The SCR-584 (short for Set, Complete, Radio # 584 ) was an automatic-tracking microwave radar developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II . It was one of the most advanced ground-based radars of its era, and became one of the primary gun laying radars used worldwide well into the 1950s. A trailer-mounted mobile version was the SCR-784 .
96-642: In 1937, America's first fire-control radar , the SCR-268 radar , had proven to be insufficiently accurate due in part to its long wavelength. In 1940, Vannevar Bush , heading the National Defense Research Committee , established the "Microwave Committee" (section D-1) and the "Fire Control" division (D-2) to develop a more advanced radar anti-aircraft system in time to assist the British air-defense effort. In September of that year,
192-707: A C-scope display on the CRT. In the post-war period the Mk. X became one of the UK's most widely used fighter radars, largely because a lack of foreign exchange to purchase newer designs, and the poor economy in general which required the RAF to have a "make do" attitude. The Mk. X would go on to equip the first jet-powered night fighters, including the Vampire NF.10 and Meteor NF.11 . Small numbers remained in service as late as 1957. For
288-508: A Junkers Ju 88 A-5 near Chichester . Several advanced versions of the Mk. IV were also produced, which offered direct readings for the pilot and options to allow use in single seat aircraft. However, these developments were overtaken by the rapid improvements in microwave systems, and both the Mark V and Mark VI saw only limited production and service. In February 1940, John Randall and Harry Boot at Birmingham University successfully ran
384-429: A conical scanning system, in which the beam is rotated around the antenna's axis to find the maximum signal point, thus indicating which direction the antenna should move in order to point directly at the target. The idea was proposed by Alfred Loomis, the director of section D-1 of the National Defense Research Committee . In October 1940, it was adopted for the "wholly-automatic-tracking" radar project. Conical scanning
480-736: A friendly fire incident, killing him and destroying the only prototype. This so greatly delayed the program that the Air Ministry asked Jackson to test the US SCR-720 unit as a stop-gap measure. This proved to be able to pick the bomber from the window, and work on the Mk. IX was given low priority while the UK version of the SCR-720, known as the Mk. X, was purchased. With the night fighter force certain of its ability to continue operating successfully if needed, Bomber Command received clearance to begin using window on 16 July 1943. Work on
576-410: A pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 1,707 pulses per second. It could detect bomber -sized targets at about 40 miles range, and was generally able to automatically track them at about 18 miles. Accuracy within this range was 25 yards in range, and 0.06 degrees (1 mil) in antenna bearing angle (See Table "SCR-584 Technical Characteristics"). Because the electrical beam width was 4 degrees (to
672-445: A track-while-scan capability, enabling them to function simultaneously as both fire-control radar and search radar. This works either by having the radar switch between sweeping the search sector and sending directed pulses at the target to be tracked, or by using a phased-array antenna to generate multiple simultaneous radar beams that both search and track. Fire-control radars operate in three different phases: The performance of
768-656: A British delegation, the Tizard Mission , revealed to US and Canadian researchers that they had developed a magnetron oscillator operating at the top end of the UHF band (10 cm wavelength/3 GHz ), allowing greatly increased accuracy. Bush organized the Radiation Laboratory (Rad Lab) at the MIT to develop applications using it. This included a new short-range air-defense radar. Alfred Lee Loomis , running
864-582: A Mosquito NF.II was upgraded to the Mk. VIII, serving as the pattern for the Mosquito NF.XII. Starting in December, Beaufighter units were upgraded to the similar Mk. VIIIA, an interim type awaiting production quantities of the VIII. Although the precise origins of the concept are unknown, on 8 March 1941 Lovell mentions the concept of "lock-follow" for the first time in his notes. This was a modification to
960-401: A fire-control radar is determined primarily by two factors: radar resolution and atmospheric conditions. Radar resolution is the ability of the radar to differentiate between two targets closely located. The first, and most difficult, is range resolution, finding exactly how far is the target. To do this well, in a basic fire-control radar system, it must send very short pulses. Bearing resolution
1056-661: A ground-mapping display. The AI.18R added modes to support the Red Top missile . The AI Mark 20 was an X-band radar developed by EKCO Electronics for single seat fighters. Code named "Green Willow" by the MoS, it was intended to be a backup system to the AI.23 being developed for the English Electric Lightning (see below). It is believed that the 1953 contract was awarded to EKCO due to their already existing work on
