How Germany lost the radar race in WW2

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This video talks about the struggle, between the Western allies and Germany during World War II, to develop the most sophisticated electronic equipment. Radars, navigation, communication, electronic jammers and various other countermeasures - they were all a huge part of the war. Which Churchill regarded as so high tech and fantastical that he labeled the whole struggle the Wizard war.
⏰Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:50 - British early warning radars
04:39 - German early warning radars
08:21 - Battle of the Atlantic
11:55 - Freya early warning radar
13:40 - Germany on defense
15:45 - "Window"
17:12 - Invasion of Normandy
18:24 - Conclusion
Image elements used in the thumbnail:
Winston Churchill (altered)
Photo by Yousuf Karsh, Creative Commons BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music by Matija Malatestinic www.malatestinic.com
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[@Binkov]

Go to nordvpn.com/binkov and use code binkov to get 70% off a 3-year plan and an extra month for free. Protect yourself online today!

[@wilkersatomicnetworks3096]

no thank you mr binkov im good but thanks for the offer :)

[@amiralcookie3221]

The thumbnail is very funny, and I really like your videos even though I preferred hypothetical scenarios

[@raulrx5700xt]

I like how this comment was added one day ago even tough this video was posted 5 minutes ago for me

[@lofisstealin4012]

Egypt vs Turkey

[@monteldublin9101]

Would world wars 3 happen and would you do a updated video on if world war 3 happen

[@honguyenngocphi8301]

Germany: Um... whatcha got there? Britain with radars: A carrot.

[@tremedar]

In following the grand tradition of the British giving mundane and nonsensical names to their new military developments, the great 'bodyguard of lies' Churchill was fond of.

[@casbot71]

The contributions by *Hogwarts* are _still classified._

[@aaronseet2738]

Shhhhhh

[@Dr_le_Quack]

Hi Binkov, I’m an electronic engineer currently researching electronic warfare and I can give you the technical thumbs up on this video. Great work as always

[@Wanderer628]

The British really were the masters of electronics warfare and espionage in the war. It's almost embarrsing how outclassed Germany was.

[@tiddytoto1053]

They even invented the first usable internet system and computer. as well as their nuclear program (pre-1940) was well ahead of everyone else.

[@billhanna2148]

Yes as in a democracy at war, talent is given it's due respect but in dictatorships talent has to suffer autocrats loyal to the dictator

[@TammoKorsai]

It didn't help that the Abwehr was run by Wilhelm Canaris, who opposed the Nazis, so he deliberately disseminated faulty intelligence and got away with it for several years until the July Plot led him to being arrested along with other dissidents.

[@billhanna2148]

@@TammoKorsai Brave man that Canaris guy 👍

[@alchemist6819]

@@billhanna2148 I think in democracy too due to corruption talent is lost, not related this at all tho.

[@TeamGrimm07]

I’ve always believed Churchill to be a wizard

[@sea_emperour346]

“You’re a wizard Churchill”

[@bigballzmcdrawz2921]

I can see that.

[@davrosdarlek7058]

So Voldemort/ Grindlewald?

[@bradenatkinson6401]

churchill - "watch me disappear 2 million Indians" God damn it churchill

[@abrahamblankfein5042]

@@bradenatkinson6401 He did well to one-up disappearing 300k men in the last war.

[@F22onblockland]

U.S. and U.K: Radar Japanese and Germans: Radaren't

[@will_uxo]

Love these historical presentations, thanks Binkov!

[@reijvillelagrotbotannija2960]

Of course the brits won the wizarding war they bloody had Merlin on their side and a wizarding school Hogwarts and Harry and gang.....

[@tremedar]

That Merlin guy designed some pretty snazzy airplane engines too.

[@monsieur1936]

World in 2020: Ohh $#!t corona British in 1940s: Ohh yes Corona

[@Holammer]

This might be one of the top 5 Binkov videos. I learned so much I had no idea about.

[@sarjim4381]

The Germans developed a high speed single and double sideband submarine radio system called Kurier in August, 1944. It replaced the conventional code signals with high speed bursts of 10 words in less than a second, then switched to another frequency and sideband for another burst, and so on until the message was complete. We have examples of the transmitters but no receivers have survived It is presumed that the last character of each transmission was a data burst telling the receiver what frequency and sideband to switch to for the next message part. All German reports were this was a highly effective system, and none of the Allies ever reported being able to successfully D/F a Kurier signal. The RN and USN weren't even aware of the system until war's end. If the Germans had developed this system two years earlier it would have crippled British efforts to locate German submarines by D/F.

