Chris Barker wrote:
>I noticed the "in Britain", but I assumed that it meant it happened
>first in Britain. I have always understood radar to be at least a
>European invention, if not purely British. The original radar research
>was carried out at Malvern, near the Welsh border, but it might be that
>the Germans had a contemporaneous development programme.
>
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0860616.html
I believe that during the early part of the War and the BoB, radar
(although not yet so named) was successfully kept secret from the Axis
and resulted in much frustration and trouble for the German air forces,
who couldn't figure out how the RAF managed to stay in the air and
effectively thwart their own numerically superior forces. The ability to
stay on the ground and only scramble to meet actual attacking forces was
a huge help, especially when it could be done at night, in rain and fog,
etc.
It also made a big difference in the Battle of the Atlantic for a while,
until the U-boat commanders realized they were being tracked. Then they
were still at a disadvantage for a while, as they had done most of their
running on the surface at night and now wer much less mobile or much
more at risk for air attack. However, they soon developed snorkels that
could take in air and put out exhaust while just under the surface with
only a small, low profile presence on the surface and things got ugly
for the Allies again.
I was a Radarman in the US Coast Guard many moons ago, but my
recollection of what we learned of its history is pretty shaky now.
Moose
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