With 1940s-era recording, broadcast and receiving equipment, it seems extremely unlikely that any such differences could be measured accurately enough to be usable. But in practice it seems that the differences are subtle and add up only over large distances. Weather conditions like temperature, humidity and air pressure do affect sound propagation, and by comparing successive Big Ben broadcasts it might have been possible to get useful information about how these conditions were changing. In terms of physics, the idea is possible - in theory. Knowing the weather over London would be useful for the Luftwaffe. Meteorological observations over enemy-controlled areas were important for planning operations (one U-boat crew even set up an automated weather station on the Labrador coast). Is it true?Īt first glance, it's plausible.
When the British Secret Service discovered this, they replaced the live broadcast with a set recording of the famous clock. This information offered invaluable help to the Luftwaffe. Ingenious German physicists found a way to determine the weather conditions in London based on tiny differences in the tone of the broadcast ding-dongs.
Each news programme opened with a live broadcast of Big Ben tolling the hour - the magical sound of freedom. As part of a discussion about the worldwide syncronisation of time, Yuval Noah Harari writes:ĭuring World War Two, BBC News was broadcast to Nazi-occupied Europe.
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