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The Secret War

Sergio IQ · documentary · Watch on YouTube

Military history & warfareDocumentaries & storytelling

What it is

A compilation of the 1977 BBC series The Secret War, a documentary on British scientific and technical efforts in WWII, including radar, German navigation beams and V-weapons. It features interviews with people who were there, including Albert Speer.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN readers recommend it as a detailed, intelligent documentary about wartime technology that assumes viewers aren't stupid.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 8 different months
  • 4 strong recommendations
  • first 2019, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “It's very long, very detailed but well presented - in a style that assumes you aren't stupid.”

    Detailed, well-presented documentary on WW2 radar and the intellectual battle.

    mhh__, 2019-07 · Strong recommendation · in “WWII Propaganda Popularized Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark (2013)”

  2. “but all of it is great, really.”

    Great 1977 series with interviews including Albert Speer.

    smilespray, 2021-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Electronic warfare history of the Battle of the Bulge”

  3. “The Battle of the Beams is the first segment”

    BBC series with the Battle of the Beams segment first.

    timrichard, 2019-04 · Recommendation · in “How Germany used radio waves to guide night bombing raids in WWII”

  4. “The whole series is worth a watch”

    Episode on crazy-sounding wartime projects; whole series worth watching.

    helsinkiandrew, 2025-06 · Recommendation · in “Panjandrum: The ‘giant firework’ built to break Hitler's Atlantic Wall”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: bbc, radar, battle of the beams, v-weapons, wwii, 1977

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