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Charivaria

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Saved by Alan Hartley-Smith
on February 9, 2011 at 5:50:22 pm
 

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Introduction

This page is for those bits and pieces that either don't fit exactly into any other section or spread over several or are just curiosities.

 

RDF or Radar?

To start with there is the background to these two nomenclatures. There are several claimants for the coining of RDF but the one thar seems to have the best provenance is to be found in "Britain's Shield RADAR" by David Zimmerman on page 132 - quote:

 

On 23 August (1935) Wing Commander J.O.Andrews, a staff officer at the Air Ministry, reported to Wimperis (Director of Scientific Research at the Air Ministry) that the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff had requested 'a name for this system of detection  which [did] not immediately indicate its method of operation'. Andrews suggested that they use the term 'R.D.F. (a compression of R.D and D/F) to serve as verb, noun or adjective as required.' If Wimperis agreed this term would be used in all further official documents. On 17 September Wimperis concurred with Andrews' recommendation and British radar became known as RDF. This is confirmed by the earliest document which refers to the term. This document is a paper written by Wimperis on 24 September titled 'Notes on proposed methods of plotting information received from R.D.F. stations'.

 

RDF remained the term used in Britain until Radar, standing for 'Radio Detection and Ranging', the official derivation used by the Americans as their cover for the secret work at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington with ranging meaning distance and direction measurement, became the generic nomenclature in 1943.

 

Marconi Centenary

This is the only reference I can find to what should have been a considerable event

 

GEC History 1

 

GEC Archives

 

GEC Computers

 

United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects

 

RADAR EQUIPMENT - SITES & SPECIFICATIONS - references to Rotor

 

Marconi Conference Centre

 

RAF Yatesbury

 

Royal Air Force Museum

 

The Radar War

 

Informal Radar Conference 1946

 

CH Radar

This is a blog consisting mainly of critiques of books about radar by various authors with

some fascinating comments

 

Making Vision Into Power

 

The other side of the story 1, 2

 

The National Valve Museum

Another private venture recording electronic history

 

People

Figures in the story of radar other than those connected with Marconi.

 

Arnold "Skip" Wilkins

 

Sir Robert Watson-Watt

For an interesting commentary on his claim to fame see Chapter 9 "The first casualty of war" in "leaps in the dark" by John Waller - 2004 - OUP

 

Sir Edward Fennessy - an interesting comment

 

Dr E H Putley

 

Early Radar memories

 

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