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#17327721356071152-440: A helical scan instead of spiral. The radar antenna was spun around a vertical axis through an entire 360 degrees 10 times a second, with the transmitter switching off when the antenna was pointed back towards the aircraft. This provided a 150 degree scan in front of the aircraft. As it spun, the antenna slowly nodded up and down to provide altitude coverage between +50 and -20 degrees. The resulting scanning pattern naturally produced
1248-723: A lock at as much as 75° in roll. The dish was unique in that it included a fibreglass ring around the outer rim as a stiffener. Mk. 18 was able to detect the English Electric Canberra at 28 nautical miles (52 km) at altitudes over 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and a closing speed of 900 knots (1,700 km/h). It could detect the Boeing B-47 at 38 nautical miles (70 km) under the same conditions, and could lock-follow after closing to about 25 nautical miles (46 km). When set to its longest range, 100 miles (160 km), it also offered sea surface search, and
1344-548: A number of secondary roles as well. The term was sometimes used generically for similar radars used in other countries, notably the US. AI radar stands in contrast with ASV radar , whose goal is to detect ships and other sea-suface vessels, rather than aircraft; both AI and ASV are often designed for airborne use. The term was first used circa 1936, when a group at the Bawdsey Manor research center began considering how to fit
1440-475: A prototype radar system running in April 1941. To test the automatic aiming system, they attached the outputs from the radar to a gun turret taken from a Boeing B-29 bomber, removing the guns and replacing them with a camera. A friend then flew his light plane around the area while the camera periodically took photographs, and on 31 May the system was able to accurately track the aircraft. Work then started on making
1536-696: A radar system into an aircraft. This work led to the AI Mk. IV radar , the first production air-to-air radar system. Mk. IV entered service in July 1940 and reached widespread availability on the Bristol Beaufighter by early 1941. The Mk. IV helped end the Blitz , the Luftwaffe ' s night bombing campaign of late 1940 and early 1941. Starting with the AI Mk. VII , AI moved to microwave frequencies using
1632-514: A receiver fit to a Handley Page Heyford bomber, with an antenna consisting of a wire strung between the fixed landing gear . A working transmitter was first fit to the Heyford and flew in March 1937. In spite of this success, the system's antennas were still too large to be practical, and work continued on versions working at shorter wavelengths. A new system working at 1.25 m (220 MHz)
1728-469: A separate squegging oscillator was used to produce pulses of the carrier signal using a timer. This timer also muted down the receiver, solving the ringing issue. Minimum range was reduced to about 400 feet. The resulting AI Mk. IV went into production in July 1940 and all units were sent to newly arriving Bristol Beaufighters . The Beaufighter/AI Mk. IV achieved its first victory on the night of 15/16 November 1940, when an aircraft from No. 604 destroyed
1824-582: A single trailer, could provide all-sky search and single target tracking, and followed the targets automatically. In close contact with the Rad Lab, Bell Telephone Laboratories was developing an electronic analog gun-director that would be used in conjunction with the radar and servo-actuated 90 mm anti-aircraft guns. The radar was intended to be introduced in late 1943, but delays meant the SCR-584 did not reach field units until early 1944. They began replacing
1920-405: Is typically ensured by using a narrow (one or two degree) beam width. Atmospheric conditions, such as moisture lapse, temperature inversion , and dust particles affect radar performance as well. Moisture lapse and temperature inversion often cause ducting, in which RF energy is bent as it passes through hot and cold layers. This can either extend or shorten the radar horizon , depending on which way
2016-629: The English Channel . Tracking over land fell to the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) using visual means. In testing it was found that the two different reporting systems provided information that varied enough to make tracking targets confusing and error prone, and the sheer volume of information could be overwhelming. Hugh Dowding addressed this through the creation of what is today known as the Dowding system , networking together
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#17327721356072112-510: The Fairey Fireflash missile illumination radar. AI.20 was significantly simpler than the AI.23, being much closer in design to an upgraded AI.17 than the much more advanced AI.23. It used a simple spiral scan system driven at 10,000 RPM, scanning out to 45 degrees and then back every 2.25 seconds. Testing started in 1955, and the AI.20 demonstrated its ability to lock-on to a Hawker Hunter sized target at 7 miles (11 km) 95% of
2208-592: The Fairey Firefly , which had the size to carry a radar operator and the performance to operate as a fighter. Some were also used on the Mosquito. Considerably later, a single Meteor, EE348 , was fit with an APS-4 in a nose mounting as a test vehicle. The APS-6 was a modification of the APS-4 specifically for the interception role. It replaced the side-to-side scan with a spiral-scan system largely identical to
