Customer Reviews

Instruments of Darkness: The History of Electronic Warfare, 1939-1945

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alfred Price, a career EW himself, wrote the original version of this work in 1967 when much of what he covers was still shrouded in official secrecy and myth. This book, revised twice since then, has stood the test of time and remains one of the great efforts on the subject of Electronic Warfare in the Second World War.
The majority of the coverage is on the electronic war between England and Nazi Germany as they developed competing systems to aid their respective bombing campaigns and the countermeasures that arose in the form of improved aerial radars and passive reception devices. It's strengths include interviews with many of the participants in this obscure form of combat and the amount of information provided on the incredible array of devices and gadgets developed for electronic combat between 1939 and 1945.Although he does have several chapters covering US work and the Pacific War, these areas are better covered in the series he later wrote on US EW History for the Association of Old Crows. Over 60 years later the basics of EW really haven't changed, which makes this book still important reading for anyone interested in the dark arts of electronic warfare.

Alfred Price offers another well researched,easy to follow, history of airborne electronic warfare, during World War II in the European theater. The strength of the book is that he threads the many personalities and issues associated with conducting electronic warfare into a engaging narrative. The focus is on the Royal Air Force's Bomber Commands efforts agains the Luftwaffe's air defense of the Third Reich. The US Army Air Force's daylight bombing campaign has some brief mentions, but not in any significant depth. I can easily recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic for they will enjoy a well written and presented study of the topic.

This is a truly great book about electronic warfare. Details many jammers/radars/Nav-aids/ESMs etc used during WWII, primarily those used by the UK and Germany. The stories are informative, with just the right amount of detail and are occasionally humorous. The Pacific theatre is also covered, though in less detail (as there was less going on there EW wise).

This book has maintained its relevance, as the EW practices employed back then are still practiced today. The constant battle between ES/EA/EP is prevalent in this book; and it remains so today.

I also recommend purchasing Most Secret War by R V Jones.

A very well done book about what was going on behind the scenes in WW2. Most interesting.

This book dwells mostly on RAF activity in the European theater in WWII. I greatly enjoyed this book but it is far from a complete history of WWII EW. Army/Navy activity is only barely examined (UK or anybody) and US activity is also lightly treated.

There are some surprises in this book: any information about WWII Japanese RADAR systems is rare, and there are a few pages regarding the Japanese efforts. There is also quick review of the RADAR fuse for the first atomic bomb deliveries.