Invention of Radar

[Klaus Schiffler]

In the book Hitler's Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil's Pact by John Cornwell there is a chapter devoted to Radar whereby the author claims that the first experiments using radio location were done in the mid-1930s. He cites Robert Page of the U.S. constructing a radar device in December 1934. Robert Watson-Watt is claimed to have pioneered radar in February 1935. Cornwell gives credit to Germany constructing radar in March 1935. If Cornwall had done his homework, he would have consulted David Pritchard's book The Radar War: Germany's Pioneering Achievement 1904-45.

Pritchard is the first author, I believe, to give credit for the invention of radar to Christian Hülsmeyer whom he gives the title of The Father of Radar. Hülsmeyer built a primitive radar system in 1904 in Düsseldorf which was reported at the time in the 18 May 1904 edition of the Kölnischer Zeitung. He approached the German Navy for financial
assistance but Admiral von Tirpitz was not interested. He received a patent for his discovery on 30 April 1904 in Germany. He also received a patent in England.

Since Germany lost all her rights to any patents prior to and during WW I by the Versailles Treaty, it can be credibly stated that Germany had no patent to radar and that the patent granted to Watson-Watts in 1935 makes him the "inventor" of radar as stated in mosthistory books.

Did Watson-Watts use information in the 1904 patent to construct his own radar device? This would easily have been available to him.