The Kentucky Minstrels were a team formed under the leadership of Duncan Bruce to study a scheme during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to cover the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

with

soot Soot ( ) is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolysed ...

in order to conceal it from German Bombers.{{cite book, last=Pawle, first=Gerald, title=The Secret War 1939-45, year=1957, url=https://archive.org/stream/secretwar193945007234mbp/secretwar193945007234mbp_djvu.txt, page=188 Work began on the Thames in a craft inappropriately named H.M.S.

Persil Persil is a German brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Henkel around the world except in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Latin America (except Mexico), China, Australia and New Zealand, where it is manufactured and mar ...

References

United Kingdom home front during World War II Military deception during World War II Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II 1940s in London