The Radar and World War II
The Technology of Allied Victory
The Weapon that Won the War
The radar was first used in Word War II by Britain and the United States to detect enemy aircraft. It uses transverse radio waves to determine the location, direction, speed, and altitude of oncoming craft. This gave them a considerable advantage, as it allowed them to respond faster.
The Battle of Britain
The radar allowed the British to defend against German bombers in the Battle of Britain. Because they were hopelessly outgunned (Britain had 800 planes while Germany had 3000), the British had to concentrate their efforts in order to defend themselves. Radar allowed them to concentrate where they knew there were Germans, instead of randomly spacing defensive measures. This eventually won them the battle.
Use of Radar
Detection radar
Used to create a map of the surrounding area, and detecting objects at a long distance.
Display
The display would not show mush information about the plane's model, but would be very effective if the user knew where all of their own planes were meant to be.
Bombsight radar
Used to more accurately hit targets from a plane. Meant to do more physical damage.