The Radar Pages
Reference sources
The following is a list of reference books, publications and articles that I have consulted whilst preparing the pages for this site. Where I have quoted from these publications in the text elsewhere on this site I have referred to the publication by name rather than reference number.
Many of the reference books listed below are available from Amazon. The link panels below will take you to the Amazon home pages in the UK and the USA. By using these links you will ensure that a small commission is granted to The Radar Pages. This will be used to fund the purchase of publications for future research.
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Click the logo to purchase other books from Amazon in the UK |
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Click the logo to purchase other books from Amazon in the USA |
A
number of the sites listed in The Radar Pages offer documents in the
Adobe Acrobat .pdf format. This format is an excellent way
to transmit documents but you may need to install a special viewer to view them
on your computer. You can down load Adobe's free Acrobat Reader
by clicking on the Acrobat logo.
1. Gough, Jack, Watching The Skies - The History of Ground Radar in the Air Defence of the United Kingdom, HMSO, London, 1993, ISBN 0 11 772723 7, 0117 727 237 8216.
This book describes the birth and development of air defence radar in the UK. Jack Gough gives us a fascinating behind the scenes look at the military and political considerations involved in the air defence of Great Britain as well as describing the systems and equipment in detail. If you served on post war R.A.F. air defence radar and wondered why on earth we did things the way we did then this book should answer many of your questions. The wartime, post war and cold war periods are covered in detail, as are the rationales behind the Rotor and Linesman/Mediator systems. This book is a prime source and something of a philosopher's stone for anyone researching British air defence radar as its author served his country for 34 years at the very heart of British radar development.
2. Winkler, David Frank, Searching The Skies - The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command, UG612.3W56, 1997.
Similar to, but lacking the scope and depth of Jack Gough's book, Searching The Skies examines US air defence radar developments from the Second World War to the end of the Cold War. Despite the errors in the text that have been highlighted by American researchers the book is still worth getting hold of. You can down load your very own copy of "Searching The Skies" from the US Environmental Programs and Analysis Branch - ACC/CEVP at http://www.cevp.com/
3. Simons, R. W. and Sutherland, J. W., "Forty years of Marconi Radar 1946 to 1986", "GEC Review" Vol 13 no.3 1998 pages 172-189.
This first class article, written by two men who were at the heart of Marconi Radar, gives a fascinating insight into the commercial, political and technical aspects of providing air defence radar equipment to the R.A.F. This article also features what is probably the only publicly documented description of the Linesman RX12874 Passive Detection System. This article is reproduced on this site with the kind permission of the Editor of the "GEC Review" and can be found here.
4. Neale, B. T., "CH - The first operational Radar" "The GEC Journal of Research", vol. 3, No.2 1985 pages 73-83
Another first class article that describes the R.A.F Chain Home (CH) air defence radar system in detail. As the author remarks, CH was the first radar to be organised into a complete air defence system and the first such system to be used in wartime operations. This article is reproduced on this site with kind permission of the Editor of "The GEC Journal of Research" and can be found here.
5. Scanlan, M. J. B., "Chain Home Radar - A Personal Reminiscence" the "GEC Review", vol 8, no.3, 1993.
Mr. Scanlan writes a lively and interesting account of his experiences as a Royal Air Force Station Technical Officer on the Chain Home radar system. The author has considerable radar experience and he writes with the enthusiasm of a man who loves his work. This article is typical of the high standards we have come to expect from the "GEC Review" and the "GEC Journal of Research". This article is reproduced on this site with the kind permission of the Editor of the "GEC Review" and can be found here.
6. Scanlan, M. J. B., "Early Centimetric Ground Radars - A Personal Reminiscence" the "GEC Review", vol 10, no.1, 1995.
Mr. Scanlan continues his personal reminiscences in this second article, recalling the historical background, the developments and life as a Royal Air Force Station Technical Officer working on centimetric radar at home, in India and the Far East. This article is reproduced on this site with the kind permission of the Editor of the "GEC Review" and can be found here.
7. Kinsey, Gordon, "Bawdsey - Birth Of The Beam", Terrance Dalton Ltd., Lavenham, Suffolk, 1983, ISBN 0 86138 017 7.
A fascinating combination of historical fact and personal anecdotes, this book examines the history of R.A.F. Bawdsey. The early days of radar are recounted by the scientists, engineers and service men and women who served there. If you served at Bawdsey then this book will bring back many memories of this wonderful, unique R.A.F. station.
