Editing Gee (navigation) (section)

=== Into service ===

Even with limited testing, Gee proved itself to be easy to use and more than accurate enough for its tasks. On 18 August 1941, Bomber Command ordered Gee into production at [[Dynatron Radio Ltd|Dynatron]] and [[A.C. Cossor|Cossor]], with the first mass-produced sets expected to arrive in May 1942. In the meantime, a separate order for 300 hand-made sets was placed for delivery on 1 January 1942,{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=6}} which was later pushed back to February. Overall, 60,000 Gee sets were manufactured during World War II, used by the RAF, [[USAAF]], and [[Royal Navy]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1946/1946%20-%201465.html Cossor Advertisement], ''Flight International'', 1 August 1946, Advertisements 11]</ref>

The first operational mission using Gee took place on the night of 8/9 March 1942, when a force of about 200 aircraft attacked [[Essen]]. It was installed on a [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]] of [[No. 115 Squadron RAF|No. 115 Squadron]] from [[RAF Watton]] captained by Pilot Officer Jack Foster, who later said, "targets were found and bombed as never before".<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1970/1970%20-%200586.html "Gee Chain Closure"], ''Flight International'', 26 March 1970, p. 536</ref> [[Krupp]], the principal target, escaped bombing, but bombs did hit the southern areas of the city. In total, 33% of the aircraft reached the target area, an enormous advance over earlier results.<ref name=black/>

The first completely successful Gee-led attack was carried out on 13/14 March 1942 against [[Cologne]]. The leading crews successfully illuminated the target with flares and incendiaries and the bombing was generally accurate. Bomber Command calculated that this attack was five times more effective than the earlier raid on the city. The success of Gee led to a change in policy, selecting 60 German cities within Gee range for mass bombing using 1,600–1,800 tons of bombs per city.<ref name=black>Henry Black, [http://www.lancaster-archive.com/bc_gee.htm "A Short History of 'GEE' Air Navigation"], 2001</ref>

To provide coverage of the entire UK, three Gee chains were constructed under the direction of [[Edward Fennessy]].<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/6819456/Sir-Edward-Fennessy.html "Sir Edward Fennessy"], ''The Telegraph'', 15 December 2009</ref> The original chain started continuous operation on 22 June 1942, followed by a chain in Scotland later that year, and the southwest chain in 1943. Even as German jamming efforts took hold, Gee remained entirely useful as a short-range navigation system over the UK. Only 1.2% of Gee-equipped aircraft failed to return to their base, as opposed to 3.5% of those without it.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=7}} Gee was considered so important that an unserviceable Gee set would ground an aircraft.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|p=8}}

One illustration of Gee's routine employment by Bomber Command in navigation tasks was its use (albeit a limited one) in [[Operation Chastise]] (commonly known as the "Dam Buster Raid") in May 1943. In his memoir, ''[[Enemy Coast Ahead]]'',<ref>Guy Gibson, ''Enemy Coast Ahead'', Michael Joseph, 1946</ref> [[Guy Gibson]], the leader of the raid, briefly mentions his navigator, F/O 'Terry' Taerum, [[RCAF]], employing what Gibson calls Taerum's "G Box" to determine groundspeed while flying very low at night over the North Sea from Britain to Holland, en route to Germany.