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The Battle of the Atlantic
Page 4 of 4
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Radar
In 1939 the Admiralty installed primitive forms of Radar on the ships HMS Rodney and the cruisers Curlew and Sheffield. It was not until 1940 that ships were fitted with an early warning radar able to detect enemy aircraft at a radius of more than 7 miles called the Type 279.
In December 1940 the new Type 281 was onboard HMS Dido to undergo sea trials. Although the test results were mediocre the unit was able to detect enemy aircraft flying at an altitude of 25 000’ up to a distance of 120 miles away. These results led to large orders from the Admiralty and their replacement throughout the fleet. This allowed the Allied Forces to regroup, resupply and concentrate its forces for the Normandy landings in June 1944. By the end of the war Germany had sunk around 3500 allied vessels, highlighting the great losses suffered especially by their Merchant navies.
