S-band Search Radars
The Navy requested an S-band search radar to detect submarines. Ernest Pollard received the assignment to develop a shipboard SGband set and an ASGband version suitable for large aircraft like Navy blimps. The SG-band radars could detect submarines up to 15 miles away. The Navy later used AN/APS-2 as a submarine detection tool.
The Type 42 was a more powerful and efficient version of the Type 41. It had a range up to 40 km. The Type 42 was also suited for shipboard applications. It went through many revisions. Its peak power ranged from three to five megawatts and its pulse width was just 10 milliseconds. It weighed approximately one to two tons, and was in service by late 1942. The Type 42 was manufactured to meet surface fleet requirements and was later upgraded in the mid-1940s.
The invention of radars benefited the German navy. The NVA, or Nachrichten-Versuchskommando, was located at Pelzerhaken near Lubeck. Radiomarelli in Italy built the radar. To avoid being captured by the Nazis, however, the Italian Royal Navy Command destroyed the documentation. The Germans eventually captured Brandimarte, who later became a Lt. Commandant, and participated in antifascist resistance.
Weather radars with X-band capabilities
The X-band weather radar is one of the most advanced radars. It operates at frequencies around 3000 MHz, and 10 cm. These antennas, which are very small, require a lot power and are expensive. They are too large to fit into an airplane.
X-band radars operate between 8-12 GHz frequencies and are sensitive to smaller particles in air. They are often used in cloud development studies and light precipitation observation. Their high-sensitivity allows them to identify tiny water and snow particles. Despite their limited range and weight, X-band weather radars are widely used in military and civilian aircraft.
There are several types today of weather radars. The most well-known is the AN/CPS-9 "X” band radar, which was designed for the U.S. Air Force. This radar, although controversial, has been instrumental in highlighting the value of radar meteorology.
Chain Home Low radar
The Chain Home Low radar (CHL), a small radar system, was developed to detect targets at very low altitudes. The radar could detect targets upto 15 meters. It was powered with a magnetron. Initially, it had a grid of six-meter-high dipoles measuring ninety centimeters across. It was eventually converted to a slotted wavesguide near its focal location. This system had a fixed horizontal line and was used mainly for early warning missions.
During World War II, the Chain Home Low radar system was used by the United States. It was based in part on the Coastal Defence radars which were first installed in 1939. They were reused to detect low flying aircraft. In their infancy, CH stations were simpler than the successors. Each station consisted of a transmitter and a receiver.