8. Issacs, Jeremy, and Downing, Taylor, Cold
War, Bantam Press, 1998, ISBN 0593 04309X.
Beautifully designed and illustrated with hundreds of photographs this book accompanied the acclaimed 24 part television series of the same name transmitted by CNN and the BBC. It is an ideal starting point for anyone interested in the history of the Cold War. The political, military, civilian and personal Cold War perspectives are presented clearly and objectively. Worth getting hold of.
9. Marchant, P. A. and Heron, K. M., "Post Office Equipment for Radar", The Post Office Electrical Engineers Journal, The Institution of Post Office Electrical Engineers, Vol 38 January 1946 part 4.
This article describes how radar data was transmitted between sites over Post Office circuits during the Second World War. This article is reproduced on this site and can be found here.
10. Hanbury Brown, R., "Robert Watson-Watt, the Father of Radar", Engineering Science and Educational Journal, IEE, Vol 3 number 1, February 1994.
A short biographical article that describes the man, his work and British wartime radar developments. This article is written by a distinguished scientist in his own right who worked closely with him. This article is reproduced on this site with the kind permission of the Editor of the Engineering Science and Educational Journal and can be found here.
11. Latham, C. and Stobbs, A., "Radar - A Wartime Miracle", Sutton Publishing Ltd., Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2BU, 1999, ISBN 0-7509-1114X
12. Latham, C. and Stobbs, A., "Pioneers of Radar", Sutton Publishing Ltd., Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2BU, 1999, ISBN 0-7509-2120-X
A superb combination of historical facts and personal anecdotes, these two books examine the early days of radar as recounted by the scientists, engineers and service men and women who served during this period. Containing fine examples of Oral History, these books bring many accounts and photographs into the public gaze for the first time. A "must have" for all oral history and historical radar researchers.
13. R.W. Simons "Guglielmo Marconi and Early Systems of Wireless Communication", "GEC Review" vol.11, no.1, 1996.
A fascinating account of some of Marconi's early work in .pdf format can be downloaded from here.
14. P. S. Hall et al, Royal Military College of Science, "Radar", Brassey's (UK), London, 1991. ISBN 0 08 037710 6, 0 08 037711 4
This volume is intended to give the informed, but not necessarily technically expert, reader, a wide view of the way radar works, is developing and is used.
15. Clark, Major Gregory C., "Deflating British Radar Myths Of World War II", A research paper presented to The Research Department, Air Command and Staff College, AU/ACSC/0609F/97-3, March 1997.
Clark presents a good over view of World War II radar developments but doesn't bring any thing new to the subject. My strongest criticism of this work is for Clark's tendency to fall into the trap of viewing historical events from a modern perspective. Thus he is scathing of the British use of H.F. technology in the late 1930's whilst failing to take account of the consequences that arose from its use or the state of British scientific knowledge and technical development at that time. For all it's faults this paper is still worth reading and it can be down loaded in .pdf format here.
16. Haigh, Brig. J. D., O.B.E., M.A., M.I.E.E., "The Services Textbook of Radio, Volume 7, Radiolocation Techniques", Edited by the staff of "Wireless World", H.M.S.O., London, 1960. Also known to the British armed forces as Admiralty B.R.600(7), War Office 10224(7) and Air Ministry A.P.3214(7).
A very useful volume giving detailed overviews of Radiolocation techniques. This volume covers the principles of direction finding and the various systems in use, characteristics of radar equipment and the factors affecting performance, radar displays and typical radar systems, interference. There are good descriptions of the Gee, Decca, Oboe, Tacan and Consol navigation systems
17. Hobart, Malcolm, "Badges and Uniforms of the Royal Air Force", published by Leo Cooper, an imprint of Pen and Sword Books Ltd., 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, year 2000.
Detailed descriptions of Royal Air Force uniforms and badges can be found in this definitive and well illustrated book. The author describes a little of the history of the uniform and badges of the Royal Air Force and supplements his text with clear and detailed colour photographs. This book is a "must have" for military badge collectors and all those with an interest in the R.A.F.
18. Brown, Louis, "A Radar History of World War II - Technical and Military Imperatives", Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia, 1999. ISBN 0 7503 0659 9
A comprehensive and possibly definitive overview of Allied and Axis radar in World War II. The author writes with an easy to read style punctuated with occasional light humour and irony. This is no mere rehashing of earlier research, the author brings clarity and a wealth of new information to the subject and also manages at the same time to comprehensively dispel many radar myths. Well researched and wide ranging in its coverage this book is long overdue and it will prove to be a valuable addition to the radar researcher's library.
