Wartime Fake Sheffield, decoys and starfish

[flyer 10]

Part of our Army training (mid-east 1950 -53) was to lay out fake anything,rubber guns tanks etc all cover with netting, we set up 400miles south in the desert which is a very long way in sand,I can't quite remember the name of the pilot who broke the sound barrier in his "Hunter" (was it Duke) but he & his three buddies took 4 min to find and destroy us by showering us with toilet paper well that came in handy:hihi::hihi:

[Spruce 10]

Don't forget that the city would have been 'blacked-out' and this was just supposed to look like the partial lights seen from the railway sidings or a furnace or a tram line.

 

I still dont get this, would they ask people to turn there lights out at a certain time so these beacons would/could fool the Luftaffe, surely in a surprise attack your stumped with no time to respond. I know Sheffield took a few big hits during the war but what was the success ratio of this brilliant piece of inginuity?

 

Best thread on the forum by a country mile.

[soft ayperth 11]

I grew up in post war Sheffield believing that the Sheffield blitz did so much damage to the city shopping core because the allies had broken the German communications code and had advance warning that the blitz was coming. Rather than reveal that the code had been broken, the steelworks were told lights out, shops were told to leave their lights on and take the hit. In other words, the shopping district served as a decoy to the more valuable steel works. The lesser of the evils. Anyone know if there was any truth to this?

[Plain Talker 11]

I still dont get this, would they ask people to turn there lights out at a certain time so these beacons would/could fool the Luftaffe, surely in a surprise attack your stumped with no time to respond. I know Sheffield took a few big hits during the war but what was the success ratio of this brilliant piece of inginuity?

 

Best thread on the forum by a country mile.

 

spruce,

 

The blackout was enforced pretty much en-bloc, nationwide, in order that the enemy planes could not identify where they were flying over. Of course this didn't help a great deal, in the event of a clear night/ full moon.

 

As soon as dusk began to fall, as far as was practical, all lights were extinguished or sheilded, so as not to attract attention. Windows were covered with thick material which prevented any light escaping. Air raid ardens would patrol streets, not just to observe for enemy aircraft, but also to ensure that the blackout was observed, and people were subjected to fines if they persisted in letting light show.

[buck 11]

My gran once told me that they went and lit candles in the woods near Eckington (adults, not children) as some sort of diversion for bombers.

Wasn't Sheffield only bombed a few times though?

Sheffield suffered two major raids on December 12th and 15th 1940. There were several minor raids before and after with either few or no deaths. I can remember bombs falling around Templeborough just before the blitzes which shattered a lot of windows, but no injuries. The Germans resorted to single low level fighter bomber attacks but not around Sheffield. No V1 or v2 episodes.

[Tony 10]

Spruce, the blackout was in place daily, but I don't think that these sites were especially scientific, just fingers crossed decoys.

 

It seems that there were a few of these Starfish sites around Sheffield, including another at Thorpe Salvin and one in the north. It's a fascinating idea and when you've seen the ground from a few thousand feet up it's easy to realise why they thought it might just work.

 

It wasn't just the front line that won the War.

[buck 11]

Hardly a stray - the night (Thursday 12/12) the Marples was hit so was much of the Wicker, High street and the Moor. The whole raid had overshot the target - they came back on Sunday night and managed to get it mostly right

There was a theory that the stick of bombs that destroyed the Marples also set fire to Walsh's. That set fire to some trams parked there and those fires acted as a beacon to the other raiders. There was very little damage to any steel works. Fitzalan Square and the Moor were not exactly strategic targets.

[Annoni_mouse 10]

Sheffield suffered two major raids on December 12th and 15th 1940. There were several minor raids before and after with either few or no deaths. I can remember bombs falling around Templeborough just before the blitzes which shattered a lot of windows, but no injuries. The Germans resorted to single low level fighter bomber attacks but not around Sheffield. No V1 or v2 episodes.

 

Although, my mother always insists that one of her only memories of the Second World War was watching a doodlebug flying high over their houses (destination Manchester?)

[Spruce 10]

Thanks muchly for answering my queries, if anyone can elaborate Id be very grateful.

[buck 11]

Although, my mother always insists that one of her only memories of the Second World War was watching a doodlebug flying high over their houses (destination Manchester?)

Yes that is true,I was sorry I never saw it but it would have made my day. I meant that none of them struck Sheffield. Manchester is on a direct flight line from the French coast over Sheffield.

[8751 10]

Its doubtful how much these visual decoys would have been in protecting the city as by late 1940 the Luftwaffe was using specialist pathfinder units who had radio target finding aids called Knickbein and X-Garat. These were jammed by the British but this didn't always work. The pathfinder units would use these aids to find the target then drop markers which the following bombers would try to bomb their bombs on to.

 

Incidentally despite searching I have never come across any decent history of the air side of the Sheffield blitz. Has anyone ever come any book or document about this ? i.e which units were involved , losses , RAF nightfighter activity etc etc.

[Mantaspook 14]

Yes that is true,I was sorry I never saw it but it would have made my day. I meant that none of them struck Sheffield. Manchester is on a direct flight line from the French coast over Sheffield.

 

The doodlebugs that flew over Sheffield on Christmas Eve 1944 were launched over the North Sea by modified Heinkel 111’s of 1/KG53.

 

My father told me that he saw two of them fly over in quick sucession on their way to their intended target of Manchester, (can anyone verify this?) you can check out more information about the air launced V1’s on this excellent site

 

There is also a link to the Marples bombing including some interesting photos of old war damaged Sheffield.