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

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

that primarily studied the development of

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

for

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

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 in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town had a population of 31,372 in 2021. For the borough the population was 48,368. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part ...

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, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

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

Bawdsey Manor Bawdsey Manor stands at a prominent position at the mouth of the River Deben close to the village of Bawdsey in Suffolk, England, about northeast of London. Built in 1886, it was enlarged in 1895 as the principal residence of Sir William C ...

. 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, Worcestershir ...

(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 Searchlight Control, SLC for short but nicknamed "Elsie", was a British Army VHF-band radar system that provided aiming guidance to an attached searchlight. By combining a searchlight with a radar, the radar did not have to be particularly accura ...

, 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