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THE SIGNAL CORPS DEVELOPMENT
of
U.S. ARMY RADAR EQUIPMENT

PART 1

Early Research and Development - 1918 - 1937

by H. M. DAVIS,
1st Lt., Signal Corps
March 1943

CONFIDENTIAL
DECLASSIFIED
DOD DIR5200.9
1972
Control Approval Symbol SPSEO-100
Project "A-1"
 
 

NOTICE: This document contains information affecting the 
national defense of the United states within the meaning of the 
Espionage Act, 50 17. S. C. , 31 and 32. as amended. 
The transmission or the revelation of its contents
in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
evans logo
Copy No. 27of35copies made
xiv plus 69pages and
 31 illustrations
Historical Section Field office
Special Activities Branch
Office Service Division
Office of the Chief Signal officer
Army Service Forces
CHRONOLOGY

This chronology lists some of the high spots in the early research and development. Unless otherwise indicated the activity mentioned is that of the Signal Corps Laboratories, Fort Monmouth, N.J. The references in the right hand column show the chapter and section in which each item is discussed, but this is not intended to be a comprehensive index.

Date

March 1918
 

April 1918
 
 
 

January 1919
 
 

28 July 1926
 
 

16 December 1926
 
 

29 October 1928 
 
 
 

1 July 1930 
 
 

5 November 1930
 
 

February 1931
 

 Signal Corps Radio Laboratories
 established at Fort Monmouth.

Ground objects detected by their
 thermal radiation by Signal Corps
 enlisted technicians at Columbia
 University. 

Tests against night flying
 aircraft with above apparatus at
 Langley Field. 

Coast Artillery officer at M.I.T.
 detects grounded plane motor at
 3,500 yards by heat radiation. 

Army Ordnance Department sets up
 investigation of infrared de-
 tection devices.

Airplane detected by reflected
 infrared rays at slant range of
 5,000 yards at Aberdeen Proving
 Ground.

Ordnance Department acts to
 transfer detection project to
 Signal Corps.

Naval Research Laboratory reports
 detection of planes and airships
 by radio interference.

Project 88 set up at Signal Corps 
 Laboratories. 

 III-A
 

II-D
 
 
 

II-D
 
 

II-E
 
 

II-E
 
 

II-F
 
 
 

II-G
 
 

III-C
 
 

III-A
- x -
Date
9 January 1932 
 
 

August 1932
 
 
 

May 1933 
 
 
 

11 December 1933
 
 

Fiscal year 1934
 
 

16 July 1934
 

August 1934
 
 

26 September 1934
 
 

November 1934
 
 

22 June 1935
 

January 1936
 

 Report of Navy radio inter-
 ference results transmitted
 to War Department 

Signal Corps Laboratories
 track Navy blimp to 6,300
 feet by reflected infrared
 rays. 

Joint exercises of antiaircraft
 and Air Corps at Fort Knox
 demonstrat inadequacy of sound
 locators. 

Corps of Engineers purchase
 order to General Electric
 Company for heat detector. 

Truck detected at short range
 with 9-centimeter magnetron
 equipment. 

 SCL Director recommends pulse-
 echo method. 

 Radio signals from 9-centimeter
 magnetron transmitter detect boat
 1,000 yards from Fort Hancock. 

 Mauretania tracked to 23,000 yards
 with Signal Corps heat detector
 through haze. 

 German liner Bremen detected by
 interference on 50-centimeter
 radio signals. 

 Normandie tracked to 30,000 yards
 by heat detector. 

 Coast Artillery test of Engineer
 and Signal Corps heat detectors
 shows both adequate against ships,
 inadequate against aircraft. 

 III-C
 
 

 III-B
 
 
 

IV-D
 
 
 

 IV-D
 
 

 III-C
 
 

III-C
 

V-C
 
 

IV-C
 
 

V-C
 
 

IV-C
 

 IV-E
- xi -
Date
1 February 1936 
 
 
 
 

26 February 1936
 
 
 
 

1 May 1936
 
 
 
 

May 1936
 
 

November 1936
 

14 December 1936
 

14 May 1937
 
 

26 May 1937
 
 

3 June 1937
 
 

9 August 1937
 

 Coast Artillery submits first
 military characteristics for
 aircraft detector (heat or
 radio) and surface vessel
 detector (heat).

 Further development of all
 aircraft and surface vessel
 detectors assigned by War
 Department to Signal Corps
 with highest priority. 

War Department directs signal
 Corps to divert funds from other
 research to aircraft detection,
 no additional funds being
 available. 

Further antiaircraft exercises
 emphasixe breakdown of sound
 locators against modern bombers. 

 Aircraft detected regularly by
 radio beat method. 

 Plane detected at seven miles by
 pulse-echo apparatus. 

 Meteorological balloons tracked
 to 15,000 yards with 240-megacycle
 pulse detector. 

 Combined radio and heat detector
 system demonstrated to Secretary of
 War. 

 Air Corps requests development of
 long range aircraft detector and
 tracker.

 Revised military characteristics
 for short-range aircraft detector
 and surface vessel detector.

  V-A
 
 
 
 

IV-G
 
 
 
 

IV-H
 
 
 
 

IV-H
 
 

V-E
 

V-G
 

V-I
 
 

VI-A
 
 

VI-D
 
 

VI-D
 
- xii -
Page updated December 31, 2003    page created September 2, 2001
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