2304-571: The Fleet Air Arm , the TRE developed a series of AI radars operating at the even shorter 3 cm wavelength, the X band , which further reduced the size of the antennas. The original model was the Mark XI, followed by the improved Mark XII and lightened Mark XIII. It is not clear if any of these models saw service, and few references mention them even in passing. These designations were given to
2400-526: The H2S radar project and was replaced by Arthur Ernest Downing. This delayed the project just long enough that it got caught up in a great debate that broke out in the summer of 1942 about the use of window , today known as chaff . Window caused false returns on radar displays that made it difficult to tell where the bombers were amid a sea of blips. Bomber Command had been pressing to use window over Germany to reduce their losses, which were beginning to mount as
2496-665: The M9 Gun Director for this role. The M9 had four sets of outputs, allowing a single M9 to control four of the Army's standard 90 mm M1 guns . The entire system, including the M9, was demonstrated in complete form on 1 April 1942. A contract for over 1,200 systems arrived the next day. Bell also worked on their own microwave radar as a backup project. The SCR-584 was extremely advanced for its era. To achieve high accuracy and measure both azimuth and elevation with one antenna, it used
2592-463: The cavity magnetron , greatly improving performance while reducing size and weight. This gave the UK an enormous lead over their counterparts in the Luftwaffe , an advantage that was to exist for the remainder of World War II . By the end of the war, over a dozen AI models had been experimented with, and at least five units widely used in service. This included several US-built models, especially for
2688-532: The "most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The potential of the device was obvious, and the US group, informally known as the Microwave Committee, immediately switched their efforts to the magnetron. They had their own examples built in US labs within weeks. They also began developing the other technologies presented at that meeting, including an aircraft interception radar and a radio navigation system that became LORAN . The expansion of
2784-400: The -3db or half-power points), the target would be smeared across a portion of a cylinder, so as to be wider in bearing than in range (i.e., on the order of 4 degrees, rather than 0.06 degrees implied by the mechanical pointing accuracy), for distant targets. Range information was displayed on two " J-scopes ", similar to the more common A-line display, but arranged in a radial pattern timed to
2880-557: The AI.18 used on the de Havilland Sea Vixen , and the AI.23 Airpass on the English Electric Lightning . This article will use Mk. or AI. depending on which is most commonly used in available references. In order to provide the maximum possible warning time of an incoming raid, the RAF's Chain Home (CH) radar stations had been positioned as far forward as possible, right on the coastline. These systems could only see targets in front of them, over
2976-672: The AI.20 primarily in the details of the operation and visual presentation. This was later upgraded to the Mark 2 model that equipped the V-force for most of its lifetime. As the Javelin ran into delays, it was decided to increase the useful life of the existing Meteor and Vampire night fighters with a new radar. After considering three US designs, they chose the Westinghouse AN/APS-57 . Its 200 kW transmitter improved range to as much as 25 miles (40 km) although this
SCR-584 radar - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-658: The Center for Severe Weather Research. One is found at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, where the 584 pedestal is the platform for the new Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research & Teaching Radar, or SMART-R. American engineer and convicted spy Morton Sobell stole plans for the SCR-584 and provided them to the Soviet Union. Military experts believe that the technology
3168-697: The Committee led to it being renamed the Radiation Laboratory (RadLab) in 1940. A formal proposal for a SCR-268 replacement was made by the Signal Corps in January 1941, by which point the RadLab had already formed what they knew as Project 2 to develop this advanced gun laying radar. MIT proposed an advanced system with automatic search, tracking and the ability to directly aim the guns. This
3264-551: The FAW.6. The last AI.17-equipped Javelin FAW.9's ended their service in Singapore in 1968. Having lost the contest for the Javelin, GEC submitted an updated version of the Mk. 16 for the contest for the de Havilland Sea Vixen . This produced the Mk. 18. Mk. 18 operated in the X band with a 180 kW peak power, using a 29 inches (740 mm) parabolic dish that could be pointed ±100° in azimuth, +50/-40° in elevation, and could keep
3360-567: The Fleet Air Arm. The AI naming convention was used in the post-war era as well, but these generally dropped the "Mk." when written in short form and used numbers instead of Roman numerals . A good example is the AI.24 radar of the Tornado ADV . These radars were often given common names as well, and generally better known by these; the AI.24 is almost universally referred to as "Foxhunter". Other widely used post-war examples include
