Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation

2025-01-04T11:12:28Z

148.252.24.245: /* Testing of FIDO */ changed incorrect “Marshall” to Marshal

{{Short description|System used for fog dispersion}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
[[File:IWM-CH-15271-FIDO-Lancaster-Gravely.jpg|thumb|upright 1.2|{{center|FIDO in operation at [[RAF Graveley]], May 1945}}]]

'''Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation''' ('''FIDO''') (which was sometimes referred to as "Fog Intense Dispersal Operation" or "Fog, Intense Dispersal Of") was a system used for dispersing [[fog]] and [[pea soup fog]] (dense [[smog]]) from an airfield so that aircraft could land safely. The device was developed by [[Arthur Hartley]] for [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[bomber]] stations, allowing the landing of aircraft returning from raids over [[Germany]] in poor visibility by burning fuel in rows on either side of the runway.

The FIDO system was developed at the department of chemical engineering of the [[University of Birmingham]], United Kingdom, during the Second World War. The invention of FIDO is formally attributed to Dr John David Main-Smith, an ex-Birmingham resident and principal scientific officer of the Chemistry Department of the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] at [[Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough]], Hampshire, and as a courtesy the joint-patent (595,907) held by the [[Ministry of Supply]] was shared by the department head Dr Ramsbottom as was normal practice at the time. This formal government recognition is enshrined in an [[Air Ministry]] postwar letter to the late inventor's late widow and held by his son, Bruce Main-Smith (February 2008). It also deals with the lesser role of those developing support equipment, notably the FIDO burner.

"It is my memory", writes Bruce Main-Smith, "that much of the airfield installation was pioneered at Hartford Bridge Flats airfield (aka [[Blackbushe Airport|Blackbushe]] near [[Yateley]], Surrey {{sic}}) a convenient few miles from the RAE's Farnborough aerodrome." Though J. D. Main-Smith co-owned the FIDO patent, no royalties accrued from any UK civilian usage after World War II, its being too petrol-hungry. At an attempt to quantify the saving of aircrew life, Bruce Main-Smith suggests possibly 11,000 airmen but not all would be fit to fly again.

{{quote|It is difficult for the modern (2008) UK resident to comprehend what World War II fogs were like. It was not uncommon for a person to be unable to see the hand at the end of an outstretched arm.

The post-war [[Clean Air Act 1956|Clean Air Act]] hugely ameliorated UK fogs.|source=B. Main-Smith}}

==The system==
The device consisted of two pipelines situated along both sides of the runway and through which a fuel (usually the [[aviation gasoline|petrol]] from the airfield's own fuel dump) was pumped along and then out through burner jets positioned at intervals along the pipelines. The vapours were lit from a series of burners, producing walls of flame. The FIDO installation usually stored its fuel in four circular upright tanks built at the edge of the airfield with a low brick bund wall in case of leakage. The tanks were usually encased in ordinary brickwork as protection from bomb splinters or cannon fire.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

When fog prevented returning Allied aircraft from locating and seeing their runways to land, they would be diverted to FIDO equipped aerodromes. RAF night bombers which were damaged on their missions were also diverted to FIDO airfields due to the need to make certain they could land when they arrived. When FIDO was needed, the fuel pumps were started to pour flammable liquid into the pipe system and a Jeep with a flaming brand lashed to its rear drove fast down both sides of the runway to ignite the fuel at the outlets in the pipes. The burners were sometimes ignited by men on bicycles or by runners on foot.<ref>Williams (1995) p.184</ref> The result was a row of flame along the side of the runway that would warm the air. The heat from the flames evaporated suspended fog droplets so that there would be a clearing in the fog directly over the runway. This allowed the pilot to see the ground as he attempted to put his aircraft down. Once landed, the planes would be moved off and dispersed to [[hard stand|hard stands]]. The next day the planes would be repaired if needed, refueled and flown back to their home base.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

==The procedure for aircrew before the introduction of FIDO==
Before the introduction of FIDO, fog had been responsible for losses of a number of aircraft returning from operations. Often large areas of the [[United Kingdom|UK]] would be simultaneously fog-bound and it was recommended procedure in these situations for the pilot to point the aircraft towards the sea and then, while still over land, for the crew to bail-out by parachute, leaving the aircraft to subsequently crash in the sea. With raids often consisting of several hundred aircraft, this could amount to a large loss of bombers.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

