Marconi tower at sunset.

Chain Home transmitter

Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal radar stations built by the British before and during World War II. The system comprised two types of radar. The Chain Home stations, or AMES Type 1 (Air Ministry Experimental Station), provided long-range detection. The Chain Home Low stations, or AMES Type 2, were shorter-ranged but could detect aircraft flying at lower levels. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 542 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2358 × 2608 pixel, file size: 668 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Chain Home Transmitter At RAF Air Defence Museum File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 542 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2358 × 2608 pixel, file size: 668 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Chain Home Transmitter At RAF Air Defence Museum File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... AMES or Air Ministry Experimental Station was the way of identifying RAF radar types during World War II AMES Type 1, Chain Home (CH) AMES Type 2, Chain Home Low (CHL) AMES Type 3, Type 1 and Type 2 operating in close proximity AMES Type 4, Overseas Chain Home, also... An early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its selected targets. ... Marconi tower at sunset. ...

Development

The Chain Home system was fairly primitive, since in order to be battle-ready it had been rushed into production by Sir Robert Watson-Watt's Air Ministry research station near Bawdsey. Watson-Watt, a pragmatic engineer, believed that "third-best" would do if "second-best" would not be available in time and "best" never available at all. Chain Home certainly suffered from glitches and errors in reporting. Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, ca. ... The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... Bawdsey is a village in Suffolk, England near Felixstowe. ...

It was in many ways technically inferior to German radar developments, but the better German technology proved to be a disadvantage. The Chain Home stations were relatively simple to construct and comprehensive coverage was available by the start of the battle of Britain. By contrast, the Germans had only commissioned around 8 of their Freya stations by this time. In spite of the simplicity of the Chain Home technology, the system had a surprising amount of functionality. It could determine distance and direction of incoming aircraft formationg, giving rise to its initial name of RDF (range and Direction Finding) . It was to be the Americans who rechristened the whole concept as 'radar'). Most stations were also able to measure the elevation of the formation, which knowing the range gave the height. Local geography prevented some stations from measuring elevation. Although not originally a design goal, the operators became very adept at estimating the size of detected formations from the shape of the displayed returns. A 1941 RAF PRU photograph of the two Freyas at Auderville Freya radar was an early form of radar deployed by Germany during World War II, named after the Norse Goddess Freya. ...

Chain Home looked nothing like the radar sets found at modern commercial airports. There was no rotating antenna sending out a "searchlight" beam of radio energy, but instead an array of fixed antennas. The transmitting array was formed of wires strung between high metal towers, and this array sent out a "floodlight" of radio energy covering a swath over the ground of about 100 degrees.^[1] The receiving array was on wood towers and consisted of two antennas at right angles to each other.^[2] The receiving antennas were directional in their sensitivity, so the signal strength received by each depended on the angle between it and the target. An operator would manually adjust a comparator device to find what angle to the target best matched the relative strengths of the two received signals. The angle of elevation to the target was estimated by similar comparisons to the signal strengths from a second pair of receiving antennas. This second pair was located closer to the ground, which produced a different sensitivity in elevation.^[3] The time delay of the echo determined the range to the target.

The Chain Home stations were designed to operate at 20-50 MHz although typical operations were at 20-30 MHz, or about a 12 metre wavelength.^[4] The availability of multiple operating frequencies gave some protection from jamming. The detection range was typically 120 miles, but could be better.^[5]

The Chain Home Low stations operated at 200 MHz, or about a 1.5 metre wavelengh. Technically, they were not closely related to Chain Home, and they employed a rotating antenna.^[6]

Compare with the German Freya radar. A 1941 RAF PRU photograph of the two Freyas at Auderville Freya radar was an early form of radar deployed by Germany during World War II, named after the Norse Goddess Freya. ...