3456-586: The German defensive network improved. Fighter Command was concerned that if Bomber Command used it over Germany, the Germans would return the favour and use it over the UK. A series of tests carried out in September 1942 by Wing Commander Derek Jackson suggested that some changes to the display systems might solve the problems with window on the Mk. VIII. At this point it was suggested that the Mk. IX might ignore
3552-419: The Mk. IV, but as the timebase now spun, they drew short arcs on the display during the period the antenna was pointed in that direction. Like the Mk. IV, the distance from the center of the CRT indicated the range. As the target moved closer to the centreline of the aircraft, the beam spent more time painting the target, and the arc spread out, becoming a ring when dead ahead. First introduced in March 1941, it
3648-482: The Mk. IX continued, but it never saw operational service. In testing in 1944 it was found to be marginally better than the US SCR-720, but with the SCR-720 expected to arrive at any moment, the demand for another radar was not pressing. Instead, the Mk. IX was given more time to mature. Further development led to more testing in 1948, but it was again passed up for production and cancelled the next year. The Mark X
3744-639: The Mk. VII, requiring very large amount of aircraft space for the install. Conversions on the Beaufighter began in December 1941. This run was followed by the production Mark VIII that included the new "strapped magnetron" of 25 kW, improving range to about 5.5 miles (8.9 km). This version also had several major clean-ups in the electronics, support for IFF Mark III which caused a sunrise pattern to appear when aimed at friendly aircraft, and beacon tracking allowing it to home in on ground-based transmitters emplaced by friendly units. In September 1942
3840-494: The Mk. X to soldier on while a definitive jet-powered night fighter evolved. This effort underwent similar delays and setbacks before finally emerging as the Gloster Javelin . Two radar sets competed for the design, the Mk. 16 and Mk. 17. The later went into production, and is better known as the AI.17. General Electric Company 's Mark 16 was one of two similar designs competing to equip the Gloster Javelin . The contest
3936-685: The NF.14, which started deliveries in June. Likewise the de Havilland Venom received the Mk. 21 to become the Venom NF.3, also entering service in June, but was withdrawn by the end of 1957. The Sea Venom flew the Mk. 21 until 1959, and in second-line duty until 1970. The Mark 22 was the British version of the US AN/APQ-43 , This consisted of two radar antennas driven from a common magnetron transmitter. One used spiral-scan to search for targets, while
SCR-584 radar - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-450: The RF is bent. Dust particles, as well as water droplets, cause attenuation of the RF energy, resulting in a loss of effective range. In both cases, a lower pulse repetition frequency makes the radar less susceptible to atmospheric conditions. Most fire-control radars have unique characteristics, such as radio frequency, pulse duration, pulse frequency and power. These can assist in identifying
4128-420: The Rad Lab, advocated the development of an entirely automatic tracking system controlled by servomechanisms. This greatly eased the task of tracking targets and reduced the manpower needed to do it. They were also able to take advantage of a newly developed microwave switch that allowed them to use a single antenna for broadcast and reception, greatly simplifying the mechanical layout. The resulting design fit into
4224-674: The SCR-584 are still operational today. In 1995 the first Doppler On Wheels (DOW) radar adapted the MP-61 pedestal from an SCR-584 for use in a mobile weather radar. Using this pedestal, the DOWs created the first maps of tornado winds, discovered hurricane boundary layer rolls, and pioneered many other observational studies. The pedestal housed first a 6' then an 8' antenna. Later the original motors were replaced with more powerful brushless versions for faster scanning in high winds. Three DOWs are now operated as National Science Foundation facilities by
4320-416: The SCR-584. Fire-control radar A fire-control radar ( FCR ) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth , elevation , range and range rate ) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometimes known as narrow beam radars , targeting radars , tracking radars , or in the UK, gun-laying radars . If
4416-627: The US AN/APS-4 and AN/APS-6 radars, small under-wing X band radars used primarily by naval aircraft. The APS-4 was originally developed as the ASH, a forward-aimed surface-search system. It was packaged into an underwing pod so it could be used on single-engine aircraft like the TBM Avenger . It proved to have a useful interception function, and was modified to be able to scan up and down as well as just side to side. The Fleet Air Arm mounted it on
4512-412: The difficulty of spotting a target from the cockpit of an aircraft while flying it at night proved to be equally difficult. Henry Tizard wrote a memo on the topic in 1936, indicating that the Germans would likely begin a night campaign if the daylight campaign went as poorly as he believed it would due to Chain Home. The obvious solution would be to mount a small radar on the aircraft, one able to cover
