Evening star., 1945-08-15
By ROBERT BRUSKIN.

today from radar the seeing eye'
of the fighting forces which enabled
planes. warships and antiaircraft
artillery to find and destroy the
enemy despite impenetrable dark,
clouds, fog and smokescreen.
Emerging as one of the greatest
now it can be told" stories of SCI
entific development in the war.
radar was disclosed to have received
It's major impetus from develop
ments of Washington scientists.
Through 1t. more than any other
single factor. the Allies were able to
sweep the Atlantic of submarines
after subs had exacted tremendous
toll of shipping
Radar was the deciding factor in
the battle for Britain" and was
credited with inestimable assistance
to the Raj in destroying the Luft-
waite during the blitz, and later in
the destruction of a ma jority of the
vi buzz bombs before they reached
objectives.
Ears and Eyes.
Warships of the Allies, using
radar, destroyed enemy vessels by
gunf1re and torpedo during battles
in which crews Of opposing fleets
could not see the ships through op-
tical Instruments Exact positions
of individual enemy ships and the
, range appeared only as ''pips' or
pulses" of light on radar scope
| 1t enabled long-range bombers to
navigate to their targets despite zero
weather over Germany and Japan
to drop bomb loads through the
overcast from high attitudes with
fair precision and to return safely
to their bases On December =
1941, it warned Pearl Harbor of the
approach of large numbers of un-
Identified aircraft.
Radar means radio detection anc
ranging. It's basic principles were
discovered by accident in 1922 by
two Washington scientists conduct
ing experiments with short-wave
radio. DR.. Albert Hoyt Taylor o1
2910 Pennsylvania avenue Sc, nov
chief consultant and co-ordinatol
for electronics at the Naval Re.
Search Laboratory, Anacostia, ant
his associate, Leo C. Young, 640I
Book road, Oxon Hill, found that {
moving wooden ship on the Potoma,
distorted radio signals between DR.
Taylor's trensmitter located at tn,
Naval Air Station and Mr.. Younp'
receiver at Hains Point. It has
previously been known that noun
tains and other large obstacles dis
: torted the pattern of broadcas
waves, but it was unknown tha
/. small moving objects could caus
the same result.
Holds Record Patents.
l As result of this discovery, Dl
Taylor and Mr.. Young suggested t.
the Navy that radio detection equip
ment would enable destroyers locat
on a line miles apart to detect tn
passage OF enemy vessels between
any two destroyers, despite for
darkness and smokescreen.
| These two scientists, continuin,
their development at the Naval Re
search Laboratory were later joine,
by DIR. Robert M. Page, 26I1 Thirty
third street Sc, who now. accordin,
to the Navy, has filed the larges
number of radar patent applications
DR.. Taylor credited DR.. Page will
having made more contributions Il
modern radar than any other man.
! Scientific development for mill
tary and naval use was begun al.
most simultaneously and independ.
emily In the United States, England
France and Germany during tn.
1930s. Japanese development wa.
slower and it Is now known tha
i Germany gave her assistance aftel
l the outbreak Of war. The Germans
certain Of their success, began tt
lag In radar development during thu
war. The British, faced with thu
acute problem Of air defense, forgee
ahead In airborne radar, while thu
United States led In the develop.
ment of surface radar and in pro.
j duction Of all types Of radar. Brit.
ish and American scientists poolet
their knowledge in 1910, long before
Pearl Harbor.
Radar depends on a short burs
OF radio energy, called . pulse,
i which u transmitted directionally
When the pulse strikes an object II