From May to August 1939, the German Zeppelin LZ130 made flights along Britain's North Sea coast to investigate the 100 m high radio towers the British had erected from Portsmouth to Scapa Flow. LZ130 performed a series of radiometric tests and took photographs. However, different sources report differing outcomes. Some claim that the LZ130 failed to detect any radio emissions of interest at all (though this does seem rather unlikely). Some sources claim that the LZ130 missions failed to identify the true purpose of the new British stations, concluding the towers were for long-range naval radiocommunication, not radiolocation (this seem very likely). It is claimed that the 12 m Chain Home signals were detected and suspected to be radar, however, the LZ130 failed to identify the origin of the signals as the towers that had aroused the interest in the first place. The chief investigator was not able to prove his suspicions, so Germany went to war uncertain of British radar defenses.^[7] The Graf Zeppelin (LZ 130) was the last of the great Zeppelins built by the Zeppelin Luftschiffbau during the period between the World Wars. ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Gutter Sound be merged into this article or section. ...

Operations

The Chain Home stations were arranged around the British coast, initially in the South and East but later the entire coastline, including the Shetland Islands. They were first tested in the Battle of Britain in 1940 when they were able to provide adequate early warning of incoming Luftwaffe raids. The Shetland Islands, also called Shetland (archaically spelled Zetland) formerly called Hjaltland, comprise one of 32 council areas of Scotland. ... Combatants United Kingdom Including combatants from:[1] Poland New Zealand Canada Czechoslovakia Belgium Australia South Africa France Ireland United States Jamaica Palestine Rhodesia Germany Including combatants from Italy Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Strength 754 single-seat fighters 149 two-seat fighters 560 bombers 500 coastal 1,963 total... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, pronounced lufft-va-fa, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ...

During the battle, Chain Home stations, most notably the one at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, were attacked a number of times between 12 and 18 August, 1940. On one occasion a section of the radar chain in Kent, including the Dover CH, was put out of action by a lucky hit on the power grid. However, though the wooden huts housing the radar equipment were damaged, the towers survived owing to their open steel girder construction. Because the towers were untoppled and the signals soon restored, the Luftwaffe concluded the stations were too difficult to damage by bombing and so left them alone for the rest of the war. Had the Luftwaffe realised just how essential the radar stations were to British air defences, it is likely that they would have gone all out to destroy them. Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish[1] established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire, between the Solent and the English Channel. ...

The Chain Home system was dismantled after the war, but some of the tall steel radar towers remain, converted to new uses. One such 360-foot-high (110 m) transmitter tower (picture above) can now be found at the BAE Systems facility at Great Baddow in Essex (2003). It originally stood at Canewdon, and is said to be the only Chain Home tower still in its original, unmodified form. BAE Systems plc is the worlds third largest defence contractor,[3] the largest in Europe and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. ... , Great Baddow is an urban village in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. ... This article is about the county of Essex in England. ...

