The History of Air Intercept Radar & the British Nightfighter 1935–1959
The History of Air Intercept Radar & the British Nightfighter 1935–1959

Author: Ian White

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2007-05-30

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 1526743469

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This detailed history of Air Intercept radar traces the development of this vital military technology with the Royal Air Force during WWII. In the years after World War I, the United Kingdom was desperate to develop some form of protection from an enemy air strike. As early as 1923, the British Army had devised “sound mirrors” that could detect aircraft up to twelve miles away. This technical history traces the development of military radar technology from this early, experimental phase to the creation of the first air-to-air radar systems and their uses in battle. Historian Ian White sets this fascinating narrative within the larger political, military, economic and technological context of the era. Through World War II, Air Intercept radar was a vital asset in protecting RAF bomber forces as well as the country itself. But developing the technology required the tireless work of physicists and engineers in the Air Ministry Research Establishment, particularly members of the Establishment’s Airborne Group working under Dr. Edward Bowen. Their Airborne Interception radars, such as the AI Mk. IV, were used in Blenheim night-fighters during the winter Blitz and by Mosquito during the Baedeker Raids. This in-depth history covers the introduction of centimetric technology at the Telecommunications Research Establishment, the creation of centimetric AI, and their installation in the Beaufighter and later marks of the Mosquito. It describes the creation of the Radiation Laboratory at MIT and concludes with a section on further developments during the Cold War.

Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding

Author: John T. LaSaine, Jr.

Publisher: University Press of New England

Published: 2018-05-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1611689384

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Hugh Dowding may be described as the prime architect of British victory in the battle of Britain, and thus as one of a handful of officers and men most responsible for ensuring that Hitler's planned invasion of England never occurred. Dowding was born in 1882 at the apex of British imperial power and had an early career as a gunner on the fabled North-West Frontier of the British Indian Empire. During the first year of World War I, he served with distinction as a combat pilot in France, but his real test would come in 1936, when he was assigned the critical task of reorganizing the Air Defense of Great Britain as the first air officer commanding-in-chief of the new RAF Fighter Command. In that capacity he stood up to senior staff--and Winston Churchill--by preventing the dismantling of British air defenses during the Battle of France in the spring of 1940, defying pressure from the British Army, Britain's French allies, and His Majesty's Government to send the bulk of the RAF's front-line fighters to the Continent in what Dowding predicted would be a futile effort to stem the German onslaught. While holding back as many of his best fighter aircraft as he could, in June Dowding deployed 11 Group under his hand-picked lieutenant, Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, to repulse the Luftwaffe over Dunkirk, covering the evacuation of some 338,000 British and French troops from the Continent. During the three months of fighting known as the Battle of Britain, the integrated air defense system organized and trained by Dowding fought the vaunted Luftwaffe to a standstill in daylight air-to-air combat. In October, the Germans abandoned their attempt to win a decisive battle for air superiority over England, turning instead to the protracted campaign of attrition by nighttime area bombing known as the Blitz. In building, defending, and overseeing the operations of Fighter Command, Dowding was thus not only one of the master builders of air power, but also the only airman to have been the winning commander in one of history's decisive battles.

Dowding of Fighter Command
Dowding of Fighter Command

Author: Vincent Orange

Publisher: Grub Street

Published: 2008-10-30

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1908117745

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An extensive biography of the life and distinguished military career of the Scottish air chief marshal. Making full use of archival sources, studies by other scholars, and information provided by family members, Vincent Orange has completed the first biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding to cover his entire life. Soldier, pilot, wireless pioneer, squadron commander, spiritualist, champion skier, “Stuffy” Dowding is perhaps best known as the creator of the first radar-based air defense system and his no less remarkable management of such throughout the Battle of Britain. Dowding served in “delightful and dangerous Iraq,” helped to pacify unrest in the Holy Land, was involved in the R.101 airship disaster, and oversaw the creation of Britain’s first eight-gun monoplanes, the Hurricane and Spitfire. Controversially dismissed from Fighter Command and refused the R.A.F.’s highest rank, he nevertheless became the first airman elevated to the peerage since Trenchard. Westminster Abbey was packed for his memorial service in March 1970 with more than 46 air marshals in attendance; and in 1988, H.M. the Queen Mother unveiled a statue in his honor. With his expert eye, respected historian Orange has analyzed and evaluated every episode of Dowding’s exceptional career to produce the definitive biography.

