Being there . . . . for one of the truly great military growth and development stories of rapid
wartime evolution, the design and production of the USAAF World War II airborne signals
intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft. “In a little more than a thousand days (three years), our air force
raced from a hand-built prototype to full scale production of an aircraft that had never
previously existed in the massive U.S. inventory. Hitherto a historical footnote usually bypassed,
our government selected certain American universities to establish well provided research
laboratories focusing on radar countermeasures (RCM) while U.S. airline maintenance facilities
were requisitioned to form production centers for modifications allowing rapid insertion of the
technology. The USAAF pushed the bounds of systems integration and program management,
learning how to rapidly develop, field and operate aircraft in the ever-evolving signals war.“ Get
that, reader? Bored even before you begin? With your who cares wink, doubting posture
attitude, and shrug of your shoulders expressing dislike, dread, and disdain, why bother with
that when there are so many new “good battles won against the Axis” to read? Really? Wait
until the author of the following title describes how it was why he himself was so mystified,
intrigued, then mesmerized by the introduction of signals intelligence to 21 st Century warfare.
“FERRET! USAAF Airborne Signals Intelligence 1942 – 1945”, by William M. Cahill. Crecy
Publishing Limited, Manchester, England, M22 5LH; 2024, 192 pages, 8 ½” x 12”, hardcover,
photos and maps on every page, excellent Notes, and Appendices, $56.95. Visit,
www.crecy.co.uk. ( A treasure trove of whole new information)
Reviewed and highly, highly, highly recommended by Don DeNevi
As the technical design changed, so did the operational employment of these “ferret”
aircraft. Ferrets started as an adjunct to bombing missions but quickly evolved into aircraft
flying their own missions off the enemy coast.
Writes author William Cahill, a former USAAF officer with a reconnaissance background, in
his absolutely brilliant collection of perceptive historical insights into the development and
operation of these airborne signals intelligence assets. He says, “The concept of airborne signals
intelligence aircraft, the ferrets, has always intrigued me, from my first U.S. Air Force
assignment with the EF -111s to now. My curiosity grew and as I sought out or published works
on the topics. What little data existed was contradictory in nature and pushed me to start
writing on the subject myself. A decade or so later, this book is the result of that journey. My
aim with this volume is to present an in-depth study of the technical and operational
development of USAAF airborne signals intelligence aircraft. Possibly the biggest surprise during
my research was that more aircraft were modified for the ferret role than previously thought –
with a virtual production line starting by the end of the war.”
Thus, the development of ferret aircraft by our Army Air Forces takes on monumental
importance for today, if we are after the true implications, learning lessons, of the air battles
over Europe and the Pacific as we were achieving victory after victory during the final two years
of World War II. Ferret aircraft as a group owe their name to the code name of the project to
build the first of their type in late 1942. Radars and ferret aircraft had a symbiotic relationship –
- without the former, the latter would have little reason to exist. A brief review on Bill’s
chapters on radar development (Chapters 7 & 9) will aid the reader in understanding the full
context of the development of ferret aircraft.
Compared to total American bomber production, the number of ferret aircraft built during
the war was small. Bill says their impact is still being felt today. Through their reconnaissance
missions, our air force learned how to conduct warfare in the electromagnetic spectrum and
increase their understanding of adversary radar systems. He writes, “Techniques were created
and personnel were trained on how to task, collect and analyze enemy communications and
radar systems – – all processes that are still in use today. In addition, airmen learned how to
rapidly put in fields new technology and modify them in those same fields – – a predecessor to
the quick reaction capabilities currently used by contemporary SIGINT units. What is old is new
and forever young in the world of airborne reconnaissance.” Certainly, a must read if you’re a
serious war buff. And as we move forward, your fledgling library will scream out demanding it
join your growing shelving.