Chain Home Sites

• Bawdsey: Suffolk (grid reference TM336380) ^[8]
• Branscombe: Devon (SY1988)
• Brenish: Western Isles (NA9910024250) ^[9]
• Bride: Isle of Man (NX4604) ^[10]
• Broadbay: Western Isles (NB5314034470)
• Canewdon: Essex (TQ9094)
• Castell Mawr: Near Llanrhystud, Ceredigion, AMES No. 67 (SN5369)
• Dalby: Isle of Man (SC2178) ^[11]
• Danby Beacon: Lealholm, North Yorkshire (NZ732097)
• Douglas Wood: Monikie, Angus (NO4862041515)
• Dover (Swingate): Kent (TR335429)
• Downderry: Cornwall
• Drone Hill: Near Coldingham, Borders (NT8447066535)
• Drytree: Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall (SW723218)
• Dunkirk: Kent (TR076595) ^[12]
• Folly: Nolton, Pembrokeshire (SM858195)
• Great Bromley: Essex (TM104265)
• Greystone: County Down, Northern Ireland, AMES No. 61
• Hawks Tor: Plymouth, Devon
• Haycastle Cross: Pembrokeshire (SM920256)
• High Steet, Darsham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3QD (TM411720)
• Hillhead: Memsie, Aberdeenshire (NJ9430061700)
• Kilkeel: County Down, Northern Ireland AMES No. 78
• Kilkenneth: Tiree, Argyll and Bute (NL9408045570) ^[13]
• Loth: Helmsdale, Sutherland (NC9590009600) ^{[14] [15]}
• Netherbutton: Holm, Orkney Islands (HY4607504465) ^[16]
• Nefyn: Gwynedd, AMES No. 66 (SH2704037575) ^{[17] [18]}
• Newchurch: Kent (TR0531)
• North Cairn: Near Stranraer, Dumfries, AMES No. 60 (NW97107074)
• Northam: Devon (SS4529)
• Noss Hill: Shetland Islands (HU3613015575)
• Ottercops Moss: Otterburn, Northumberland (NY944896)
• Pevensey: East Sussex (TQ644073)
• Poling: West Sussex (TQ043052)
• Port Mor ACH: Tiree, Argyll and Bute (NL9442) ^[19]
• Rhuddlan: Denbighshire, AMES No. 65 (SJ012764)
• Ringstead: Ringstead Bay, Dorset (SY751817)
• Rye: East Sussex (TQ968232)
• St Lawrence: Isle of Wight (SZ530760) ^[20]
• Saligo Bay: Islay, Argyll and Bute (NR2116066740)
• Sango: Durness, Sutherland (NC4170067500) ^[21]
• Scarlett: Isle of Man (SC2566) ^[22]
• Schoolhill: Porthlethen, Aberdeenshire (NO9086098180): ^[23]
• Sennen: Cornwall (SW376246)
• Skaw: Unst, Shetland Islands (HP6634016805)
• Southbourne: Dorset (SZ1591)
• Staxton Wold: North Yorkshire (TA023778)
• Stenigot: Louth, Lincolnshire (TF256827)
• Stoke Holy Cross: Norfolk (TG257028)
• Tannach: Wick, Caithness (ND3200046900)
• Tower: Blackpool, Lancashire, AMES No. 64 (SD306357)
• Trelanvean: Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall (SW762193)
• Trerew: Newquay, Cornwall (SW812585)
• Ventnor: Isle of Wight (SZ568785): ^[24]
• Warren: Pembrokeshire (SR9397)
• West Prawle: Devon (SX771374)
• Whale Head: Sanday, Orkney Islands (HY7590546125)
• Worth Matravers: Swanage, Dorset (SY967777)
• Wylfa: Isle of Anglesey, AMES No. 76 (SH3522093385)

