RADAR before the war, not just in Germany and the UK?

[Marcel]

Just found out that my country had RADAR in 1940 as well, independently developed from Germany and the UK, which is totally new to me. Seems like some of the equipment have been in operational use in May 1940 as well. Drawings reportedly have been brought to England.

In 1924 (and later!) the newspapers reported repeatedly mysterious incidents, suggested to be due to the existence of a "lethal beam". Subsequently the Dutch Parliament founded a committee presided by a professor of the Dutch University of Delft, Prof.Jhr.Dr.G.J.Elias. The committee named "Committee for the Applications of Physics in Weaponry" had to investigate the phenomena. Members were knowledgeable officers of different military branches and representatives of various scientific disciplines. The Minister of War's instruction to the Committee went beyond the issue of the "lethal beam" by requiring members to incorporate physics principles in military equipment to improve performance as needed and to advise him on the matter. A young scientist, J.L. van Soest graduate of Technical University Delft, was appointed to conduct study and research.

Prof.Elias discovered soon that the reports about lethal beams were not a reality and it was better to pay attention to more important subjects of interest for defense. The committee wanted a location for investigation under direction of Ir.J.L.van Soest who joined the organization on February 1st 1927. Ir.van Soest and his assistant instrument maker P.D.Groot put this location (100 m2) named the "Meetgebouw" (Measurements Building) into use on December 1st 1927. They shared this building with the Dutch Military Weather Service. This building was situated on the Plain of Waalsdorp in the dunes near the present day TNO building.

Here Van Soest and an "Instrumentmaker" (mechanical engineer) as assistant started work formally on December 1st 1927. These two people were provided with 3 rooms totaling to 100 sq. meters floor space. The date mentioned has since then yearly been celebrated as the day of the foundation of the laboratory. However, in order not to arouse unnecessary suspicions in those prewar years the premises received the name "Measurements Building" rather than "Laboratory".
This name was in use until the German invasion in 1940.

Van Soest started there the investigation of listening equipment for airplane observation (Air Acoustics) in use in the Army and developed his own listen equipment because the industrial equipment had unsolvable shortages. The Van Soest apparatus was a great success and has led to industrial production for the Army.

Further important projects were, the development of a radio-meteorograph for the Military Weather Service, the development of an infrared detection apparatus in behalf of the river guard, the development of a radio transmitter/ receiver for the Dutch Artillery and the electronic listening equipment for airplane observation. Manager of the last two projects was Jhr.Ir.J.L.W.C.von Weiler, who joined the "Meetgebouw" in 1934.
The items IFF, landmine detection and Underwater Acoustics were still in the experimental stage. The number of employees grew in the prewar years to 37 in 1940. The workfloor increased to some 400 sq. meters.

The electronic listening equipment, nowadays called RADAR, was ready in 1938. When the invasion by the Germans in 1940 took place, two equipment were operational of which one was in service on the "Malieveld" in the Hague to detect German airplanes. Before the capitulation Von Weiler escaped to England with the documentation of the equipment and two mainframes. In cooperation with English radar specialists, Von Weiler continued his work in England until 1946.

Upwards of 20 men of the "Meetgebouw" were joined to the Post, Telegraph and Telephone Organization PTT as "Physics Laboratory PTT" in 1941 and moved to the "Centrale Werkplaats" PTT (Central Workshop) at the Binkhorstlaan in The Hague in 1943.
During World War 2, the people of the "Meetgebouw" tried to minimize the work they had to do for the Germans in which they partly succeeded. Clandestine they built a broadcasting station that came in use after the occupation of The Netherlands ended in May 1945 and was operated by personnel of the laboratory.

Source: MUSEUM WAALSDORP at TNO location The Hague/Waalsdorp

I'm wondering if there were more such parallel developement of RADAR in other countries?

 

[Juha]

Interesting info, Marcel.
Haven't heard on that before.
Also Soviet Union had primitive radar operational in late 1939, called Rus-1, IIRC.

And I cannot remember when Japan got its very promitive system in use, IIRC it worked like a trip wire or a trip "curtain". It only indicated than a/c crossed a line or in other words flew through the "curtain".

Juha

 

[Juha]

BTW Marcel
can you give the source to your message?

Juha

 

[Marcel]

BTW Marcel
can you give the source to your message?

Juha

You're correct, I forgot. It's corrected.
Very interesting is the book "Illusies en incidenten" about the LVA mobilisation, 1938-1940 which contains a section describing the RADAR. I found this website above while looking for pictures about this RADAR. Don't know if it was published in any other language, though.

 

[Juha]

Thanks a lot, Marcel!

Juha

 

[stolperstein]

Hi Marcel,

your country get the RADAR allready in 1904...8)
see please:
Christian Hülsmeyer â€" Wikipedia
"downstairs" you can find under the link "No.1" more information in english (pdf file)

The "Telemobiloskop" from Christian Hülsmeyer could detect targets only in the direction without information about the range.


stolpi


...sorry for bad english......

 

[Marcel]

Keine problem, ich kan deutch ziemlich gut lesen.
Sehr vielen Dank für diese information, denn ich habe nie dafon gehört.

Thank you very much! a great find. This is totally new for me.

 

[HerrKaleut]

Hi Marcel. Very interesting and new!! All I can add is Robert Watson-Watt (a descendant of James Watt who invented the steam engine) and Arnold Wilkins demonstrated a working Radar set on February 26th 1935 and the world's first working radar system was in place and in commision by 1939 giving details of bearing height,speed,direction of travel and approx numbers.