The Blitz 1940–41
The Blitz 1940–41

Author: Julian Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-08-17

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 1472857860

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An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended 'the Blitz' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain's defences and civilians responded. The Blitz - the German 'blitzkrieg' of Britain's industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain's military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war. Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of 'life under the bombs' or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe's biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the 'Battle of the Beams' that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare. Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK's air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims. Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world's first true strategic air offensive failed.

100 Years of Radar
100 Years of Radar

Author: Gaspare Galati

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 3319005847

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This book offers fascinating insights into the key technical and scientific developments in the history of radar, from the first patent, taken out by Hülsmeyer in 1904, through to the present day. Landmark events are highlighted and fascinating insights provided into the exceptional people who made possible the progress in the field, including the scientists and technologists who worked independently and under strict secrecy in various countries across the world in the 1930s and the big businessmen who played an important role after World War II. The book encourages multiple levels of reading. The author is a leading radar researcher who is ideally placed to offer a technical/scientific perspective as well as a historical one. He has taken care to structure and write the book in such a way as to appeal to both non-specialists and experts. The book is not sponsored by any company or body, either formally or informally, and is therefore entirely unbiased. The text is enriched by approximately three hundred images, most of which are original and have been accessed by detailed searches in the archives.

Observers and Navigators
Observers and Navigators

Author: Wg Cdr C.G. Jefford

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Published: 2014-05-19

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 1909808024

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This title first appeared in 2001 to universal acclaim, quickly went out of print and has remained so since. The author, meantime, has continued his research and the result is this updated edition, over half as long as the first, with stacks of new photographs. Absolutely essential reference for all those interested in military aviation.

Controlling Aircraft—From Humans to Autonomous Systems
Controlling Aircraft—From Humans to Autonomous Systems

Author: Aharon David

Publisher: SAE International

Published: 2023-07-18

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13: 1468606239

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While being the first to fly, the Wright Brothers were also the first and last complete “one stop shop” of aviation: the only case in human flight in which the same individuals personally carried out the research, development, testing, manufacturing, operation, maintenance, air control, flight simulation, training, setup, operation, and more. Since then, these facets gradually fragmented and drifted away from the aircraft. This report discusses the phenomenon of aircraft operation’s “fading humans,” including the development of flight instruments to support it, its growing automation, the emerging artificial intelligence paradigm, and the lurking cyber threats that all over the place. Controlling Aircraft – From Humans to Autonomous Systems: The Fading Humans examines the “fading” process itself, including its safety aspects, current mitigation efforts, ongoing research, and the unsettled topics that still remain. Click here to access The Mobility Frontier: Cybersecurity on the Air & Ground Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2023014

Battle Flight
Battle Flight

Author: Chris Gibson

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781902109268

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From the origins of net centric warfare in the 1940s, the Stage Plans of the 1950s, and the change of threat from aircraft to the ballistic missile, Battle Flight examines the steps taken to protect the British populace from nuclear Armageddon. Following WWII, Britain's air defences comprised a mix of interceptors and anti-aircraft guns that were tailored to counter mass bomber raids by piston-engine aircraft. These defences were rendered obsolete by the jet engine and the atomic bomb and the search for a cost-effective anti-aircraft system began. Interceptors were the obvious first line of defence and would remain so to this day, but unguided rockets and new surface-to-air guided-weapons (SAGW) were also examined. Wartime advances in guided weapons had ended, the teams dispersed, and the work forgotten, but such weapons were soon prioritized. Defensive weapons required control systems and plans were drawn up to integrate radar, command, control, and interception. These plans (Nucleus, Igloo, Rotor, Ahead, and Linesman) changed radically over a 20-year period, reflecting the rapid advance of technology in the post-war period. The 1960s saw stabilization with the interceptors as the main defence and SAMs to protect the V-bomber bases. All thoughts of ABMs were discarded, as the ballistic missile became the primary deterrent on both sides. By the 1980s the advent of long-range interceptors such as Tornado saw a change in the protection of north Atlantic convoys from Soviet attacks. As the 21st century dawned the spectre of terrorism and airborne threat changed to include the possibility of shooting down hijacked airliners, Britain's air defences diminished to 5 squadrons of Typhoons and the Aster SAMs of the Royal Navy, and Russian Air Force's Blackjacks and Bears still make forays into Britain's air defence zone. Battle Flight provides an in-depth examination of the history of Britain's air defence offering an insight into evolution up to the present day.