4608-577: The earlier and more complex SCR-268 as the US Army 's primary anti-aircraft gun laying system as quickly as they could be produced. They proved easier to use in the field than the less advanced Canadian/British GL Mk. III radar , and many SCR-584s were rushed to England where they were an important part of the defences developed to counter the V1 flying bomb . By the end of the war they had been used to track artillery shells in flight, detect vehicles, and reduce
4704-427: The first cavity magnetron , eventually generating 1 kW at 9.8 cm (3,060 MHz). Supported by GEC, the device quickly developed into a practical 10 kW system, and several test units were available by May 1940. Microwave wavelengths are so much shorter than the Mk. IV's 1.5 m, fifteen times, that the dipole antennas required for reasonable gain were only a few inches long. This dramatically reduced
4800-826: The first successful fire-control radars, the SCR-584 , was used effectively and extensively by the Allies during World War II for anti-aircraft gun laying. Since World War II, the U.S. Army has used radar for directing anti-aircraft missiles including the MIM-23 Hawk , the Nike series and currently the MIM-104 Patriot . Examples of fire-control radars currently in use by the United States Navy : After World War II, airborne fire control radars have evolved from
4896-449: The guns reached their free-firing positions on the south eastern coast of England. Seventeen per cent of all flying bombs entering the coastal 'gun belt' were destroyed by guns in the first week on the coast. This rose to 60 per cent by 23 August and 74 per cent in the last week of the month, when on one extraordinary day 82 per cent were shot down. The rate increased from one V-1 for every 2,500 shells fired to one for every hundred. After
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#17327721356074992-435: The gunsight, as well as computer-calculated cueing information that located both the target and the proper position to fly to engage based on the selected weapon. For instance, when using missiles, the system guided the aircraft not toward its target, but a point behind it where the missile could be fired. This gave the system its name, AIRPASS , an acronym for aircraft interception radar and pilot's attack sight system. AI.23
5088-499: The headquarters staff at the University of Dundee attempted to develop their own solutions to the problem. This led to considerable strife and in-fighting between the two groups. The AI group was eventually broken up at the end of March 1940, leaving Bowen out of the AI effort. A solution was eventually provided by EMI who had developed a new type of transmitter that was not based on the common self exciting principle. Instead,
5184-418: The infamous 1957 Defence White Paper , but by this time the interim English Electric Lightning design, the P.1, had progressed to the point where development was undertaken anyway (along with TSR.2). This led to continued development of the AI.23 for this aircraft (and Mk. 20, see above), and it was given the official designation "ARI 5897". The system was mounted entirely in a single bullet-shaped housing that
5280-656: The interception on their own. Interception rates over 80% was common, and on several occasions the system succeeded in getting every fighter launched into position for an attack. While the Dowding system proved invaluable inputs during daylight attacks, it was essentially useless against night raids. Once the enemy aircraft passed the coastline they could not be seen by the radars, and the ROC could not see at night except under ideal conditions with bright moonlight, no cloud cover, and considerable luck. Even when tracks could be developed,
5376-416: The manpower needed to guide anti-aircraft guns. In September 1940, a group of British physicists and engineers visited their counterparts in the US in what became known as the Tizard Mission . The goal of the meetings was to exchange technical information that might be of use to the war effort. The British were hesitant to give away too much information without getting anything in return, and initial progress
5472-401: The map, and then from group to the sector HQs who would give instructions to the fighter pilots. Due to delays in the flow of information between the various centres, and inherent inaccuracies in the reports coming from multiple sources, this system was accurate to perhaps 5 miles (8.0 km). Within 5 miles the fighters would normally be able to spot their targets visually and complete
5568-541: The one in the Mk. VIII. It also included a switch that reduced the scanning pattern to a 15 degree cone in front of the aircraft, producing a C-scope view used during the final approach. This was paired with a new and much smaller display, allowing it to be fit to smaller single-seat aircraft. It was widely used on the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair . With Mk. IX cancelled in 1949, the Ministry of Supply (MoS) allowed
5664-461: The radar could only see targets directly in front of the antenna, unlike the Mk. IV which could see anything in the entire volume in front of the aircraft. To solve this problem, the dish was mounted on a bearing system from Nash & Thompson that allowed it to be rotated in a spiral pattern. The cockpit display was modified to spin the timebase at the same speed as the antenna, 17 times a second. The display still produced blips similar to those on
