R. V. Jones (1911–1997)

Most Secret War is an account of British scientific intelligence in the Second World War, by it's foremost practitioner R.V. Jones, and is all around stunning. Jones was vital in a series of major turning points, and he's an engaging raconteur with deep insight into the messy busy of technical intelligence and bureaucratic infighting.

Only 28 years old, R.V. Jones was coming off a lackluster career in experimental physics, focusing on infrared detection of aircraft, when the outbreak of war show more in Europe catapulted him into a key role. A little thinking would show that in industrial total war, technology and applied science could be decisive, and while the British had a system for using their own scientists to advantage, most notably demonstrated in the Chain Home radar system, there was no central branch in charge of figuring out what the Nazis were up to, and how to foil it. Jones was it, with a skeleton staff and little formal authority.

Fortunately, he had the right background, with a wide knowledge of science, especially radio physics, and the tricky soul of an inveterate practical joker. Jones' first break was the discovery of a system of radio navigation beams aimed at England, which would allow the Luftwaffe to bomb accurately at night. While the Spitfire and Hurricanes could hold on by day, there were no effective night fighters in British service at the time. In a tense meeting with Churchill and the war cabinet, Jones conclusive demonstrated the existence of the 'beams', and a plan to bend them by generating false signals, showing up older and more senior scientific advisors Lindemann and Tizard.

While Jones made mistakes, including a careless oversight on guidance tones that he believes lead to the destruction of Coventry, his efforts blunted Luftwaffe night attacks. The next step was to figure out how to carry the war to Germany. Bomber command believed that traditional navigation techniques of dead reckoning and stellar fixes were sufficient to hit a city, but evidence piled up showing bombers were missing targets by miles, and losses were unsustainable. Jones developed techniques to foil the radar systems of the Kammhuber Line and direct Pathfinder crews to their targets. Even so, Bomber command had terrible radio discipline, and crews were lost unnecessarily. A particular pernicious pilot's tale was that the British IFF system acted as a jammer, when in fact the Nazis had figured out how to use it as a beacon, unerringly directing their defenses onto hapless bombers.

The final major battle was with the V-1 and V-2 missiles. Jones had been tracking the development of these weapons at Peenemunde, and had guessed their capabilities and effects with astounding accuracy. In one particular feat of guesswork, he figured that the V-1 would be used operationally on D-Day +7, with the first missiles hitting on June 13th, one week after the landings. Again, the more senior scientific establishment disagreed with Jones's claim, with effective countermeasures bounding up in useless committee meetings, and overseen by the incompetent Duncan Sandys, Chruchill's son-in-law. The V-1 could be intercepted and shot down, but there was no counter against the ballistic V-2 except conquering all launching sites.

Postwar, Jones was forced out of intelligence in bureaucratic turf fight, his job taken over by ineffective committees. He wound up with a chair at the University of Aberdeen and a host of decorations, which is solid for someone who had thought he had burnt his bridges with the academy years before, though less than he deserved. He returned to public service irregularly, continuing his friendship with Churchill, who saw him as a straight shooter who delivered the goods when others were wrong.

This is a long book, but it's full of delightful details and easy-to-grasp explanations of technical matters. The insights into bureaucracy, the difficulties of figuring out what is actually going on, and the importance of horizontal networks among the people who actually get things, are eternal. While Jones wields a hatchet against his seniors, he is unstinting in his praise of the people who made his work possible, the Resistance spies, photo-recon pilots, and signals analysts who gathered the raw intelligence. This is a top tier memoir and history in its detail, analysis, and quality of writing.

And one historiographic note. Jones cites David Irving in several places. At the time this book was written, Irving was known as a solid historian and expert on the Luftwaffe, who's pro-German bias didn't impact the validity of his data. Irving's discrediting as a holocaust denier didn't occur until several years after Most Secret War was published. show less

I started reading this book with no other expectations than to be a little wiser and entertained at the same time. But ended up with a feeling of having read one of the best and most vivid accounts of WWII I have ever read.

The subject – scientific intelligence – may seem a bit ‘dry’, but in this book it is not. Deductions becomes an art, compiling, filtering and picking the right intelligence a virtue and – in this case – to be a survivor in ‘bloodless tribal wars’ (Walt show more Rostow) among scientists a must. If I was in any doubt that the ‘tech war’ of WWII in Europe was on the edge all the time, I am not anymore.

I can only recommend this book fully as a solid foundation for anyone who read about the WWII air battles over Great Britain and Germany as well as the V1 and V2 weapons. show less

A fascinating insight into the inner workings of British scientific intelligence during the second world war. Jones is somewhat defensive for the first half of the book, excusing himself for not having taken part in direct action; in the latter half, his series of achievements makes it quite clear that he achieved more than most individuals ever will (no matter how heroic). The methodical approach to intelligence gathering, virtues of having a single mind surveying the scene and the show more importance of "soft skills" are all vividly and informatively recounted. The whole work is shot through with brilliant digressions, anecdotes and fragments of true history - the contrasts and parallels with Churchill's own war diaries are illuminating. show less

Dr. R. V. Jones was a British physicist who worked in Scientific Intelligence during WW II. He was at the forefront of the battle against German radar, tracking beams for German bombers, V 1 flying bombs & V 2 rockets. He is credited with the idea of dropping "window" to confuse German radar.

Far from being a boring technical manual, Jones wrote a volume full of gossip, humour and adventure. He was a close confidant of Churchill and other leaders of the period and tells much about what went show more on behind the scenes. I found it a real page turner. show less