19. Buderi, Robert, "The invention that changed the world - The story of Radar from war to peace", Abacus, Little, Brown & Co., London, 1999. ISBN 0 349 11068 9
The author paints a fascinating picture of radar from its pre war infancy to the present as he describes the many forms of radar that have been developed. Most importantly though, Buderi doesn't take the easy path and merely chart the careers of the principal players, in many ways he breaths life into the names with which radar researchers are so familiar thus enabling us to see them, perhaps for the first time, not just as scientists and engineers but as living people with emotions, relationships, strengths and weaknesses.
20. Hanbury Brown, R., "Boffin - A personal story of the early days of Radar, Radaio Astronomy and Quantum Optics", Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia, 2002. ISBN 0 7503 0130 9 and 0 7503 0892 3
This is a lively and fascinating account of a lifetime's work that is cleverly written to appeal to both the layman and the specialist alike. Hanbury Brown never speaks down to the layman reader, providing enough detail for the basic principals to be grasped whilst at the same time there is enough technical detail to satisfy those of a scientific or technical background and who for the most part will already be familiar with most of the technical details. A good all round read and well worth having on the bookshelf.
21. Zimmerman, David, "Britain's Shield - Radar and the defeat of the Luftwaffe", Sutton Publishing Ltd., Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2BU, 2001, ISBN 0-7509-1799-7.
The author describes the early, non radar based attempts at developing a British air defence and the events leading to the development of a radar based system. Unlike some authors, Zimmerman describes the crucial series of interception tests, sometimes known as the Biggin Hill experiments, in some detail. The importance of these experiments cannot be overlooked for they laid the foundations of the worlds first successful integrated air defence system. He then goes on to tell the story of how the Chain Home radar system was developed, how it was integrated into Britain's air defence system and the success of the system during the Battle of Britain. Zimmerman contrasts the British successes against the German daylight campaign with their failure to successfully address Germany's switch to night bombing despite plentiful warning of this possibility. The bitter personal dispute between Lindermann and Tizard is examined and commented on, as is the relative lack of recognition granted to the radar scientists and engineers in the post war years.
21. Muller, Werner, "Ground Radar Systems Of The Luftwaffe 1939-1945", Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, PA 19310, USA. ISBN 0-7643-0567-0.
The author provides a useful, though non technical, overview of German air defence ground radar equipment of the Second World War era. The booklet contains many black and white photographs that graphically portrays the shear diversity of German wartime radar development. The accompanying text gives short descriptions of each radar and it role. Some detail of German operational organisation can be found in the text, in particular the roles of the Wurzburg operating team are described.
22. Jones, R.V., "Most Secret War - British Scientific Intelligence 1939-1945, Coronet edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1979. ISBN 0-340-24169-1
The author's account of his experiences in British Scientific Intelligence between 1939 and 1945. Anticipating German applications of scientific principles to warfare was the author's responsibility and he gives an interesting and sometimes exciting account of his department's efforts to unravel the workings of the German air defence network and offensive navigation systems. The "V" weapon campaign is examined and the author deals in some depth with the problems of involving political appointees and scientist from out with the intelligence community in determining how an enemy may apply scientific principles. Professor Jones also gives his perspective of the bitter personal dispute between Lindermann and Tizard and some interesting insights on what came to be known as Operational Research.
23. Millar, George, "The Bruneval Raid - Stealing Hitler's Radar", Cassel & Co., London, 1974. ISBN 0-304-36221-2
The author examine the many aspects of the Second World War that led to the decision to raid the German radar station at Bruneval. These aspects include overviews of British radar developments, the development of Command and Control, aerial reconnaissance, British Scientific intelligence and inter service politics. The detailed description of the raid occupies the last third of the book. The high regard that the author has for "The Resistance" as a result of his own experiences comes over well in his work.
Many of the reference books listed above are available from Amazon. The link panels below will take you to the Amazon home pages in the UK and the USA. By using these links you will ensure that a small commission is granted to The Radar Pages. This will be used to fund the purchase of publications for future research.
|
|
|
|
|
Click the logo to purchase other books from Amazon in the UK |
|
Click the logo to purchase other books from Amazon in the USA |
A
number of the sites listed in The Radar Pages offer documents in the
Adobe Acrobat .pdf format. This format is an excellent way
to transmit documents but you may need to install a special viewer to view them
on your computer. You can down load Adobe's free Acrobat Reader
by clicking on the Acrobat logo.
