The LGR-1 (Lightweight Ground Radar 1) was used by

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (; ; ; ) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914, three days after the outbreak of World War I, as a part of the Swiss Army, army and in October 1936 as an independent service. In peaceti ...

from 1948 until 1955 for positioning the planned radar air surveillance system. It is now in the

Flieger-Flab-Museum The Flieger Flab Museum (English: Swiss Air Force Museum) is located in the Canton of Zurich in Dübendorf on the grounds of Dübendorf Air Base. In the museum, 40 airplanes and helicopters are displayed, with the collection divided into distin ...

at Dübendorf.

History

This radar of the first generation of mobile radar systems in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was in the Allied invasion of Normandy in use. In Switzerland, the system was never used in the tactical way. It was used for determining the locations of the first Swiss airspace control system the

SRF Airspace monitoring and management system The SFR Airspace monitoring and management system was the first Airspace monitoring and management system of the Swiss Air Force. History After the second world war it became apparent that the rapid development of air defense of Switzerland wi ...

. The LGR-1 radar was tested at various locations, including at the military airfield Dübendorf, at the Bütschelegg above Bern-Belp, at the Weisfluhgipfel ( Weissfluhjoch) and at the Creux du Van. As weatherprotection a wooden hut was built around the LGR-1. The transportable in 10 loads lightweight radar LGR-1 was developed during the Second World War by

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

and

Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...

and built by

Bendix Corporation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company founded in 1924 and subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse since 2002. During various times in its existence, Bendix made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft ...

in large numbers .

Specifications

*Transmitter: L-band in the frequency range 1220 - 1350 MHz *Peak power: 400 kW *Pulse duration: 0.2 microsecond *Target detection range: 100 km *Power supply: 120 Volt 400 Hz from a gasoline engine.

References

* Alber Wüst: ''Die Schweizerische Fliegerabwehr.'' 2011,

Militärische Denkmäler im Bereich der Luftwaffe (PDF)(German only) {{Air forces in Europe Swiss Air Force Military equipment of Switzerland Ground radars

History

Specifications

See also

References