SC was an American-made

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and surface-search radar used during World War II by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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

Overview

They were very high frequency search sets, installed on

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s 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 a combat 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 syst ...

(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 Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

s at 1,000'

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

. 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 (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s at 115

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...

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

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

On board ships

United States

Essex-class aircraft carrier The ''Essex'' class is a retired ship class, class of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. The 20th century's most numerous class of capital ship, the class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Th ...

Independence-class aircraft carrier The ''Independence''-class aircraft carriers were a class of Light aircraft carrier, light carriers built for the United States Navy that served during World War II. Development Adapted from the design for the light cruisers, this class ...

* Yorktown-class aircraft carrier * Avenger-class escort carrier * Casablanca-class escort carrier * Long Island-class escort carrier *

Iowa-class battleship The ''Iowa'' class was a ship class, 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 Imperial Japanese Navy, Japanese battlecruiser and s ...

* ''South Dakota''-class battleship * Colorado-class battleship * * ''New York''-class battleship * *

Gearing-class destroyer The ''Gearing'' class was a series of 98 destroyers built for the U.S. Navy during and shortly after World War II. The ''Gearing'' design was a minor modification of the , whereby the hull was lengthened by at amidships, which resulted in mor ...

* Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer * Fletcher-class destroyer *

Gleaves-class destroyer The ''Gleaves''-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built 1938–42, designed by Gibbs & Cox. The first ship of the class was . They were the destroyer type that was in production for the US Navy when the U ...

* Benson-class destroyer * Sims-class destroyer * Benham-class destroyer * Somers-class destroyer * Bagley-class destroyer * Porter-class destroyer * Mahan-class destroyer * Farragut-class destroyer * Wickes-class destroyer *

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-mo ...

* John C. Butler-class destroyer escort * Rudderow-class destroyer escort * Buckley-class destroyer escort * Edsall-class destroyer escort * Chiwawa-class oiler * Kennebec-class oiler * 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 se ...

. * Buderi, Robert (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. * 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