5760-550: The radar is used to guide a missile, it is often known as a target illuminator or illuminator radar . A typical fire-control radar emits a narrow , intense beam of radio waves to ensure accurate tracking information and to minimize the chance of losing track of the target. This makes them less suitable for initial detection of the target, and FCRs are often partnered with a medium-range search radar to fill this role. In British terminology, these medium-range systems were known as tactical control radars . Most modern radars have
5856-406: The radar, and therefore the weapon system it is controlling. This can provide valuable tactical information, like the maximum range of the weapon, or flaws that can be exploited, to combatants that are listening for these signs. During the Cold War Soviet fire control radars were often named and NATO pilots would be able to identify the threats present by the radar signals they received. One of
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#17327721356075952-420: The radars and observation centres by telephone to a central station. Here, in the Fighter Command 's "filter room" at RAF Bentley Priory , operators would plot the map coordinates sent to them on a single large map, which allowed them to correlate multiple reports of the same target into a single track. Telephone operators, or "tellers", would then forward this information to group headquarters who would re-create
6048-458: The range between the Dowding system's 5-mile accuracy and the average visual spotting range, about 500 to 1,000 feet (150–300 m). As early as August 1936 "Taffy" Bowen , one of Robert Watson-Watt 's hand-picked radar development team, personally requested that he be allowed to start research into an airborne radar set for this role. This was approved, and the small aircraft interception team set up shop in Bawdsey Manor 's two towers. At
6144-480: The receiver causing it to oscillate or ring for a period. While this powerful signal was dying down, reflections from nearby aircraft were lost in the noise. Numerous solutions had been attempted, but were of limited use. Starting in late 1939 the development team was asked to fit the existing Mk. III design, of limited use, to aircraft. This ended further attempts to address the minimum range issue while they worked on installations. While their development effort ended,
6240-428: The return delay. One scope was used for coarse range, the other for fine. Although the first operational unit was delivered in May 1943, various bureaucratic problems led to it being delayed in being delivered to the front-line troops. The SCR-584 was first used in combat at Anzio in February 1944, where it played a key role in breaking up the Luftwaffe 's concentrated air attacks on the confined beachhead. The SCR-584
6336-468: The second used conical scanning for tracking at close range. This was one of the earliest radars to offer track while scan (TWS) operation, although it did so through the use of what was essentially two radars. The APQ-43 was one of three designs also considered for updated versions of the Meteor and Venom, the others being the AN/APQ-35 which also had two-dish TWS, and the AN/APS-57. The -35 and -43 proved too large to install in these aircraft, forcing
6432-418: The selection of the -57 as the Mk. 21. The two TWS units proved interesting, and the -43 was considered for the Javelin. These were used in small numbers in the FAW.2 and FAW.6 models. Ferranti 's Mark 23 was an X band design originally designed for the modified Fairey Delta 2 proposed for the Ministry of Supply's Operational Requirement F.155 for a modern interceptor aircraft . Work on F.155 ended with
6528-588: The simpler gun and rocket laying AN/APG-36 system used in the F-86D to the active electronically scanned array -based AN/APG-81 of the F-35 Lightning II . Aircraft interception radar Aircraft interception radar , or AI radar for short, is a British term for radar systems used to equip aircraft with the means to find and track other flying aircraft. These radars are used primarily by Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm night fighters and interceptors for locating and tracking other aircraft, although most AI radars could also be used in
6624-436: The size of the system, allowing it to fit entirely in the nose of the aircraft. While a team under Herbert Skinner developed the electronics, Bernard Lovell was put in charge of examining the use of a parabolic dish to improve the directionality of the signal. The resulting beam was so sharply focussed, spanning about 10 degrees, that it easily avoided ground reflections at even low altitudes. The narrow beam also meant that
6720-400: The spiral-scan system that allowed it to track targets automatically without further manual operation. This became known as AIF. "Freddie" Williams joined the effort, and by the autumn of 1941 the system was basically functional and plans began to introduce it as the Mark IX. Several unrelated events conspired to greatly delay further progress. On 1 January 1942 Lovell was sent to work on
6816-464: The system also included a helical scanning mode that allowed it to search for aircraft. This mode had its own dedicated PPI display for easy interpretation. When used in this mode the antenna was mechanically spun at 4 rpm while it was nudged up and down to scan vertically. The system could be operated at four frequencies between 2,700 and 2,800 MHz (10–11 cm wavelength), sending out 300 kW pulses of 0.8 microseconds in duration with
