitted and ultimately manipulated. In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, Bletchley Park Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham tells us about one of Bletchley Park’s most important contributions to Britain’s total war against Nazi Germany. This episode features the following Veteran from our Oral History archive: Sir Arthur Bonsall Many thanks to Dean Annison & Mr Lindsay Spence for voicing our archival documents. Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2024. Staff of Bletchley Park night fighter section in 1943. L-R standing: Pat Smith, Edith Davidson, Janet Smith, Florence Brooke, Vincent Chapman. Seated: Molly Blakeley, Catherine Payne, Brenda Gough. Front: Joy Parker, Jeanne Phillips. #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma, #BomberCommand,

September 2024 The Government Code and Cypher School employed thousands of people during the war. These varied from Cambridge dons who had broken codes in World War One to machine workers with very specific skills, to female conscripts from the three armed services. How did all these people know what to do? As usual at BP, the answer is a complex one: a mix of training courses (some well organised, others less so) developed as the organisation grew exponentially as the war progressed. In this month’s ‘It Happened Here’ episode we are joined by Bletchley Park Historian Dr David Kenyon to explore the varied experiences of new recruits finding out how to do their job – sometimes on an organised course, sometimes learning on the job, and sometimes literally making it up themselves. This episode features the following Veterans from our Oral History archive: Betty Webb Iris King Joan Joslin Many thanks to Sarah Langston for voicing our archival documents. Image: ©Will Amlot for the Bletchley Park Trust 2024 #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma,