The Air Defence Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) was a British civilian research organization run by the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

that primarily studied the development of

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

for

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

use. It was formed in 1941 from the merger of the Air Defence Experimental Establishment in

Christchurch, Dorset Christchurch () is a town and civil parish on the south coast of Dorset, England. The parish had a population of 31,372 in 2021. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part of the Historic counties of England, hist ...

and the "Army Cell" that had previously worked on radar design within the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

Telecommunications Research Establishment The Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) was the main United Kingdom research and development organisation for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force (RAF) ...

at Bawdsey Manor. The ADRDE existed under this name for only a short time; in May 1942 it moved to Malvern and was renamed the Radar Research and Development Establishment (RRDE). In March 1943, the

Signals Research and Development Establishment __NOTOC__ The Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) was a British government military research establishment, based in Christchurch, Dorset from 1943 until it merged with the Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) in Malvern, Worcestersh ...

(SRDE) took over the former ADRDE buildings in Christchurch. Years later, in 1976, the SRDE joined the RRDE in Malvern. While still known as ADRDE, the group was responsible for the ''ad hoc'' development of the SLC radar, as well as GL Mk. II radar and the start of the GL Mk. III radar efforts.

References

* * History of telecommunications in the United Kingdom Military research establishments of the United Kingdom 20th-century military history of the United Kingdom Science and technology in Dorset Radar {{Mil-hist-stub