Historical Development

IDevice Icon Preknowledge
  • The principle of the reflecting qualities of radio waves upon which radar technology is founded was discovered in 1886-87 by Professor Heinrich Rudolf Hertz. His experiments were based on Maxwell's theory of electricity and magnetism for which experimental verification was lacking in Maxwell's time.
  • The worlds first practical radar system, known as "Telemobilescope", was successfully demonstrated in 1904 by Christian Hulsmeyer, a German engineer. Despite promotion of the system within the shipping industry for detecting nearby ships in fog, it was a commercial failure.
  • The concept then languished until 1922 when Guglielmo Marconi stated that radio waves would eventually be used to detect the presence, position and range of objects at great distances from the transmitter. He proposed bistatic (transmitter and receiver at different locations) CW (continuous waves) radar to detect ships in fog or "thick" weather. Following this prediction, development work proceeded more quickly in Great Britain, France, Germany and the USA.
  • In the 1920's the US Naval Research Laboratory, using a bistatic (ie. Separate transmitter and receiver antennae), continuous wave radar was able to successfully detect the passage of a ship passing between the transmitter and receiver.
  • Pulse modulation was first developed in 1925 as a means of measuring the distance to a target although it was several years before the technique was applied to radar.
  • In 1930, Lawrence Hyland of the Naval Research Laboratory was conducting radio navigation tests for airplanes and noticed the received signal increased whenever an airplane passed between the transmitter and receiver.
  • Sir Robert Watson-Watt successfully demonstrated a "Radio Location System" in 1935 and subsequently a chain of operational systems was set up on the east coast of England when it became clear that Germany was building up a substantial airforce prior to the War.
  • By the late 1930s, FM-CW (frequency Modulated Continuous wave) radio altimeter was developed, Watson-Watt's first attempt of pulse radar - Radio Direction Finding (RDF) but not enough power for practical use.
  • The development of the magnetron in England in 1939 provided a tremendous boost to the progress of radar because it enabled much greater power and the ability to operate at microwave frequencies.
  • World War II (1939-45) saw the birth of real radar system in UK due to the breakthrough of the Magnetron. Military radars were used to find enemy planes and ships. Rain echoes ‘annoying’.
  • Later 1940s, after WW II. Birth of radar meteorology in USA, UK and Canada. Intentional use of radar for rain echoes only.
  • 1940s-50s
    • US Air Force - special radar course at Harvard and MIT pushed by Joe O. Fletcher. Three famous graduates: David Atlas, Louise Battan, Ralph Donaldson in 1945
    • UK - R. F. Jones led the weather radar experiments from 1946. J.W. Rydes and Mrs. Rydes 1946 studied microwave scattering and attenuation by cloud and rain. Critical to guide us in understanding radar data.
    • MIT - Radar-Weather Research Lab established in 1946 including Bemis, Austin, Ligda, Cunningham, Fleisher etc. with the backing of Henry Houghton’s meteorology department and Donald Kerr's Radiation Lab. Pioneers in radar meteorology. Studied bright band, signal-averaging techniques and quantitative rain measurement (QRM).
    • McGill - Stormy Weather Group led by Marshall, associates including Palmer, Hitschfeld and Gunn. Famous results - the Marshall-Palmer reflectivity and rainfall relationship (Z/R) in 1948; CAPPI display.
    • Boston - Atlas with associates Donaldson, Plank, Wexler, Kessler etc set up a radar lab in the Air Force Cambridge Lab in 1945. Studied cutting edges of radar meteorology of the time. Atlas is described as the father of radar meteorology.
If you ever encounter those names mentioned, you know who you are dealing with! They are BIG in radar meteorology! No need to worry about details.