Bawdsey is a village in Suffolk, England near Felixstowe. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... Branscombe is a village in the East Devon district of the English county of Devon. ... Part of the seafront of Torquay, south Devon, at high tide Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, and Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... An Cliseam from the Abhainn Mharaig, just off the main road to Lewis. ... The Western Isles are an archipelago in Scotland. ... Bride (or St Bridget) is a parish in the Sheading of Ayre and lies in the extreme north of the Isle of Man. ... Satellite image of Point Point (Scottish Gaelic: An Rubha), also known as the Eye Peninsula, is a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in length and barely 100 metres wide. ... The Western Isles are an archipelago in Scotland. ... Rochford Rural District was a rural district with an area of 146. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... Llanrhystud is a seaside village in Ceredigion, 9 miles South of Aberystwyth, Wales. ... For other uses please see Ceredigion (disambiguation) Ceredigion is a county and principal area in mid Wales. ... Lealholm is a small village in Eskdale, located within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. ... North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. ... Monikie is a village in Angus, Scotland. ... Location Geography Area Ranked 10th  - Total 2,182 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Forfar ISO 3166-2 GB-ANS ONS code 00QC Demographics Population Ranked 19th  - Total (2005) 109,170  - Density 50 / km² Scottish Gaelic  - Total () {{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}} Politics Angus Council http://www. ... Swingate Transmitter is a facility for FM- and TV-transmission at Swingate, UK (national grid reference: TR334429 ). It uses three lattice towers as transmission towers with a height of 111 metres, which were built in World War II. http://tx. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... Coldingham is a historic village in Berwickshire, southeast Scotland. ... Scottish Borders (often referred to locally as The Borders or The Borderland) is one of 35 local government unitary council areas of Scotland. ... Goonhilly Downs is an area of the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, just south of Helston and the Naval Air Station at Culdrose. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... For other uses of Dunkirk or Dunkerque, see Dunkirk (disambiguation). ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Broadway Tower, Worcestershire, England The folly at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, England, built in the 1700s to resemble Gothic-era ruins In architecture, a folly is an extravagant, frivolous or fanciful building, designed more for artistic expression than for practicality. ... Pembrokeshire (Welsh: ) is a county in the southwest of Wales in the United Kingdom. ... Great Bromley Village Hall Great Bromley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex at grid reference TM083262. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Downpatrick Area: 2,448 km² Population (est. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... , Plymouth (Cornish: ) is a city of 243,795 inhabitants (2001 census) in the south-west of England, or alternatively the West Country, and is situated within the traditional and ceremonial county of Devon at the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar and at the head of one of the... Part of the seafront of Torquay, south Devon, at high tide Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, and Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... Pembrokeshire (Welsh: ) is a county in the southwest of Wales in the United Kingdom. ... Darsham is a village in Suffolk, England. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... Lilybank Gardens, a typical Hillhead terrace Hillhead is a residential and commercial area of Glasgow, Scotland. ... Logo of Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire (Siorrachd Obar Dheathain in Gaelic) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Downpatrick Area: 2,448 km² Population (est. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Looking West to Balephuil Bay, across the famous Hebridean Machair. ... Location Geography Area Ranked 2nd  - Total 6,909 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Lochgilphead ISO 3166-2 GB-AGB ONS code 00QD Demographics Population Ranked 23rd  - Total (2005) 90,870  - Density 13 / km² Scottish Gaelic  - Total () {{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}} Politics Argyll & Bute Council http://www. ... Helmsdale is a village on the east coast of the Highland region of Scotland. ... Sutherland (Cataibh in Gaelic) is a committee area of the Highland Council, Scotland, a registration county, and a lieutenancy area. ... Holm may refer to several villages in Romania: Holm, a village in the town of Podu Iloaiei, IaÅŸi County Holm, a village in PânceÅŸti Commune, NeamÅ£ County Holm may also refer to: Holm, a small residential area in the south of the city of Inverness, Scotland Category... The Orkney Islands, usually called simply Orkney, are one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. ... Nefyn is a small town on the north-west coast of the Lleyn Peninsula in north Wales with a population of around 2,500. ... Gwynedd is an administrative county in Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. ... Newchurch could be Newchurch, Isle of Wight Newchurch, Kent Newchurch, Wales This article consisting of geographical locations is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Stranraer (An t-Sròn Reamhar in Gaelic) is a town in the south of Scotland in the west of the region of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire. ... The Buccleuch St Bridge Devorgilla Bridge Overlooking Dumfries The Old Bridge House Dumfries ((IPA: ) pronounced dum-freece, not dum-fries) (Dùn Phris or Druim Phris in Scottish Gaelic, meaning either fort or ridge of the thicket respectively) is a former royal burgh and town with a population of around... Northam is the name of a number of places around the world: Northam, Devon is a town in Devon, England; Northam, Western Australia is a town and shire in Western Australia. ... Part of the seafront of Torquay, south Devon, at high tide Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, and Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... The Shetland Islands, also called Shetland (archaically spelled Zetland) formerly called Hjaltland, comprise one of 32 council areas of Scotland. ... Otterburn is a small village in northern Northumberland, northwest of Newcastle Upon Tyne on the banks of the River Rede, near the confluence of the Otter Burn, from which the village derives its name. ... Pevensey is a small village (1991 pop. