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Watson-Watt needed to prove radio waves could detect aircraft. He parked a van e
1935 Event

February 26

Watson-Watt Demonstrates Radar: Britain's Secret Weapon Against the Luftwaffe

Watson-Watt needed to prove radio waves could detect aircraft. He parked a van eight miles from a BBC transmitter and waited for a bomber to fly between them. The radio receiver crackled. The bomber's metal body was bouncing back signals. The Air Ministry gave him £12,000 and five weeks. By September, Britain had a chain of radar stations along the coast. Two years before the Luftwaffe needed finding.

February 26, 1935

91 years ago

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