SC was an American-made air and

surface-search radar A surface search radar, sometimes more accurately known as a sea-surface search radar or naval surveillance radar, is a type of military radar intended primarily to locate objects on the surface of lakes and oceans. Part of almost every modern naval ...

used during World War II by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Variations include SC-1, SC-2 and SC-3.

Overview

They were a longwave search sets, installed on destroyers and larger ships to search for planes and surface vessels and for control of interception. All sets have an "A" scope, provision for

Identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF systems usua ...

(IFF) connections, and work with a gyro-compass repeater. SC-2 and SC-3 also have PPI scopes, remote PPI's, and built-in BL and BI*antennas. With antennas at 100', SC and SC-1 (without

preamplifier A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier a ...

) have a reliable maximum range of 30 miles on

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carried ...

s at 1,000'

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

. With preamplifier, SC-1's range is extended to 75 miles – the same as that of SC-2 and SC-3. Range accuracy of SC is ± 200 yards; later models have an accuracy of ± 100 yds. bearing accuracy of SC and SC-21 is ± 5°; of SC-2 and SC-3, ± 3°. There is no elevation control on any of the sets, but height can be estimated roughly from positions of minimum signal strength. Shipment includes spares for each set. If separate generator is needed, it is included in shipment. Not air transportable. Both SC and SC-1 have 5 components weighing a total of 1800 lbs. SC-2 has 6 components weighing a total of 3,000 pounds. Weights and dimensions of antenna assemblies are 450 lbs. 6'111/2" x 8'6" for SC and SC-1; 478 lbs. 4'6" x 15' for SC-2 and SC-3. Antennas should be mounted as high as possible, preferably 100 feet or more, above other

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

s. One operator per shift is minimum on all 3 sets. SC and SC-1 require primary power of 1500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s at 115

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference ( voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). D ...

s, 60 cycles. SC-2 and SC-3 require 2500 watts at 115 volts, 60 cycles. All sets use ship's power of 115 volts, 60 cycles;

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

, if ship's power is 440 volts AC or 220 volts AC; motor generator if ship's power is DC.

Onboard ships

United States

* Essex-class aircraft carrier * Independence-class aircraft carrier * Yorktown-class aircraft carrier * Avenger-class escort carrier * Casablanca-class escort carrier *

Long Island-class escort carrier The ''Long Island''-class escort carrier was a two-ship class, originally listed as "AVG" (Aircraft Escort Vessels). They were converted from Type C3-class ship, type C3-class merchant ships. The first ship of the class—, originally AVG-1, l ...

Iowa-class battleship The ''Iowa'' class was a class of six fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940. They were initially intended to intercept fast capital ships such as the Japanese while also being capable of serving in a traditiona ...

* ''South Dakota''-class battleship * Colorado-class battleship * * ''New York''-class battleship * USS Sicard (DD-346)

* Gearing-class destroyer *

Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer The ''Allen M. Sumner'' class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers. The class was named for Allen Melancthon Sumner, an officer in the United S ...

Fletcher-class destroyer The ''Fletcher'' class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the and classes. Some went on to serv ...

* Gleaves-class destroyer * Benson-class destroyer * Sims-class destroyer * Benham-class destroyer * USS Peterson (DE-152) at Key West in October 1962

Somers-class destroyer * Bagley-class destroyer * Porter-class destroyer * Mahan-class destroyer * Farragut-class destroyer *

Wickes-class destroyer The ''Wickes''-class destroyers were a class of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917–19. Along with the 6 preceding and 156 subsequent s, they formed the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" type. Only a few were completed in time t ...

Sampson-class destroyer The ''Sampson''-class destroyers served in the United States Navy during World War I. Commissioned in 1916 and 1917, the class was a modification of the and es, with the number of torpedo tubes increased from four twin-mounts to four triple-m ...

John C. Butler-class destroyer escort The ''John C. Butler'' class were destroyer escorts that originated during World War II. The lead ship was , commissioned on 31 March 1944. The class was also known as the WGT type from their Westinghouse geared turbine drive. Of the 293 ships ...

Rudderow-class destroyer escort The ''Rudderow''-class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 to 1945. Of this class, 22 were completed as destroyer escorts, and 50 were completed as s and were re-classified as high speed transport APDs ...

Buckley-class destroyer escort The ''Buckley''-class destroyer escorts were 102 destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943–44. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. The lead ship was which was launched on 9 Janu ...

Edsall-class destroyer escort The ''Edsall''-class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts built primarily for ocean antisubmarine escort service during World War II. The lead ship, , was commissioned on 10 April 1943 at Orange, Texas. The class was also known as the FMR t ...

* Chiwawa-class oiler *

Kennebec-class oiler The ''Kennebec''-class oilers were sixteen United States Navy medium oilers built during World War II to three related designs at Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard of Sparrows Point, Maryland and Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. of Chester, Penns ...

* Patapsco-class gasoline tanker

Australia

Gallery

File:HMAS Condamine (300544).jpg, SC-1 aboard File:Bridge of USS Cowpens (CVL-25), circa in November 1943 (80-G-K-527).jpg, SC-2 aboard File:SC radar of USS Niobrara (AO-72) c1953.jpg, SC-3 aboard File:Forecastle of USS Kidd (DD-661) at Baton Rouge, Louisiana (USA), on 26 August 1988.jpg, SC-3 aboard File:SC-radar of USS Rio Grande (AOG-3) in the early 1950s (7574664).jpg, SC-3 aboard

Citations

References

* Norman Friedman (2006).
The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems
'.

Naval Institute Press The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds s ...

. *

Buderi, Robert Robert Buderi is an American journalist, author, and editor. Buderi served as technology editor of BusinessWeek from 1990 to 1992 and editor-in-chief of MIT's Technology Review from 2002 to 2004. He was a research fellow at MIT's Center for Inter ...

(1998). ''The Invention That Changed the World: How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technical Revolution.''

Touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

. * Hezlet, Arthur (1975). ''Electronics and Sea Power. New York: Stein and Day''. {{ISBN, 0-8128-1811-3 Naval radars World War II radars Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944 Military radars of the United States