[@garwhittaker3743]

Yeah ww2 is FULL of what ifs.

[@JavierCR25]

People always talk about German technology during WW2, but British tech, intelligence and ingenuity was amazing too

[@juliuszkocinski7478]

People talk about it, it is said that the British brain, American industry and Russian blood won the war

[@JavierCR25]

@@juliuszkocinski7478 Firm believer of that indeed I am

[@benno19891]

Never a truer word spoken

[@icecoffee1361]

For me this is your best content you have ever created 👏🏻 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@sarthakbikrampanta8342]

That Churchill thumbnail tho 😂😂

[@Electronzap]

It is really amazing how much we advanced during WW2.

[@hansgruber788]

that's what happens when your country is on the line

[@budisoemantri2303]

Also in cold war

[@khahinmetameta7826]

The British had H2S the Germans built their own systems to detect it.

[@nicholassomers3983]

Binkov, I oftened wondered who would win in a head to head battle if The Yomato went up against The Bismarck?

[@ElkaPME]

Yamato*

[@bezahltersystemtroll5055]

Tomato*

[@Conn30Mtenor]

My dad served on Corvettes during the Battle of The Atlantic. On one of the ships that he was on there was a radar operator who before the war was a Carnie, a carnival shouter. Whenever they went to action stations he'd launch into his routine: "Now on our stage is RADAR, the wonder weapon of the ages! Spell it forwards, spell it backwards, it still spells RADAR!" I hope that the British pilot captured by the Germans who bullshitted them that the British were homing into "signals" from Metox was decorated for "Lying beyond the call of duty".

[@josepnebotrius872]

What British did very well and earlier was integrating their technology as RADAR to manage efficiently their resources during the war.

[@davidletasi3322]

My middle school teacher Mr. Charles B. Leighton was the navigator on the Memphis Belle in WWII. He was credited for developing a technique to block German Radar during bombing raids for the Americans. He was true American hero and came back to the US and taught science for decades after the war. One of the best teachers I ever had in my education.

[@nicoras8803]

as retired EC3M researcher. This was the most interesting video you have yet posted, It triggered immediate memories

[@dwaynehicks6838]

The saying Soviet blood , American money and British intelligence is very apt here.

[@v44n7]

this probably by far your best video! I am really looking forward for more, it was such a interesting topic

[@fritzfieldwrangle-clouder7299]

The RAF developed an early AWACs aircraft based on a Wellington bomber. It was only used in two brief periods of operation, first in 1941 against Condor bombers directing U boats and in 1944 against Heinkel 111s air launching V1s. I think it was quite effective but a bit Heath Robinson and development was passed to the US. There are some pictures of it that can be found through google images.

[@johnpinckney4979]

Good episode. The jamming by the otherwise off-the-air BBC-TV station earned Alexandra Palace a bomb during one raid on London. Also, there really is such a thing as a "Radar Detector Detector". They are routinely sued by traffic police in places where the possession and use of Radar Detectors is illegal. They work by looking for the "incidental radiation" from the local oscillator circuit of the Radar detector.

[@nottherealpaulsmith]

In that case, when can we expect the radar detector detector detector?

[@gma729]

ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO BINKOV. GREAT SUBJECT MATTER !! YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE !!!. WELL DONE !!!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Katzenkotze85]

Really one of your best videos with a lot of "new in-depth informations! :D Great work!

[@danielriley9206]

The Germans should have ate more carrots

[@colm9419]

Just one pedantic comment; the channel islands aren't under German occupation on the map in video, when in reality they were actually the last pieces of German held territory to surrender.

[@JoeMama-sy8ty]

and the isle of man

[@colm9419]

@@JoeMama-sy8ty No.

[@Doochos]

@@JoeMama-sy8ty no it wasn't

[@JoeMama-sy8ty]

@@Doochos that's not what I mean, it's not colored in red like it's supposed to be

[@Doochos]

@@JoeMama-sy8ty ah, yes. My mistake

[@rokadaprliinnysystemyaczno4761]

A very good episode. Very comprehensive and we'll researched video. Well done.

[@justbecause3187]

The engenuity of this tech battle is astonishing, an epic game of one-upmanship. Brilliant video!

[@nicoras8803]

Aren't it all wars (business), It is about interception and counter measure. When the sheep eats your flowers, put up a fence, when they learn how to circumvent, you tie red ribbons on them, when they ignore it, you electrify it

[@Russo-Delenda-Est]

"You're a wizard Winston."

