Dr. A. Hoyt Taylor, Father of Naval Radar

Dr. A. Hoyt Taylor, the father of Naval radar, was in charge of the Marconi Belmar station during WWI.  The Navy had taken over the station under the authority of the radio Act of 1912.  In 1922, just a few years after leaving Wall Township, Dr. Taylor would began his quest for radar.  When WWII ended on August 15, 1945 the Daily News would list Dr. Taylor amoung the "Scientific Pioneers" responsible for radar, in an article with a photo from Camp Evans and a photo of Dr. Taylor at the Naval Research Laboratory.
This information gives us primary source evidence that Camp Evans, the Marconi Belmar station, was a significant communications control point and research site during the United States involvement in WWI.  It was part of the Belmar-New Brunswick link to Europe.  A site of early electronic countermeasures and suspected enemy message collection for decoding.  The site hosted significant persons during this period who contributed to the advance of radio technology.  The site also dispatched some of the most important diplomatic radiograms for President Wilson during the war.

Thanks to Linda Norton of the Naval Research Laboratory Library for providing a copy of Dr. Taylor's out-of-print book.

To learn more about Dr. Taylor read the chapter on Dr. Taylor from RADIO'S 100 MEN OF SCIENCE by Orrin E. Dunlap

From: RADIO REMINISCENCES: A HALF CENTURY by A. Hoyt Taylor
Published by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington. D.C.  First Edition 1948,  reprint 1960, Pages 50 - 60

Index/Highlights:

• Dr. Taylor given title of Trans-Atlantic Communications Officer - TCO
• Communication to Eifel Tower and first direct exchange with Rome by President Wilson
• Alexanderson alternator installed at New Brunswick
• System of wires buried in Shark River inlet to improve reception
• Staff at Belmar
• 2000 Foot trench servers as a radio version of Army 'KP -Kitchen Patrol' duty
• German submarine messages and suspected spies
• French radio experts visit to help improve reception
• Lots of gadgets tested at Belmar, Hoxie photographic recorder, Vreeland - audio frequency filter and G.E receiver.
• Alexanderson gets zapped while working in hotel basement
• Roy Weagant continues his work on balanced loops, which had been underway before the Navy took over the station. Weagant’s theory was that static originated from overhead
• Asbury High School closed to provide coal to keep station running.
• Other stations are directly connected to Washington