6912-462: The system suitable for field use, mounting the entire system in a single trailer with the 6-foot antenna on top. Known as XT-1 , for eXperimental Truck-1 , the system was first tested at Fort Monroe in February 1942. Work also started on a suitable gun-laying computer that could use electrical, as opposed to mechanical, inputs for pointing data. Bell Labs delivered an analog computer known as
7008-471: The time, excellent performance for that era. Nevertheless, as AI.23 began successful trials the same year, further work on AI.20 was cancelled. The next year the MoS published a requirement for a new tail warning radar for the V bomber force, replacing the original Orange Putter , and quickly chose the AI.20 as its basis. This was developed into the ARI-5919 Red Steer , which differed from
7104-458: The time, radar development was in its infancy and the other teams were working with long- wavelength transmitters operating around 7 meters. An efficient antenna requires it to be about 1 ⁄ 2 the wavelength or more, which demanded antennas at least 3 metres (9.8 ft) long, impractical for an aircraft. Additionally, available transmitters were large, heavy and fragile. The first AI experiments thus used ground-based transmitters and
7200-728: The war, the radar was adapted for use in the AN/MPQ-12 , and AN/MPM-38 systems, a US Army field artillery missile system ( MGM-5 Corporal ). A modified version was also used to control and beacon-track (using an onboard transponder) the CORONA spy satellite. In 1953, the SCR-584-Mod II was used for tracking the Redstone rocket , its range extended to 740 km by the use of an onboard transceiver. Despite using vacuum tubes and being powered by an analog computer, some specimens of
7296-435: The war. Practical ASV radars were operational in 1940, but the AI developments proved much more difficult. It was not until 1939, with the war obviously looming, that the team was once again moved back to AI development full-time. A lingering problem was that the minimum range remained around 1,000 feet, too long to allow easy interception. This was due to the transmitter signal not turning off sharply, leaking through to
7392-399: The window completely, as the light metal strips rapidly dispersed from the target being tracked, faster than the radar could follow. Further testing by Jackson demonstrated the opposite was true, and that the Mk. IX almost always locked-on to the window instead. Arthur Downing quickly implemented several changes to fix this problem. He was personally operating the system when he was shot down in
7488-562: Was a field MIT was particularly knowledgeable in due to work in their Servomechanisms Lab . At the same time, British and Canadian teams began work on versions of a simpler system that they hoped to deploy by 1942 -- the GL Mk. III, which was a microwave version of the earlier lobe-switching VHF radar sets. The Radiation Lab kept in close contact with the Canadian team during these developments. The RadLab team, overseen by Lee Davenport , had
7584-595: Was a version of the Airpass dedicated to low-level flying, especially target detection, fitted to the Blackburn Buccaneer . Further development led to the terrain following radar used in the BAC TSR.2 . Many other variants were proposed for a wide variety of projects. The final radar in the UK series of AI designs to see deployment was the Mark 24, better known as "Foxhunter". Foxhunter was developed for
7680-510: Was able to detect and track a Bear-sized bomber at 40 miles (64 km), allowing the Lightning to accomplish fully independent interceptions with only the minimum of ground assistance. A version with fully automated guidance that would have flown the aircraft into range and fired its missiles automatically was cancelled in 1965. Further development of Airpass led to AI.23 Airpass II, code named "Blue Parrot" and also known as ARI 5930. This
7776-546: Was also adopted in 1941 for the Navy's 10 cm fire-control radar system, and it was used in the German Würzburg radar in 1941. The SCR-584 developed the system much further, and added an automatic tracking mode. Once the target had been detected and was within range, the system would keep the radar pointed at the target automatically, driven by motors mounted in the antenna's base. For detection, as opposed to tracking,
7872-574: Was decided to produce another version of the Javelin with the US AN/APQ-43, which on paper appeared to be a better system. In RAF service the APQ-43 became the AI.22, and produced the Javelin FAW.2. In practice, the two systems offered similar performance and the AI.17 quality issues were soon addressed. Future versions of the Javelin mostly mounted the AI.17, although the AI.22 was also used on
7968-434: Was eventually won by AI.17. AI.17 was essentially a version of the Mk. IXC with a number of detail cleanups and a 200 kW magnetron, as well as the ability to cue the "Blue Jay" missile that was then under development. It could detect a Javelin-sized target at about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi). AI.17 entered service with the Javelin in early 1956. Early sets had considerable reliability problems and it