[@rare_kumiko]

Really interesting video! I kinda feel it could have maybe been split into two or three videos to study all systems a bit more in depth, but of course I understand that's a lot more work for you.

[@Gollumfili]

Wow, what a video! So glad I found it. Always found the ww2 radar aspect so fascinating.

[@johntrottier1162]

You completely ignored the contributions made by the United States during the war. The cavity magnitron was invented in England as you stated, but Great Britain did not have the resources needed to perfect it and get it into mass production. They sent sample of their magnitron to the USA, where a crash program, operating out of MIT and with priorities equal to the Manhattan Project, was set up. The result of this collaboration was the mass production of many of the technologies you described. There was one huge development in Radar Tech you skipped over entirely. The radar proximity fuse was developed in the United States and supplied to Great Britain during the war. At first, the fuses could only used by on ships operating at sea, to insure that they could not be retrieved and duplicated by the enemy. But when the Germans began hitting England with V1 buzz bombs, the fuses were supplied to the English and American AA batteries, saving many lives.

[@frenstcht]

According to several sources, the myth that carrots are good for vision comes from WWII. After the first nighttime downing of a German plane by a RAF fighter using radar, the British kept it secret by telling the press that the pilot had great night vision from eating carrots.

[@richardvernon317]

Old Cat's Eyes Cunningham. Met him back in the 1980s.

[@frenstcht]

@@richardvernon317 Cool!

[@michelangeloceccardi3871]

I've seen dozens of videos covering this topic, but it's binkov, one just gotta see it

[@navigator100group2]

Then there was 100 Group which were RAF equipped B17 and B24 liberators which were fly radio counter measure, from September 1944 flying out of Oulton, 223 Squadron (B24 Liberators) setting out to attract the German night fighters by turning on their Monica sets, jostle jamming ground radar. (My farther was a Navigator in 223 Squadron.)

[@99jean88]

Fun to think that a project, in hindsight, a waste of public resource , would actually bring the discovery of a game changer tech.

[@cz1589]

Very interesting , thanks! Only these notes: the German nightfighters were efficient enough to force the British to cease bombing operations for some time after serious losses. Needless to say it was not only about tech, but also about resources and industrial power - not to mention the lack of oil for the Germans to lose the war. Still, the British ingenuity was without doubt great.

[@EpicAOEsRealm]

Excellent video,very educational :D

[@jframing5528]

That was the best video I’ve watched on this channel 🤙

[@bigbootros4362]

It really was our finest hour. The media, including KZbinrs, always under play the amazing role Britain played with defeating the Nazi war machine. Always downplaying it or even overlooking it entirely. I'm glad this video was accurate and respectful.

[@w925gaming6]

Big Bootros yeah it’s only the Americans online in actual care for understanding our role

[@DOSFS]

US won by Industry USSR won by blood UK won by intelligent All nations are as important as other in their own right, British did amazingly well with their ingenuity despite thier limited manpower and industry.

[@davidegaruti2582]

The UK and the USSR did 80 to 90% of the job in defeating germany , then the US came and took 50% of the credit , the cold war should have been the common wealth vs the USSR

[@sleeexs]

@@davidegaruti2582 Didn't the USSR soldiers rape a lot of german women?

[@bigbootros4362]

@@DOSFS Don't get me wrong, I mean in no way Britain did it alone. Many nations and immensely heroic individuals all play an amazing role destroying the evil Nazi Germany war machine. I just think that in the media, in movies and by KZbinrs, the extraordinary role Britain played is overlooking, downplayed and ignored.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

It's amazing really to think that although the British had their Empire helping them, they were still alone for about a year against all of continental Europe and in Asia and Africa. Give them some credit. All of continental Europe hostile to Britain and it didn't surrender. Thank God for the channel huh

[@MrTangolizard]

When u dig a little deeper into what the U.K. did in ww2 it’s pretty amazing the sheer scale of there contribution but people like to down play it as if the U.K. was a minor player

[@charlie729]

Yer a wizard, Winston

[@msmith7341]

What did you use for your sources on this video. It's super interesting and I'd love to get more in the weeds. Is there a specific book on in maybe?

[@mtpaley1]

Read "A Most Secret War" by R.V. Jones

[@swedishandenglishmeatballs4558]

Very good video once again!

[@billhanna2148]

Thank you 🙏 for your work 👍 it's an excellent succinct informative flawless video 👍👍👍

[@andrewdewar8159]

I think the British had a bomber guidance system called Oboe. I think they would head dashes is off couse one way and dots if off course the other way. Or something ?

