OP BITING Memorial Plaque

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Reference WMO/267531

Address:

Race Control Building

Thruxton Motor Racing Circuit

Thruxton

SP11 8PN

England

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Status: On original site
Type: Non freestanding
Location: External
Setting: Attached to a building/structure
Description: Board/Plaque/ Tablet
Materials:
  • Metal Brass
Lettering: Inscribed on a plaque
Conflicts:
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
About the memorial: Geographical Marker: Memorial plaque on the wall of the Control Tower at Thruxton airfield remembers all those who participated in Operation Biting which took place on 27-28 February 1942 – which including assets of Bomber Command. This Combined Forces operation involved several Whitley’s of 51 Sqn Bomber Command led by Wg Cdr “Pick” Pickard flying across the Channel to drop by parachute, “C” Company 2nd Parachute Battalion led by Maj John Frost the target was a German Wurzburg radar installation on the cliffs at Bruneval on the French Coast. Accompanied by Flt Sgt Fox, a RAF radar technician, the mission was to dismantle and seize elements of the radar system for analysis. On completion of the raid the survivors withdrew to the nearby beach where under the support of 12 Commando Royal Marines, Royal Navy Landing Craft safely evacuated the troops The aircraft and personnel departed from RAF Thruxton near Andover and with minimal casualties, successfully “liberated” several parts of the Wurzburg radar and brought them back to England for scientific investigation along with a captured German radar technician. Once the Wurzburg parts were analysed, British radar technicians developed the countermeasure that became known as “Window”. Subsequently promoted, Gp Capt “Pick” Pickard DSO**, DFC was killed in action along with his Navigator when his Mosquito was shot down by a FW190 during Operation Jericho – the raid on the Amiens Prison on 18/02/44 Also later promoted, Lt Col John Frost was to enter the annals of British military history as the OC of 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, where he and his men bravely held the north end of the Arnhem Bridge during the epic but flawed Operation Market-Garden made famous by the book and film “A Bridge Too Far”.
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