Echoes of War: The Story of H2S RadarAugust 1939 was a time of great flux. The fear of impending war fueled by the aggression of Nazi Germany forced many changes. Young people pursuing academic research were plunged into an entirely different kind of research and development. For Bernard Lovell, the war meant involvement in one of the most vital research projects of the war-radar. Echoes of War: The Story of H2S Radar presents a passionate first-hand account of the development of the Home Sweet Home (H2S) radar systems during World War II. The book provides numerous personal insights into the scientific culture of wartime Britain and details the many personal sacrifices, setbacks, and eventual triumphs made by those actively involved. Bernard Lovell began his work on airborne interception radar in Taffy Bowen's airborne radar group. He was involved in the initial development of the application of the 10 centimeter cavity magnetron to airborne radar that revolutionized radar systems. In the autumn of 1941, the failure of Bomber Command to locate its target over the cloudy skies of Europe prompted the formation of a new group to develop a blind bombing system. Led by Lovell, this group developed the H2S radar system to identify towns and other targets at night or during heavy cloud cover. H2S first saw operational use with the Pathfinder Squadrons in the attack on Hamburg during the night of January 30-31, 1943. Two months later, modified H2S units installed in Coastal Command aircraft operating over the Bay of Biscay had a dramatic tactical effect on the air war against U-boats. The tide had begun to turn. In this fascinating chronicle of the H2S radar project, Sir Bernard Lovell recreates the feel and mood of the wartime years. |
Contents
4 | 21 |
5 | 37 |
AISthe First Centimetre AI AI Mark VIIMark VIII | 55 |
LockFollow AI AIFAISFMark IX | 69 |
Halifax V9977 | 101 |
Life in Swanage 194042 by Joyce Lovell | 110 |
The Last Days in Swanage and the Food Queues of Great | 119 |
The Crash of the Halifax Bomber | 126 |
The Impact of the German Naxos on Centimetre ASV | 165 |
H2S on Tank Landing Craft | 171 |
H2S on 3 Centimetres Xbandthe Attacks on Berlin | 180 |
H2S and the American 8th Bomber Command | 193 |
Fishpond | 206 |
The New Versions of H₂S | 217 |
July 1944 | 229 |
The UBoat Schnorkel | 246 |
The Meeting with the Prime Minister | 132 |
Autumn 1942 | 149 |
JanuaryFebruary 1943 | 151 |
Envoi1991 | 261 |
Principal Staff and Command Appointments | 273 |
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Common terms and phrases
12 metre aerial aerodrome Air Ministry Air Staff airborne radar American attack autumn Bawdsey beam Beaufighter became Bennett Blackett Blenheim blind bombing Bomber Command Bowen Burcham cathode-ray tube cavity magnetron centimetre ASV centimetre H2S centimetre radar Chapter Cherwell Coastal Command crash December Defford detection device diary dipole Dundee early echo electronic experimental feet fitted flying foot scanner German night H₂S H2S equipment H2S Mark H2S systems Halifax Hodgkin IIIA installation January July June K-band klystron Lancaster Leeson Leigh Light lock-follow London Lovell papers Lovell TRE record Malvern Malvern College Mark VII meeting miles months Nash & Thompson navigation night fighters November O'Kane October operational paraboloid Pathfinder Force polar diagram problem produced programme pulse raid range Renwick rotating Rowe scan corrected Schnorkel September soon Squadron St Athan stabilised Swanage tests Tizard transmitter tube U-boats units Watson-Watt wavelength Wellington Worth Matravers