Am aware that SOE used the Eureka Beacon system. Would be interested in finding out more about this and would be grateful for any pointers. Specifically what equipment was used when. Models am particularly interested in are: British Mk3b American PPN2 Also interested to know how much the S-Phone was and how successful in operational use. Am aware it was used by the XXIII Independent Parachute Company in Italy (became 1st Ind Para Platoon for Op Dragoon). Cheers Tim
PN2 (etc): US (Eureka) WWII Radar & Comm Equipment Extracted from above, Countermeasures: (1945) Graphic Survey of Radio and Radar Equipment Used by the Army Air Forces - Section 1 - Countermeasures Equipment
In Norway, Denmark Holland and France there were Eureka Beacons in place to assist the dropping of supplies to the resistance. Some of these beacons were fixed others deployed as required. SOE Agents who did the Air Landing Course were taught the use and maintenance or Eureka in the field. The S Phone came in an Air and a Naval variety and saw extensive use from late 1943 onwards.
In Norway, Denmark Holland and France there were Eureka Beacons in place to assist the dropping of supplies to the resistance. Some of these beacons were fixed others deployed as required. SOE Agents who did the Air Landing Course were taught the use and maintenance or Eureka in the field. The S Phone came in an Air and a Naval variety and saw extensive use from late 1943 onwards. Possibly should be more specific - the basic concepts of the use of such equipment is something am sufficiently familiar with. However, I have never been able to nail down exactly when which items of kit came into service and who used them. The PPN1 and PPN1-1A appear to be more used by Army Pathfinders, the British Mk1 and Mk2 Eurekas as well, though there are the Mk2 F and C variants which appear to have been set up to work automatically as some form of IFF using a coding unit and in some cases a mains psu. For Operations such as Dragoon and Varsity, Air Corridors were set up using Eureka Beacons at known fixed locations to ensure the aircraft got to the final run-in more or less on target, with the Parachute Pathfinder units going in in advance to set up the final beacon... with the PPN1 or PPN1/1-A for Dragoon. The Mk3B (not sure if there was a 3A) seems to have had a waist belt similar to the S-Phone, but not sure who used this, how or when. Likewise the PPN2 appears to have been manufactured in 1944, but then I can find no evidence who used them and where... although quite a lot of batteries exist with US Navy markings and dates in the early 1950s. Cheers Tim
PN2 (etc): US (Eureka) WWII Radar & Comm Equipment Countermeasures: (1945) Graphic Survey of Radio and Radar Equipment Used by the Army Air Forces - Section 1 - Countermeasures Equipment Great links - not seen them before - thanks Tim
Don't know if it helps, the Directorate of Research, Development and Supply developed and manufactured Eureka systems largely in house. Always in short supply, I have the Jeds and SOE-led circuits in France using them and SOE/resistance use in Italy, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands (where they were likely compromised in Nordpole/Englanderspeil). In Yugoslavia, the SOE/BATs teams used them. The SOE offered their use in Poland but the government in exile and the RAF rejected it.
As a bit of a follow up, I was rooting about in OSS X2 files looking at links to SOE FSS involvement. Seems Eureka/Rebecca were compromised by 43 and possibly used by axis to meacon aircraft to false drops. While possible, this would suggest German foreknowledge of potential dz to within a cep of @60 mi. In another snippet, RAF claims to have ddeveloped systems and showed them to SOE which then in turn did some mods for their uses.
