222 - The D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations

Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid on the coast of France, was a disaster in 1942. However, it did highlight the need for more reconnaissance before any other amphibious operations were mounted.

In London, a small group of eccentric researchers, experimenting on themselves from inside pressure tanks in the middle of the London air raids, explored the deadly science needed to enable the critical reconnaissance vessels and underwater breathing apparatuses that would enable the Allies’ future amphibious landings, specifically D-Day.

Joining me today is Dr Rachel Lance.

Rachel is an Assistant Consulting Professor at Duke University, where she conducts research out of their Hyperbaric Medicine facility. She is also the author of Chamber Divers: The Untold Story of the D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations Forever.

[mattwilliams]

She is perhaps the most enthusiastic and happy guest I’ve heard on the podcast. Thank you both for a wonderful program.

[benwilson]

I met one of the men who surveyed the D Day beaches four years ago, , he turned a 100 and had just written his memoirs!