Quote:
Originally Posted by timothy
1. How closely was the secret of radar guarded by the British?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Boak
1. very. It were given the misleading name Radio Direction Finding. On the other hand, how secret were the tall Chain Home masts? Explosive devices were fitted to radar sets in aircraft to ensure their destruction rather than capture.
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Actually, "radar" wasn't a secret at all. What was secret were the actual systems and technologies involved, and more importantly, how these technologies were incorporated into the whole defence system.
Academic papers, patents and physical componenets had been discussed by and between the various European scientists during the 1930s. Patents (both British and German) were often declared in the scientific magazines, and even in Flight magazine.
And one needs to remember that the term RADAR wasn't used at the beginning of the war because it hadn't been invented. The acronym (for
Radio Detection And Ranging) was invented by the Americans in 1940.
K