Radar Readers

Many countries developed their own forms of radar technology, mostly during the 1930s. However, this technology did not appear to have much use until the outbreak of World War II. When WWII started, countries began scrambling to research newer, more powerful forms of radar. The invention of the radar as we know it today took place over a long period of time. However, no one can argue that its use during World War II was as inventive as it was integral. Even though radar technology was new during World War II, its use saved countless lives and made many aviation missions possible.

Being able to detect incoming aircraft made defending a location all the more easy. During the Battle of Britain, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) used radar technology to detect and shoot down German bombers. Whenever Britain’s radar operators detected incoming planes, a squadron of RAF fighters were sent to intercept it. This technology took on a very important role in Great Britain’s defense of its borders.

Germany, on the other hand, did not invest as much money or research into radar technology. Adolf Hitlerpreferred to spend money on offensive tools that would allow Germany to stay on the attack. It wasn’t until near the end of World War II that Germany began investing time and effort into creating radar systems to defend its borders.

The United States also invested heavily into the research and development of radar technology. However, it was not always utilized effectively. On the morning of December 7th, 1941, radar operators at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii detected a large number of incoming aircraft. However, because of a scheduled flight of incoming friendly aircraft, the report was disregarded. This failure to react to the radar detection allowed the Japanese sneak attack upon Pearl Harbor to succeed in alarming fashion.

By the time World War II started, every major country involved was using some form of radar. However, because the technology was so new, it was also occasionally unreliable. At first, this unreliability caused many false-positive detections (or situations when radar readers thought they detected something but nothing was there) and instances of friendly-fire. As the war continued, this technology became more and more advanced and consistent. Today, radar is used by every major country to detect military, commercial, and civilian aircraft all over the world. Radar is even used to monitor satellites in space!

  1. Which country invented the radar?

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  1. Why was radar helpful during the Battle of Britain?

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  1. Describe what a “false-positive detection” means when speaking about radar.

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  1. All of the major countries involved in WWII used radar in some way. However, not all of the countries used radar as effectively as others. Describe the different ways Great Britain, Germany, and the United States utilized radar as discussed in the article. (Use your own words!)

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