Radar was first used in 1904 by Christian Hülsmeyer to detect the presence of distant metallic objects, yet the leap to mounting such equipment aboard an aircraft came three decades later. It was first demonstrated by the British physicist Sir Robert Watson-Watt on February 26, 1935, when he detected a flying bomber using radio waves; Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins managed to pick up a Handley Page Heyford bomber being used as a test target.
This ground-to-air success encouraged engineers to reverse the geometry and place the apparatus inside the very machines that had served as targets, giving pilots the ability to see through darkness and cloud. By 1940 the U. S. Navy had coined the acronym RADAR for Radio Detection And Ranging equipment, and the first experimental airborne sets were flying soon afterward.
Expert behind this article
Jim Goodrich
Jim Goodrich is a pilot, aviation expert and founder of Tsunami Air.
When was radar first used in aviation?
The first functional radar was used on February 26, 1935. The fundamental principle underlying all radars was observed by Heinrich Hertz in 1886, yet developmental work on radar began in the 1930s. On 26 February 1935 British physicist Sir Robert Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins demonstrated their system using a BBC transmitter. Their equipment picked up a Handley Page Heyford bomber as a test target. By May 1935 Watson-Watt and Wilkins had set up experiments with a team of scientists at Orfordness, work that led to the world's first working radar system.
Building on that progress, the group at the Bawdsey Manor research center began experimenting on how to fit a radar system into an aircraft around 1936. In August 1936 Taffy Bowen personally requested permission to start research into an airborne radar set. Meanwhile, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory had already constructed a prototype: in February 1936 the NRL system first detected an aircraft at about 5 km (3.1 miles), and in June 1936 the same prototype tracked an aircraft at distances up to 25 miles (40 km). A working transmitter was first flown in a Heyford in March 1937, and Bowen's team demonstrated their crude ASV radar in 1937 by detecting the Home Fleet. By September 1938 the British chain-home radar system was in 24-hour operation, and by 1939 England had established a chain of radar stations along its south and east coasts.
The term RADAR itself was coined by the U.S. Navy in 1940. The first secret radar system was installed at RAF Neatishead in September 1941, and by that year radar had been combat-proven in airborne functions. The Civil Aeronautics Administration unveiled an experimental radar-equipped tower for control of civil flights in 1946. On 3 April 1947 CAA controllers began in-service evaluations of the GCA radar system at Washington National and Chicago Municipal airports. Routine civilian use began when the Civil Aeronautics Administration inaugurated radar departure control procedures at Washington National Airport on 7 January 1952 and six months later radar approach control procedures began at the same airport.
What was the first plane with a radar?
The first plane with a radar was the Handley Page Heyford. In May 1935 Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins set up experiments at Orfordness and managed to pick up a Handley Page Heyford bomber being used as a test target, marking the first practical radar test.
Was radar used in aircraft during WW2?
Yes, radar was used in aircraft during WW2. Radar was used by both the Allies and Axis powers in World War II. Radar provided an important tool for U.S. armed forces in World War II. British scientists recognized the need for miniaturized airborne-Interception (AI) radar systems. Beaufighters equipped with Airborne Interception radar were effective and AI could detect enemy aircraft five miles away. Chain Home stations, mounted on cliffs and high ground, could detect aircraft 100 miles (161 km) away and were instrumental in assuring Fighter Command forces were placed where most needed during the Battle of Britain.
German radar could detect planes at 50 miles (80.47 km). The accurate Freya and Würzburg radars were used in German air-defense systems. The 50-centimeter Würzburg radar system was adopted as the leading gun-laying system for the Luftwaffe and German Army.
Airborne radar permitted night interceptors to find opponent warplanes in full darkness, ending the protective blanket crews had relied upon. The arrival of radar compelled a full re-evaluation of air tactics and strategy. Systems like the H2S ground-mapping set awarded bombers a great degree of navigational preciseness.