8064-487: Was found that the ground reflection created a sort of artificial horizon on the bottom of the display, a surprising side-effect which proved very useful. However, the limited power of the magnetron, about 5 kW, provided range of about 3 miles (4.8 km), not a great improvement over the Mk. IV. Performance of the system at low altitude was so improved over the Mk. IV that it was decided to make an initial run of 100 units out of what were essentially prototype systems as
8160-410: Was no stranger to the front, where it followed the troops, being used to direct aircraft, locate enemy vehicles (one radar is said to have picked up German vehicles at a distance of 26 kilometers), and track the trajectories of artillery shells, both to adjust the ballistic tables for the 90 millimeter guns, and to pinpoint the location of German batteries for counter-battery fire. After D-Day, the SCR-584
8256-405: Was not practical. This was the moment the British team had been waiting for. Edward George Bowen produced one of the earliest cavity magnetrons from a box and showed it to the other researchers. He explained that it also worked at 10 cm wavelength, but offered higher power - not just than the Navy klystrons, but even the US's existing long-wave radars. One US historian later described it as
8352-464: Was rarely achieved in practice. It also included various beacon homing modes, as well as an air-to-surface mode for detecting ships. This was modified to add a British strobe unit and variable pulse repetition frequency , becoming the Mark 21. The Mk. 21 was first used on the Meteor NF.12 and flew for the first time on the 21 April 1953, entering service in January 1954. Small improvements produced
8448-442: Was ready by August 1937 and fitted to Avro Anson K6260 at RAF Martlesham Heath . This unit demonstrated the ability to detect aircraft at the range of about 1 mile (1.6 km) in the air-to-air mode, but also demonstrated the ability to detect ships on the ocean at ranges up to 3 miles (4.8 km). This ability led to the split between AI and air-to-surface-vessel (ASV) radar systems, both of which would be widely used during
8544-402: Was slow. When they moved onto the topic of radar, the British team was surprised to learn that the US was in the process of developing two systems similar to their own existing Chain Home , the Navy's CXAM and the Army's SCR-270 . This began to break the ice between the two groups. Two previous attempts at radar-controlled gun-laying were notable. In Britain, the 75 MHz GL Mk. I radar
8640-523: Was so successful that it was adapted for use by the United States Navy . CXBL , a prototype of the navy version, was mounted on the carrier USS Lexington in March 1943, while the production version, the SM , built by General Electric , was operational on the carriers USS Bunker Hill and USS Enterprise by October 1943. A lighter version of the system was also developed, the SCR-784 . The only real difference
8736-423: Was suspended within the Lightning's circular nose air intake. The AI.23 was the world's first operational aircraft interception monopulse radar system. The monopulse method allows higher resolution and is far more resistant to common forms of jamming . AI.23 also included all of the features of earlier AI radars, and more. Among the highlights were an automatic lock-follow system which fed ranging information to
8832-696: Was that the new design weighed 12,000 lb , whereas the original was 20,000. Davenport waterproofed a number of the radar sets so that they could be carried aboard the Allied armada launching the Normandy landings on D-Day . Automatic gunlaying (using, among others, the SCR-584 radar) and the proximity fuze played an important part in Operation Diver , (the British operation to counter the V1 flying bombs ). Both of these had been requested by AA Command and arrived in numbers, starting in June 1944, just as
8928-402: Was the UK version of the SCR-720. This was originally promised for delivery in the summer of 1942, but ran into delays and only started arriving in December 1943. These were fit to the Mosquito to produce the NF.XVII and later versions. Conversions at operational units began in January 1944, and the Mk. X remained in service through the rest of the war. Compared to the Mk. VIII, the SCR-720 used
9024-536: Was then used against the United States during the Korean and Vietnam wars. The Soviet SON-9 ( Fire Can ), SON-30 ( Fire Wheel ), and SON-50 ( Flap Wheel ) radars were all derivatives of this radar. General Electric constructed a dolly for the SCR-584, designated K-83. The K-83 was designed to provide a semi-trailer hitch (fifth wheel) wheels and bar to engage a pintle, allowing smaller vehicles to move
9120-521: Was used in connection with a Vickers predictor; and in the U.S., the 200 MHz SCR-268 was combined with the Sperry M-4 predictor. Neither the US or UK systems had the accuracy needed to directly lay their associated guns, due to their long wavelengths. The US delegates then mentioned the Navy's work on a 10 cm wavelength radar, which could provide the required resolution with relatively small antennas, but their klystron tube had low power and
9216-478: Was used in the rapidly shifting very front lines to guide planes to their targets with increased accuracy. For example, the Control Net Systems Group of the 508th Sq of the 404th Fighter Bomber Group, 9th Air Force ran the SCR-584. From 14 July 1944 until 27 October 1944 they were attached to Sec 1 Co A, 555th Sig Aircraft Warning Battalion and served in fluid, forward positions. The SCR-584
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