== Testing of FIDO ==
An experimental FIDO system was first tested at Moody Down, Hampshire, on 4 November 1942 and 200 yards of dense fog was successfully cleared to a height of 80 feet. The first full scale FIDO system was installed in January 1943 and an aircraft reportedly piloted by [[Don Bennett|Air Vice Marshal D. C. T. Bennet]] successfully landed between the flames, although not in fog conditions.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

The first successful flights in fog occurred on 17 July 1943 when an [[Airspeed Oxford]] of RAF [[No. 35 Squadron RAF|No 35 Squadron]] piloted by Flying Officer (later Flight Lieutenant) Edward Noel Holding ([[RNZAF]] Number 402185) carried out three approaches and departures in dense fog with Group Captain [[Basil Robinson (RAF officer)|Basil Robinson]]. Robinson was killed on operations a month later. Holding survived the war and died in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2008.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

==The use of FIDO==
[[File:FIDO in Operation (Art. IWM ART LD 5593).jpg|thumb|''FIDO in Operation'', 1945 (Art.IWM ART LD 5593), [[Alan Sorrell]], Imperial War Museum]]
FIDO used huge quantities of fuel, as much as {{convert|100000|impgal|USgal l}} per hour. Over twice this amount was used by airfields with longer runways such as [[RAF Carnaby]]. Large fuel storage tanks filled with low-grade petrol and possibly kerosene and other fuel were connected by pumps to provide this fuel to the runway pipes. Although extravagant in the use of fuel consumed, it was felt that the device more than made up for the operating costs involved with the reduction of aircraft losses.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}

FIDO systems were used at many RAF stations in England during [[World War II]].

The last FIDO-equipped airfield at which a system was maintained was RAF Manston, the system being available for emergency use as late as 1952. Due to the high costs involved, use had to be reported to the Air Minister.

Initial installation of FIDO was designed and constructed along Runway 1 at [[London Heathrow Airport]] but the pipes and other fittings were never installed.

FIDO was also installed at North American airfields including [[Arcata-Eureka Airport|Arcata, California]], [[Eareckson Air Station]], [[Naval Air Station Whidbey Island]], at the [[World War II]] [[Amchitka Army Airfield]] on [[Amchitka]] Island in the [[Aleutians]].<ref name=":0">Williams (1995) pp. 216–224</ref>

==Applications==
===RAF===
''Reference:''<ref>Williams (1995) pp. 43, 51, 59, 69, 82, 97, 106, 123, 135, 153, 162, 168, 176, 180, 190, 214, 216–217</ref>
* [[RAF Blackbushe|RAF Hartford Bridge (Hampshire - renamed Blackbushe on 30 September 1944)]]
* [[RAF Bradwell Bay]] (Essex - the only FIDO system laid out to recover aircraft from a South-Westerly direction - ie, landing to the North-East)
* [[RAF Carnaby]] (Yorkshire) - Emergency Landing Ground
* [[RAF Downham Market]] (Norfolk)
* [[RAF Fiskerton]] (Lincolnshire)
* [[RAF Foulsham]] (Norfolk)
* [[RAF Graveley]] (Cambridgeshire)
* [[RAF Ludford Magna]] (Lincolnshire)
* [[RAF Manston]] (Kent) - Emergency Landing Ground
* [[RAF Melbourne]] (Yorkshire)
* [[RAF Metheringham]] (Lincolnshire)
* [[RAF St Eval]] (Cornwall)
* [[RAF Sturgate]] (Lincolnshire)
* [[RAF Tuddenham]] (Suffolk)
* [[RAF Woodbridge]] (Suffolk) – Emergency Landing Ground

===International===
''Reference:''<ref name=":0" />
* [[Épinoy]] - France
* [[Arcata-Eureka Airport]] - [[California]], US
* [[Eareckson Air Station]] - [[Shemya]], [[Aleutian Islands]], [[Alaska]], US
* [[Naval Air Station Whidbey Island]] - [[Washington (state)|Washington]], US
* [[Amchitka Army Airfield]] - [[Amchitka]], [[Rat Islands]], [[Aleutian Islands]], [[Alaska]], US

