Scanning the Skies

This book provides a detailed survey of a complex but fascinating aspect of British aviation history, about which, hitherto, relatively little has been published. The initial development of radar in the UK led to the successful introduction of ground radar which played a key role in the Battle of Britain. This was followed by the considerable challenges of designing airborne systems that had to be small and light and with low power consumption. The widespread application of radar and other electronic systems (including countermeasures) to the war effort, made significant contributions to the major campaigns of RAF Coastal Command in the North Atlantic and Bomber Command over Europe and is covered in detail. In the Cold War era, priority areas of development included the navigation and control systems for the V-bombers and guided weapons projects. In parallel with the scientific developments, and of equal importance, were the aircraft on which these technologies were tested. Much of the content the book focuses on the aircraft types used in pursuit of radar research and development in Britain over five decades; the modifications for this specialist role, the airfields they flew from and their operating procedures. The development of both the aircraft and the radar and the other electronic systems they tested is an integrated story of aeronautics in support of scientific research. Presented broadly chronologically, the narrative shows how the rapid development of airframes and engines and the advances in electronic engineering, and latterly computing, went hand in hand throughout the period covered by the book.