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... Looking West to Balephuil Bay, across the famous Hebridean Machair. ... Location Geography Area Ranked 2nd  - Total 6,909 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Lochgilphead ISO 3166-2 GB-AGB ONS code 00QD Demographics Population Ranked 23rd  - Total (2005) 90,870  - Density 13 / km² Scottish Gaelic  - Total () {{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}} Politics Argyll & Bute Council http://www. ... Rhuddlan is a town in the administrative county of Denbighshire, traditional county of Flintshire, north Wales, lying on the River Clwyd. ... Denbighshire (Welsh: Sir Ddinbych) is a county in North Wales. ... Ringstead is a small village situated in Northamptonshire, England and is located approximately 15 miles to north-east of Northampton in the Nene Valley. ... Ringstead Bay with White Nothe in the background. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Binomial name Secale cereale M.Bieb. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... This page concerns the Christian martyr. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire, between the Solent and the English Channel. ... Islay (pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: , or ee-luh), a Scottish island, known as The Queen of the Hebrides, is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. ... Location Geography Area Ranked 2nd  - Total 6,909 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Lochgilphead ISO 3166-2 GB-AGB ONS code 00QD Demographics Population Ranked 23rd  - Total (2005) 90,870  - Density 13 / km² Scottish Gaelic  - Total () {{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}} Politics Argyll & Bute Council http://www. ... Sango, shown at left in her yōkai exterminator uniform, and at right in her more casual clothing that she usually wears in the anime series. ... Durness with Smoo Cave, the youth-hostel is up on the right side. ... Sutherland (Cataibh in Gaelic) is a committee area of the Highland Council, Scotland, a registration county, and a lieutenancy area. ... Scarlett is the sequel to Margaret Mitchells Gone With the Wind. ... Logo of Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire (Siorrachd Obar Dheathain in Gaelic) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland. ... Looking due North over Sennen Bay Sennen is the most westerly village in mainland England (though not Britain), being less than a mile from Lands End, in Cornwall. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... Skaw, in the Shetlands, is the northernmost settlement in the United Kingdom. ... Unst shown within Shetland Islands The worlds most comfortable bus shelter? Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. ... The Shetland Islands, also called Shetland (archaically spelled Zetland) formerly called Hjaltland, comprise one of 32 council areas of Scotland. ... Southbourne could be Southbourne, Dorset Southbourne, West Sussex Category: ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. ... RAF Stenigot was a World War 2 radar station situated near Donington on Bain, Lincolnshire, England. ... Louth is a market town within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. ... Stoke Holy Cross Stoke Holy Cross is a village in South Norfolk which lies approximately 4 miles south of Norwich. ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... Location within the British Isles Noted point: Designer musician Douglas More hails from Wick! Wick (Inbhir Uige in Gaelic) is an estuary town in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, on the main highway (the A99-A9 road) linking John O Groats with southern Britain. ... Caithness (Gallaibh in Gaelic)[1] is a committee area of Highland Council, Scotland; a lieutenancy area; and a registration county, Caithness was formerly a district within the Highland region from 1975 to 1996 and a local government county with its own county council from 1890 to 1975. ... Looking down to the road below through the glass floor The Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in the town of Blackpool, Lancashire, in Northern England (grid reference SD306360). ... It has been suggested that South Shore, Blackpool be merged into this article or section. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... 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There is more than one Scottish island called Sanday: Sanday, Inner Hebrides in the Small Isles Sanday, Orkney See also Sanda and Sandray for similarly named islands. ... The Orkney Islands, usually called simply Orkney, are one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. ... Worth Matravers is a small village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, situated on the cliffs west of Swanage, with a population of 644. ... , Swanage station, the terminus of the Swanage heritage railway. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Wylfa Nuclear Power Station Wylfa is a nuclear power station situated just west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, north Wales. ... Anglesey or Anglesea (Welsh: Ynys Môn pronounced Uh-niss Mawn), is an island and county in north-west Wales. ...

