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He is most remembered, however, for the accounts of his work for British Military Intelligence during World War II, creating ruses, deception and camouflage on a large-scale basis.
According to the autobiographical Magic: Top Secret and David Fisher's biography The War Magician (see below), Maskelyne's wartime career was as follows.
When World War Two erupted, Maskelyne joined the Royal Engineers, thinking that his skills could be used in camouflage. He convinced skeptical officers by creating the illusion of a German warship on the Thames using mirrors and a model. He was eventually deployed to the African theater in the Western Desert, although he spent most of his time entertaining the troops.
In January 1941, general Archibald Wavell created A Force for subterfuge and counterintelligence and Maskelyne was assigned to serve in it. Maskelyne gathered a group of 14 assistants, including an architect, art restorer, carpenter, chemist, electrical engineer, electrician, painter and stage-set builder, to help him. It was nicknamed the Magic Gang.
The Magic Gang built a number of tricks. They used painted canvas and plywood to make jeeps look like tanks - with fake tank tracks - and tanks look like trucks. They created illusions of armies and battleships.
His largest trick was to conceal Alexandria and the Suez Canal to misdirect German bombers. He built a mockup of the night-lights of Alexandria in an adjacent bay three miles away with fake buildings, lighthouse and anti-aircraft batteries. To mask the Suez Canal, he built a revolving cones of mirrors that created a wheel of spinning light nine miles wide.
In 1942 he worked in the Operation Bertram, prior to the battle of El AlameinThere were two battles of El Alamein, both during 1942. First Battle of El Alamein July 1942 Second Battle of El Alamein November 1942.. His task was to make Erwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( November 15, 1891 October 14, 1944) was one of the most distinguished German Field Marshals and commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps in World War II. He is also known by his nickname The Desert Fox Wustenfuchs . Early life think that the attack was coming from the south, when Bernard Montgomery planned to attack from the north. In the north, 1000 tanks were disguised as trucks. On the south, the Magic Gang created 2000 fake tanks with convincing pyrotechnics. There was a fake railway line, fake radio conversations and fake sounds of construction. They also built a fake water pipeline and made it look as if it would never be ready before attack. Camouflage did contribute to the victory.
After the battle, the Magic Gang was disbanded and although Winston ChurchillChurchill" redirects here. For other meanings, see Churchill (disambiguation). The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG, OM, CH, FRS ( November 30, 1874 January 24, 1965) was a British politician, best known as Prime Minister of the U praised his efforts, Maskelyne did not receive the appreciation he desired.
After the war, Maskelyne tried to resume his stage career without much success. He moved to KenyaKenya (pronounced KEN-ya; the pronunciation KEEN-ya is archaic) is a country of eastern Africa, bordering Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and the Indian Ocean. Nairobi is its capital and largest city. Republic of Kenya ( In Detail) (Full size) and founded a driving school.
Jasper Maskelyne died in 1973Events January events January 1 United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community now known as the European Union January 3 Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sells the New York Yankees for $10 million to a 12-person syndicate led.