==Gallery==

<gallery>
File:Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection CE133.jpg|A crashed RAF bomber which damaged FIDO pipelines and burners upon crashing
File:Sultza pumps installed at Graveley, Huntingdonshire, to supply the FIDO (Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation) petrol pipes on either side of the main runway, 28 May 1945. CH15275.jpg|FIDO petrol feed pumps installed at RAF Graveley
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{More footnotes|date=September 2009}}
* {{cite book |title=Flying Through Fire |author=Williams, Geoffrey |publisher=Grange Books |year=1995 |isbn=1-85627-900-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/flyingthroughfir0000will }}
*{{cite book
| last = Banks
| first = Sir Donald
| authorlink = Donald Banks
| title = Flame Over Britain
| publisher = Sampson Low, Marston and Co
| year = 1946
}}
*{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,800115,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204113220/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,800115,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 February 2013|title=FIDO at Work|magazine=Time|date=11 April 1949}}
*[http://www.justinmuseum.com/famjustin/Miles5.html FIDO] Biography of Reg Miles, RAF Flight Engineer, 432 and 420 Squadrons RCAF, Bomber Command, Justin Museum of Military History.
*A description of FIDO is given in [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s only non-science-fiction novel ''[[Glide Path]]'' (1963), about the development of [[Ground Controlled Approach]] (GCA) in World War II.

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
*Geoffrey Williams: ''FLYING THROUGH FIRE. FIDO – The Fogbuster of World War II'' (Grange Books, London, UK, 1996, {{ISBN|1-85627-900-6}}).
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation}}
*[http://www.thewarillustrated.info/210/now-it-can-be-told-operation-fido-beating-airfield-fog.asp Now It Can Be Told! – 'Operation Fido': Beating Airfield Fog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602182225/http://www.thewarillustrated.info/210/now-it-can-be-told-operation-fido-beating-airfield-fog.asp |date=2 June 2008 }}, ''[[The War Illustrated]]'', 6 July 1945. thewarillustrated.info
*[http://www.stelzriede.com/ms/photos/planes/lancs18.jpg A Lancaster bomber using Fido showing the flames burning alongside the runway]
*{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Science|author=Bonnier Corporation|title=How FIDO licked Airfield FogPopular Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64|date=August 1945|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|page=64}}
*{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Science|author=Bonnier Corporation|title=New Tricks For FIDO|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA82|date=December 1946|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|page=82}}
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1952/1952%20-%203328.html ''Reactions to Fido''] – a 1952 [[Flight International|''Flight'']] article on post-war FIDO operations
*{{cite video
| people =
| year = 1945
| title = F.I.D.O.
| url = http://www.britishpathe.com/video/f-i-d-o/query/FIDO
| minutes =
| medium =
| publisher = British Pathe
| accessdate = 14 June 2012
}}
*{{cite video
| people =
| year = 1946
| title = Fog Landing Aircraft AKA 'fido'
| url = http://www.britishpathe.com/video/fog-landing-aircraft-aka-fido/query/FIDO
| minutes =
| medium =
| publisher = British Pathe
| accessdate = 14 June 2012
}} – detailed description with long explanatory inter-titles
*{{cite video
| people =
| year = 1946
| title = Fog Landing Light AKA Operation Fido
| url = http://www.britishpathe.com/video/fog-landing-light-aka-operation-fido/query/FIDO
| minutes =
| medium =
| publisher = British Pathe
| accessdate = 14 June 2012
}} – FIDO at Arcato airfield in the United States of America
*{{cite video
| people =
| year = 1952
| title = F.I.D.O. AKA Fido
| url = http://www.britishpathe.com/video/f-i-d-o-aka-fido/query/FIDO
| minutes =
| medium =
| publisher = British Pathe
| accessdate = 14 June 2012
}} – experiments with FIDO for civilian use
*{{cite web
| url = http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2465587.pdf
| title = Fog Freeable Runway for Aircraft and Plant Associated Therewith
| first1 = Arthur Clifford
| last1 = Hartley
| authorlink = Arthur Hartley
| year = 1949
| accessdate = 14 June 2012
|display-authors=etal}} – a FIDO patent

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fog Investigation And Dispersal Operation (Fido)}}
[[Category:Fog]]
[[Category:Smog]]
[[Category:Air pollution in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II military equipment of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Aerial warfare]]
[[Category:British inventions]]

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Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation