Radar in World War II (The History of Modern Physics 1800-1950, Two volumes: Sect. A-C, and Sect. D-E w/ Appendices) [Hardcover]

Henry E. Guerlac (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1255 pages
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics; 1 edition (January 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883184869
• ISBN-13: 978-0883184868
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 3.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars equally important as the atomic bomb, March 14, 2009

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W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Radar in World War II (The History of Modern Physics 1800-1950, Two volumes: Sect. A-C, and Sect. D-E w/ Appendices) (Hardcover)

If your university has this monograph hidden away in its library, you might want to check it out. Written by physicists, and directed towards a reader with a strong science background, though not necessarily in physics, it tells a compelling story about the development of a crucial technology. Of course, the general public has been aware since the end of World War 2 about the vital role played by radar in the Battle of Britain, where the British had a decisive advantage in this field.

The book argues persuasively that radar ranked perhaps equally with the atomic bomb as the most important weapons developed by the Allies during the war.

In detail, it explains the British effort and then the sequel, so to speak. When the US entered the war, the British gave them all their radar technology. The MIT Radar lab became the American centre, analogous to Los Alamos for the Manhattan Project. We see how the Americans were able to bring their ingenuity and resources to bear. By shrinking the size and mass of the radar transmitters and detectors. Which let them be placed on ships and planes. And for artillery and ships' guns to be aimed using radar.

When the book came out in 1987, the author was able to interview some of those scientists and engineers, British and American, who took part in the war effort and were still alive.