The Type 79 radar was a British naval

early-warning radar An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum t ...

developed before

World War II 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 ...

. It was the first radar system deployed by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. The first version of this radar, Type 79X, was mounted on the RN Signal School's tender, the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, in October 1936. This equipment used a frequency of 75 MHz and a wavelength of 4 metres and its antennae were strung between the ship's masts. They detected an aircraft at an altitude of and a range of during tests in July 1937. Improved versions, Type 79Y, were developed the following year that used a frequency of 43 MHz (7 metres). It required separate transmitting and receiving antennas and had a power output between 15 and 20 kW. The first set was installed in September 1938 aboard the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

and gave detection ranges up to for an aircraft at . A second set was mounted on the battleship the following month, but it was not tested until January 1939. A more powerful version, Type 79Z, was fitted to the

anti-aircraft cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several h ...

in September 1939 and proved to be successful enough that forty more sets were ordered with the designation of Type 79. The antennae were manually rotated, but only enough wire was provided to rotate a maximum of 400°. Type 79B consolidated the transmitting and receiving antennae into one and its detection range was increased to for an aircraft at . The radar also had a secondary ability to track a surface target at ranges from .Friedman, pp. 190–191

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book, last=Watson, first=Raymond C. Jr., title=Radar Origins Worldwide: History of Its Evolution in 13 Nations Through World War II, publisher=Trafford, year=2009, isbn=978-1-4269-2111-7

External links

The RN Radar and Communications Museum
Type 79 radar Naval radars World War II radars Royal Navy Radar Military equipment introduced in the 1930s