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

This aspect of WWII isn't really talk about much great video on it

[@missk1697]

When I saw the thumbnail, I thought its gonna be something more-or-less like "how discovery of The Force from StarWars would change WW2"

[@darrena5384]

God damn the brits are smart

[@joshuapartridge5092]

not anymore. now they are just posh.

[@alfiehurst7049]

@Joshua Partridge although you kinda right about a lot of brits are done the average American is more posh then the average Brit for sure

[@alfiehurst7049]

Dumb*

[@joshuapartridge5092]

@@alfiehurst7049 bahaha try living in arkansas or the states adjacent

[@konanLastchance]

@@joshuapartridge5092 yeh we’ve fallen behind a shit ton😅

[@ogulcanalpsoy1320]

Didnt know there were this much of electronical warfare(I dont know if it is the precise term) in the ww2

[@IanSparkes]

RV Jones wrote a book called The Wizard War. It is an fantastic book

[@amramjose]

A couple of really great books about its development and application during war, "Radar, the invention that won WWII" and "Most secret War".

[@informationcollectionpost3257]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@westham7016]

that was a sick segue to promo

[@IrishCarney]

13:47 Ha, that's a picture of Kammhuber in the uniform of the postwar, pro-US/-UK West German Luftwaffe, not the WW2-era Luftwaffe.

[@oS2006DE]

"Military Intelligence!" people would derisively snort, not knowing anything about this...

[@subtitleaddict5343]

ASEAN VS CHINA EU vs OIC(Organization of Islamic Cooperation)

[@Brightrich26]

Last time I was this early, this video had a Me-110 instead of a 262 on the thumbnail.

[@garwhittaker3743]

The first integrated air defence system in the world ...There's a few good documentaries on KZbin about this electronic War called Battle of the beams.

[@greggougeon4422]

You forgot canada had a huge fleet protecting the convoys

[@loyalist5736]

@@SoCalCycleLawyer Give up ...Canada where the first country to back us a declare war on Germany. ...they are our true family and friends .

[@loyalist5736]

@@SoCalCycleLawyer Well Canada often don't get the respect they deserve and your comment seems to show little respect .

[@sirxavior1583]

@13:28. Operation Biting, Turns out the Radio Technician didn't actually know anything about radar and was sent there as an operator as punishment. The Würzburg Radar was designed so that that anyone with minimal training and understanding could operate it. As a result the British developed window. I think its easy to develop a countermeasure to radar if the troops operating don't care or minimally trained.

[@nicoras8803]

It is how any military works, It must be designed for an enlisted man with a little practical, savvy - a farmer. Technology is not hard, implementation is and had to be performed it high speed and super secrecy. Recal how your first TV remote control worked. Just as you grasped the operation, video recorders appeared. I was relearning al you know. Now imagine cellular phone apps, any 5-year-old masters them in a few minutes,

[@hq3473]

Magic wins wars.

[@MajinOthinus]

This ignores some major uses of RADAR on the german side, including the countermeasure to window (and rope), and such things as IFF transponders and the RADAR homing on german night fighters.

[@wouterkootstra9972]

Komissar Binkov? Your ww2 map is a bit weird with Koningsberg/Kaliningrad splitted, while Germany had it before ww2 started ;)

[@huddeb1712]

You should make a video of Sweden vs the baltic nations. I think that would be a very interesting video

[@forthrightgambitia1032]

What do you have against the Isle of Wight?

[@claspe1049]

Engineers of Victory has a great Chapter on this.

[@AgentEarthling]

2:49 I love how they put a question mark over the sheep's head as well. As if the sheep was wondering "Ooh! I wonder if I can distract them from making a death ray to kill me..."

[@LarsAgerbk]

this video deserves more views

[@nicolasboissiere]

Loved the lil effects animation on the water!

[@Naval-Gazing]

6:42 Coventry, not Birmingham was the target for Operation Moonlight Sonata.

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

He didnt say it was?

[@g8ymw]

We made a mistake with the jamming of X-Gerait. We transmitted the wrong audio tone, the Germans filter on their receiver was so narrow, they didn't hear us and Coventry paid the price

[@Naval-Gazing]

@@g8ymw Interesting. Do you have a url?

[@g8ymw]

@@Naval-Gazing Alas no, I read it in "Practical Wireless" about 40 years ago. My user id is my amateur radio call sign and I do have an interest in WW2 and the to-ing and fro-ing technology wise between the Axis and the Allies. btw X-Gerait was thought of as a bigger headache than Knickerbein so a stronger analgesic was needed. The countermeasure was called "Bromide" Don't you love British humour!

