Radar: A Wartime Miracle [Paperback]

Colin Latham (Author), Anne Stobbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Radar remained a dark secret throughout the Second World War. Few people ever talked much about it even after the war, yet each of the armed services had benefited enormously from radar, and none more than the Royal Air Force. In the hands of the RAF, radar played a crucial role in the defence of the nation from the marauding Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in 1940. Later, when integrated into the aircraft of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands, it helped nightfighter pilots to detect enemy intruders in the darkness, it enabled night bomber crews to locate their targets, and allowed Coastal Command crews to identify enemy submarines. The RAF's ground-based radar systems at home and overseas were equally vital links in the early warning and tracking of aircraft. Drawing on the memories of more than seventy RAF radar personnel, Radar: A Wartime Miracle tells the story of the RAF's 'dark secret' from the viewpoints of the people who were actually involved, including volunteers from New Zealand, the USA, Australia and especially Canada. These range from the backroom boffins who developed, adapted and perfected the radars to the radar mechanics and set operators on lonely inhospitable hilltops all over Britain; and from the nightfighter and bomber pilots who used radar as the tool of their respective trades to the men on the ground who folded up the radar aerials, packed them on the backs of lorries and took them overseas. The operation of each system is also explained by Colin Latham in comprehensive yet accessible terms, and so will appeal both to the layman and to those conversant with the technology. Colin Latham and Anne Stobbs both served in the RAF during the Second World Waras radar specialists, and as such are eminently qualified to recount the story of this truly miraculous wartime achievement. Supporting their fascinating story are some one hundred photographs and line illustrations. Radar: A Wartime Miracle will appeal to wartime servicemen and

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is a rare thing ... an oral history of technology in use." -- New Scientist

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Pub Ltd; illustrated edition edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750916435
• ISBN-13: 978-0750916431
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and comprehensive snapshot of technical history, January 24, 1998

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[e-mail] (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Radar: A Wartime Miracle (Aviation) (Hardcover)

Excellent first-hand account of the technology and times. Encompasses human element of first hand reporting plus new technical information (including the Big Ben V2 detection programme) that I had never heard of previously. If you don't know what the gonio was, read this book.