AN/CPS-1
Country of origin | US |
---|---|
Designer | MIT Radiation Laboratory |
Frequency | 3,200 MHz |
Pulsewidth | 0.8 microsecond |
Range | 200 miles (320 km) |
The AN/CPS-1, also known as the Microwave Early Warning (MEW) radar, was a semi-mobile, S band, early-warning radar developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. It was one of the first projects attempted by the Lab and was intended to build equipment to transition from the British long-wave radar to the new microwave centimeter-band radar made possible by the cavity magnetron. This project, led by Luis Walter Alvarez, became the world's first microwave phased-array antenna.
Deployed to the European Theater in 1944, the MEW proved to be an extremely effective radar against German V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets.[1] After the war, the AN/CPS-1 was adopted for use by civil aviation becoming the first radar used to track aircraft on civil air routes in the United States.[2]
Classification of radar systems
Under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), all U.S. military radar and tracking systems are assigned a unique identifying alphanumeric designation. The letters “AN” (for Army-Navy) are placed ahead of a three-letter code.[3]
- The first letter of the three-letter code denotes the type of platform hosting the electronic device, where A=Aircraft, F=Fixed (land-based), S=Ship-mounted, and T=Ground transportable.
- The second letter indicates the type of equipment, where P=Radar (pulsed), Q=Sonar, R=Radio, and Y=Data Processing
- The third letter indicates the function or purpose of the device, where G=Fire control, Q=Special Purpose, R=Receiving, S=Search, and T=Transmitting.
Thus, the AN/CPS-1 represents the 1st design of an Army-Navy “Fixed, Radar, Search” electronic device.[3][4]
Background
In 1940, Vannevar Bush, head of the National Defense Research Committee, established the "Microwave Committee" (section D-1) and the "Fire Control" division (D-2) to develop a more advanced radar anti-aircraft system in time to assist the British air-defense effort.[5]
In September of that year, a British delegation, the
To take advantage of the new design, Bush organized the
During follow-up meetings on 19 November,
Design and development
In January 1942, RadLab members travelled to the UK to see Chain Home and look for any concepts that might be useful in setting up a similar radar network in the US. One of them, Morton Kammer, met with Alvarez after returning to the US. Alvarez suggested using a
The first set was rushed into production and completed in the summer of 1943. The
Operational use
WWII
The initial orders proved optimistic, and the first five sets were hand-built at the RadLab as a production line was set up.
At the urging of Louis Ridenour the radar was moved in early July to Hastings to improve its ability to track buzz bombs.[12] In this role the system's lack of altitude measurement was not an issue as the bombs always flew low. The CPS-1's ability to scan much closer to the horizon gave it much more range than previous long-range sets like Chain Home Low.
Another CPS-1 was modified by the
Another CPS-1 was sent to Saipan on 21 September 1944, but was not immediately put into use. Here, the air traffic was much lower and the existing VHF sets were seen as good enough. When Japanese aircraft began making surprise low-level attacks on the base the VHF sets proved not to be able to detect them. The CPS-1 was moved to the top of Mount Tapochau by New Year's 1945.[14] On 3 January, this set detected another raid at 200 kilometres (120 mi) range, which was intercepted. It also found a secondary role in searching for allied aircraft that crashed in the ocean, where its high accuracy allowed the locations to be pinpointed.[15]
Post-War uses
MEWs were deployed to South Korea after the war. In early 1948, American radar crews utilizing the MEW tracked Soviet Air Forces MIGs over North Korea.[16]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ "AN/CPS-1 Microwave Early Warning (MEW) Radar". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ Buderi 1996, pp. 458.
- ^ a b Avionics Department (2013). "Missile and Electronic Equipment Designations". Electronic Warfare and Radar Systems Engineering Handbook (PDF) (4 ed.). Point Mugu, California: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. p. 2-8.1.
- LCCN 97020912.
- ^ a b Buderi 1996, pp. 84–88.
- ^ Thompson & Harris 1966, pp. 470–475.
- ^ Alvarez 1987, pp. 101–103.
- ^ a b c Thompson & Harris 1966, p. 472.
- ^ Thompson & Harris 1966, pp. 471–472.
- ^ Phelps 2010, pp. 277.
- ^ Buderi 1996, p. 219.
- ^ Buderi 1996, pp. 219–220.
- ^ Buderi 1996, pp. 225.
- ^ The Signal Corps: The outcome (mid-1943 through 1945). Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. 1956. p. 237.
- ^ Brown 1999, p. 196.
- ^ "Russian Jets or Rocket Planes Fly 800 Miles an Hour". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, MO. 20 March 1948.
Bibliography
- Alvarez, L. W. (1987). Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist. ISBN 0-465-00115-7.
- ISBN 0684835290.
- Phelps, Stephen (2010). The Tizard Mission: The Top-Secret Operation that Changed the Course of World War II. Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-59416-116-2.
- Brown, Loius (1999). Technical and Military Imperatives: A Radar History of World War 2. CRC Press.
- Thompson, George Raynor; Harris, Dixie R. (1966). The Signal Corps: The Outcome (mid-1943 Through 1945). Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army.