Use by the Germans

The Germans deployed^[25] a passive radar system, the Kleine Heidelberg Parasit, which allowed them to track British aeroplanes using the radio signals from the Chain Home radars.^[26] The "floodlight" nature of the Chain Home transmissions would provide a pair of signals which could be used to locate aircraft. The primary signal was the direct flight of the radio signal from the Chain Home transmitter to the German receiver. The second, weaker signal was that reflected from the aircraft. The time delay between these two signals established how much longer was the reflected path compared to the direct path, and from geometry this longer path described an ellipse on which the aircraft must lie. The focal points of this ellipse were the transmitting and receiving antennas, and the Germans knew the location of both. A direction finding antenna searching for the echo could be used to establish where on the ellipse the aircraft was.^[27] This system gave the Germans a radar with a range of up to 400 km and an accuracy in range of 1 to 2 km and in bearing of about 1 degree.^[28] The Heidelberg Parasit was not affected by Window.^[29] Passive radar systems (also referred to a passive coherent location and passive covert radar) encompass a class of radar systems that detect and track objects by processing reflections from non-cooperative sources of illumination in the environment, such as commercial broadcast and communications signals. ... Bistatic range refers to the basic measurement of range made by a radar or sonar system with separated transmitter and receiver. ...

See also

• British military history of World War II
• History of radar
• Battle of the beams
• UK topics
• Acoustic mirror

The United Kingdom, along with France, declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939 as part of the United Kingdoms pledge to defend Poland to the invasion of Poland. ... The history of radar began in the 1900s when engineers invented reflection devices. ... The Battle of the Beams was a period in early World War II when Luftwaffe bombers started using radio navigation for night bombing. ... This is a list of topics related to the United Kingdom. ... An acoustic mirror is a device used to focus and amplify sound waves. ...

Notes and references

• Pritchard, David, The Radar War: Germany's Pioneering Achievement, 1904-45, Patrick Stephens Limited, Wellingborough, England, 1989, ISBN 1-85260-246-5.

Pritchard's book draws mainly on original German sources but also includes information from interviews with British researchers of the era, including R. V. Jones. Unfortunately, it includes neither references nor a bibliography, although the text often indicates the original source. Reginald Victor Jones (September 28th, 1911-December 17th, 1997) was an English physicist and scientific intelligence expert. ...

• Neale, B. T., The GEC Journal of Research, Vol.3 No.2 1985, pages 73-83, a copy of which could be found on The Radar Pages, 2007-06

Further reading

• Bragg, Michael., RDF1 The Location of Aircraft by Radio Methods 1935-1945, Hawkhead Publishing, Paisley 1988 ISBN 0-9531544-0-8 The history of ground radar in the UK during WWII
• Latham, Colin & Stobbs, Anne., Radar A Wartime Miracle, Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud 1996 ISBN 0-7509-1643-5 A history of radar in the UK during WWII told by the men and women who worked on it.
• Zimmerman, David., Britain's Shield Radar and the Defeat of the Luftwaffe, Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, 2001., ISBN 0-7509-1799-7
• Brown, Louis., A Radar History of World War II, Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, 1999., ISBN 0-7503-0659-9
• Bowen, E.G., Radar Days, Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, 1987., ISBN 0-7503-0586-X

External links

• Home of Radar — Bawdsey Manor, Suffolk
• Historic Radar Archive
• RAF Radar Museum Well worth visiting if you are in Norfolk, but rather limited opening times
• RAF High Steet picture
• Life at Darsham - BBC
• Site of 'CHL' RAF Dunwich