[@Naval-Gazing]

@@g8ymw Yeah, I do love the Brits' quirky humor. 40-years ago!? Admirable memory. You've probably read RV Jones' "The Most Secret War". I was horrified that, believing that the transmission would bring them luck, bomber pilots insisted on leaving their IFF signals on over Germany. It shows the technological naivete of those for whom technology was akin to magic.

[@andrasbeke3012]

Are you done making country 1v1s?

[@notlogical4016]

kinda a crazy suggestion, but what about the entire modern US vs the rest of the world but ww2 or ww1 whatever you think would be better.

[@thetechoasis2179]

the US as mighty as they are have No chance against the world, USA vs EU ( plus Britain this scenario ) would be more fitting. ( though i can't see the UK joining the EU in the fight for obvious reasons )

[@devinhallsworth5531]

At the start of WW2 radios for communications werent even that wide spread in frances army

[@mtpaley1]

Read R.V. Jones's "Most Secret War" - he almost claims to have won WW2 by himself but it is still a very good and informative read.

[@turningpoint4238]

What about the use of radar to aid landing, Arthur C Clarke.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

As a part two to this video, you should do radar fused proximity shells. Another Wizard weapon from the second world war, the VT Fuze. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximity_fuze#World_War_II

[@khahinmetameta7826]

The sheer amount ECW, both by British and Germans can still be seen today. The best use is in red storm rising.

[@NotVeryRandomDude]

0:00 Why is Königsberg controlled by the Soviets?

[@dixiefish0173]

So Hitler skipped wizard 🧙‍♂️class 👩‍🏫 well no wonder germany lost the war...

[@searchtron7601]

Emoticon opinator

[@lorenzoo90]

Why did you say that Radio Waves are not weapons when they are a weapon Admiral?

[@jc.1191]

Microwaves are offensive capable

[@claspe1049]

Now I want to see a Potterverse movie on WW 2.

[@jarrodyuki7081]

layers and mediums to engage the enemy.

[@TheUstasha101]

British and German wizards seemed pretty even in terms of skill and creativity, however British intelligence was on another level (compare to any nation in ww2), they also had help form America (meaning more money and fresh talent) and still where forced to use commandos to steal German radar. The Germans also had a handicap of having Göring in charge and many inner rivalries. My point being I like your video but, your final conclusion is bit off.

[@loyalist5736]

Intelligence is everything in war ...intelligence is a massive force multiplier.

[@AngelSamael]

How would it have affected the battle of Britain had Germany used chaff from the start?

[@loyalist5736]

Chaff don't work well against the largest and most powerful Navy in the world .

[@paulinecabbed1271]

Chaff known as Window wasn’t used until later in the war II RC, and even then it was very rarely used

[@hotmechanic222]

stephen baldwin is an actor the prime minster was stanley baldwin

[@Gussyboy06]

I knew Churchill was related to Dumbledore

[@user-su7zc4lh5v]

Binkov’s Battlegrounds what will happen if cubans will reveal their government that will be an amazing topic many people want to see it

[@mrabdou3569]

15:30 mm that is confusing

[@nobleman9393]

Roman Empire vs Mordor

[@searchtron7601]

Very interesting

[@shaider1982]

Incidentally, the MiG25's radar supposedly could kill rabbits from some distance.

[@davidfox2056]

Please do Italy vs Turkey

[@bubiruski8067]

Besides text of a book: Chain Home was in many ways technically inferior to German radar developments, but the better German technology came at a cost. The simpler Chain Home stations provided comprehensive coverage by the start of the Battle of Britain, whereas the Germans had only commissioned around eight of their Freya stations by this time. Although simple, Chain Home could determine distance and direction of incoming aircraft formations. The method was called Radio Direction Finding (RDF), later called "radar" (RAdio Direction And Ranging) in the U.S. Most stations were also able to measure the angle of elevation of the formation, which, together with the range, gave the height; local geography prevented some stations from measuring elevation. Although not originally a design goal, the operators became very adept at estimating the size of detected formations from the shape of the displayed returns.

[@bezahltersystemtroll5055]

07:33 Fug :DDD

[@boomaxe7]

I liked when they suggested bombing Derby 😂

[@iain5615]

Ultra was the cracking the enigma code and in reality was not of practical use until 1941 after the battle of Britain.

[@user-YuHaoHuang]

from these electronics, you can see why ww2 warplanes are actually incredibly expensive.