The man who made Alexandria disappear — Jasper MaskelyneOut of all the famous magicians, Harry

The man who made Alexandria disappear — Jasper MaskelyneOut of all the famous magicians, Harry Houdini, Chris Angel, David Blaine, Penn and Teller, one stands out above them all — Jasper Maskelyne.A British stage musician popular in the 1930’s and 40’s, Maskelyne decided that his skills could be used to help the Allies defeat Hitler and his Nazi Empire.  The only problem was, the higher ups in the British Army did not see the how a stage magician could help win the war.  Maskelyne called together several officers of the Royal Engineers for a demonstration of his abilities, where he made a German battleship appear on the Thames River from thin air.  Needless to say, they were impressed.Maskelyne was deployed to North Africa where his skills as an illusionist proved invaluable.  Using plywood and inflatable materials his team constructed thousands of fake tanks, aircraft, and ships.  Through the use of models and mirrors he made whole armies and fleets appear and disappear, often confusing German forces to the point of frustration.  At the Battle of El Alamein his trickery fooled German Gen. Erwin Rommel into thinking that Gen. Bernard Montgomery would attack in the south.  Montgomery then attacked in the north, smashing Rommel’s army and forcing him to retreat back to Tunisia. During the Africa campaign German aircraft began to bomb key points in Egypt such as Cairo, Alexandria, and the Suez Canal.  This was very troubling, since Egypt was the headquarters of the British Army in Africa, and the Suez Canal was the lifeline of the British Empire to India.  Maskelyne deceptions would prove to be the greatest in his career.In order to protect Alexandria harbor, an important port for military and commercial supply ships, Maskelyne had a bold plan, make the entire harbor disappear, and move it out of danger.  Maskelyne found a bay that was shaped similarly to Alexandria harbor three miles away.  There he had fake ships, buildings, docks, and lighthouses built, guarded by anti-aircraft guns.  The real harbor and the city of Alexandria was placed on strict blackout, with all lights being turned off during all hours of the night.  When the German bomber force arrived late in the night, they saw the lights of the fake harbor and made their bombing run.  Anti-aircraft guns began firing, completing the illusion.  All of the Germans bombs either splashed harmlessly in the ocean or exploded in the empty Egyptian desert.  Alexandria harbor was left unmolested.The Suez Canal, stretching 200 miles long and 205 meters wide was another story entirely.  It could not be made to disappear like Alexandria, but he had another wacky plan.  He ordered the construction of several dozen cone shaped spining objects mounted with mirrors.  When a high lumen searchlight was shone on the spining mirrors, it created a beam of high intensity light that was 9 miles wide.  German pilots were so disoriented and confused by the dazzling light show, that most of their bombs were dropped harmlessly off target.Maskelyne would recieve personal praise by Winston Churchill for his exploits.  Despite his incredible skills Jasper Maskelyne was unable to revive his magic career after the war.  For some reason, he decided to move to Kenya, and operated his own driving school until his death in 1973. -- source link

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