The "Pegmantit 3" or P-3 (also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Dumbo" in the west) was an early VHF

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 ...

developed and operated by the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Development

The "Pegmantit 3" which is abbreviated to P-3 was one of the first 2D early warning and ground control radars to be developed by the former

. The development of the radar was initiated in 1943 as a replacement for the previous RUS stations used during the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and by the end of 1947 the radar was completed and in operational service. The P-3 was the first radar to be developed by the SKB Design Bureau, a division of State Plant No.197 named after V. I. Lenin, the predecessor of the current Nizhniy Novgorod Research Institute of Radio Engineering (NNIIRT). The radar had to be able to detect an aircraft to a range of no less than 130 kilometers, cover 360 degrees in azimuth and 4-18 degrees in elevation. A response time of no more than 25 seconds was stipulated and the radar had to be accurate to within 650 meters in range and within 700 meters in altitude, as well as operate in the VHF band. SKB managed to meet these performance requirements with the P-3 radar and this was confirmed during testing in 1945 before entry into service with the PVO.

Description

The P-3 was produced in two variants the P-3A (fixed) and the P-3M (mobile) with a

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

and receiver mounted on separate trucks. Both variants operate in a similar fashion using two mast mounted antennas (transmitter and receiver) composed of

Yagi antenna Yagi may refer to: Places * Yagi, Kyoto, in Japan *Yagi (Kashihara), in Nara Prefecture, Japan * Yagi-nishiguchi Station, in Kashihara, Nara, Japan * Kami-Yagi Station, a JR-West Kabe Line station located in 3-chōme, Yagi, Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima, ...

s mounted one above the other in the case of the receiver, the radar also used an A-scope display. Azimuth was scanned mechanically by the receiver antenna with elevation determined using a

Goniometer A goniometer is an instrument that either measures an angle or allows an object to be rotated to a precise angular position. The term goniometry derives from two Greek words, Wikt:γωνία, γωνία (''gōnía'') 'angle' and Wikt:μέτρο ...

, the phase difference between the upper and lower Yagi antenna was used to calculate the elevation angle which could then be used to determine the height of the target once the range was known. The P-3 had a maximum power output of up to 100 kW and a pulse duration of 10-15 microseconds.

Operators

The P-3 was operated by the Soviet Union from 1947 but has long since become obsolete and retired from service, replaced by more advanced models entering into service after the P-3 such as the

P-8 radar The "Pegmantit 8" or P-8 (also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Knife Rest A" in the west) was an early 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union. Development The "Pegmantit 8" which is abbreviated to P-8 was a devel ...

External links

NNIIRT

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:P-03 Radar Russian and Soviet military radars Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Radio Engineering products Military equipment introduced from 1945 to 1949

Development

Description

Operators

See also

External links

References