Castles in the Sky Page #5

Yes, thank you.

Keep me informed of any further

developments. Sir.

But yesterday wasn't a success.

We proved we can bounce a signal

over long distances,

but we failed to detect

an aeroplane flying right over

our heads, and why?

Calculation error?

Not a chance.

Range and target?

We've got something now. What?

Aircraft.

Why couldn't we see this yesterday?

The equipment's not good enough.

It's the same as it was yesterday.

But now it's working.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

The Air Station have confirmed

our blip is one of their aircraft.

We have a moving target

and it was 17 miles away!

We could tell where it's going

and how fast.

We've got to celebrate!

Before we get too carried away

with our success,

we have to get this working

all the time, every time,

whenever the Germans fly their

planes through our pulses.

That's the problem,

right there, isn't it?

Our pulse works in a range

of 17 miles,

but we've got thousands of miles

of coastline, not just 17.

One station can't protect

the entire country.

Are you all right?

You look awful.

We're ready for you.

The Nazis have passed a law for

'the protection of German blood.'

It is the act of a megalomaniac...

..a man who will wage war

and systematically destroy everyone

and everything in his path.

They are churning out planes day

and night whilst you lot...

..are sat with your thumbs

up your arses

building a castle in the bloody sky!

That may or may not work.

And now, you tell us

that one castle is not enough.

I've been entrusted with

overseeing your operation.

It is my neck on the block here.

You've had the money to develop

this thing and now,

you would like a lot more money

to build a lot more things

that may or may not work.

You wouldn't try to protect

an entire country

with just one castle, would you?

One castle.

Our enemies, they would side-step

it, go around it.

So what I am proposing, if I may...

..are a series of castles,

20 miles apart, stretched out

along the coastline.

Now each...

Each castle sends out a fishing

line,

which individually is not that

effective,

but together is like casting a net,

all working together as a group

to identify enemy aircraft,

pin-pointing where they are

and where they're heading.

This gives us time...

time to prepare our men, deploy

our planes and build our defence.

I suggest we abandon this project

and channel our resources

into attack.

We must build more bombers.

We'll never match the Luftwaffe

in terms of numbers.

I think we're all agreed

our resources are limited.

So limited in fact that some

of your men took it upon themselves

to steal equipment

from a naval base.

Or were they following your orders?

I know nothing about that.

Of course not.

I believe that we should

use our limited funds on defence.

Attack is our best form of defence.

But people will die.

That's what happens in war!

People die!

You can't reasonably think to wage

a war when no-one dies, Henry.

Given...recent history...

and what each and every one of us

here in this room have witnessed...

..what would be so wrong

in trying?

We are already building

as many more new planes

as the government will stomach.

We can try to build

a few more still...

..or we build this.

If this thing works, the planes

we do have will become

much more effective.

It will give us a huge advantage

over the Germans,

a crucial advantage.

But what if it doesn't?

For the time being,

we will invest our money,

our faith and our prayers...

..in your castles in the sky.

Now...

go and see if you can get

the bloody thing to work.

Lindemann knew

about the navy equipment.

How?! I don't know.

Careful with that, lads.

Well, this is a step up.

Gentlemen, welcome to Bawdsey Manor!

We're starting again?

We have a whole new set

of challenges.

We need to develop five stations,

a chain of stations stretching from

here all the way down to Sussex,

covering the approach to London.

Five stations? To begin with.

But we haven't got one working

consistently.

You know that one is not enough.

But it won't work,

not unless all of the stations

are in synch,

communicating with each other,

sending out the same pulses. OK.

No. We're not ready for all that!

We've got to be.

People are depending upon us,

not just Ministry people,

our people.

I mean, our loved ones.

Hitler is creating a force that will

vastly outnumber ours.

And if Britain is ever attacked

our system,

may be the only chance of levelling

the playing field.

This is real. I mean, this is very

real. We few in this room may

be the only people in the country

who could do something about this.

Scale.

You've got to put scale up there.

Scale...

And range. You think you've solved

range but you haven't.

And what happens if the aircraft

flies perpendicular to our pulses?

What if there is a formation

of small planes?

How do we identify the target

if we have spiky noise returns on

the display?

Robert!

The first round is on me

but that's your lot.

I wasn't going to ask you that.

Just after you left, your wife

called.

She said to wish you a happy

anniversary.

..in such a way as to

threaten Polish independence.

Come on...

That would inevitably start

a general conflagration.

In which this country would be

involved.

He's going... He's going well.

You know what you have to do! Come

on, Taff, here we go, come on.

Come on.

Fellas...keep it down!

The distribution of gas masks

began tonight in all areas.

Where's Rob?

He's in the doghouse.

His wife called, he missed their

anniversary. Oh...!

Did you make it up to Margaret?

I don't know where she is.

I should be there, at home,

not here.

This is a waste of time.

Not for them it's not.

Their first night out in weeks,

a couple of pints...

Not this here tonight, all of it.

Rowe was right - they should have

professors tasking all this,

not us. I should be at home with

Margaret and eating dinner,

listening to the wireless and

going to bed...

Waiting for the bombs to drop?

But we can't do this and people will

die. People will die because of us

and our bloody-minded pride, and

our ineptitude and our stupidity!

This will not work!

Don't say this won't work!

Don't push me!

You are not allowed to give up!

We are - you're not!

Something will shift,

something will happen

and we'll get our answers.

Don't you ever give up.

We just don't have time.

It's like trying to catch a shoal of

fish with one line.

We need a net, a big net,

multiple stations,

and that way we will solve range.

That will solve range.

We need to cover every

inch of coastline.

Am I building two, for now?

Then five.

If we can make two work...

Five will be easy?

Easy?

Easier...

You are bloody annoying, you know?

Margaret always says that.

Ta.

Something shifts. Something happens.

So, we're almost there...

They've come to see five stations

working together.

And we only have two.

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