RADAR OPERATORS' MANUAL, RADAR BULLETIN NO. 3, (RADTHREE), April 1945 was created near the end of WW II. It describes the peak of WW II US radar technology.
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UNITED STATES FLEET
HEADQUARTERS OF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF
NAVY DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
April 1945.
FF1 /S67-5
Serial: 01090
CONFIDENTIAL
From: Commander in Chief, United States Fleet.
To: DISTRIBUTION LIST ATTACHED.
Subject: Change 1 to Radar Operator's Manual (RADTHREE).
Enclosure: (A) New pages for subject change.
1. Addressees are directed to make the following changes in such copy or
copies of RADTHREF as held, and to destroy the pages removed:
(a) Remove flyleaf.
(b) Replace pages i and ii with new pages furnished in Enclosure (A).
(c) Replace pages 3-25 to 3-34, inclusive, with new pages furnished in
Enclosure (A).
W.S. DeLany,
Assistant Chief of Staff.
UNITED STATES FLEET
HEADQUARTERS OF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF
NAVY DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
5 August 1944
1. This publication, Radar Operators Manual, is issued for the
information of commissioned,
warrant, and enlisted personnel to provide a standard basis of
information relative to radar
operation in the United States Fleet. It is effective upon receipt.
2. This publication is CONFIDENTIAL and shall be handled as prescribed in
Article 76, U. S.
Navy Regulations, 1920. When no longer required for use it shall be
destroyed by burning.
3. While the classification of this publication is necessarily
CONFIDENTIAL, Commanding
Officers are urged to make certain that the book is available to all
radar personnel whose duties
require access to the information contained therein.
4. Requests for this publication shall be made to Headquarters, Commander
in Chief, United
States Fleet, (Readiness Division).
NOTE: You are being entrusted with vital military secret when you learn about radar. It is imperative that you keep what you learn about the
operation, performance and functions of all radar a secret. Stop and
consider what radar does for you in guarding your hip and in protecting your life and the lives of your shipmates. This miracle weapon is largely on our
side. That is where it will remain if security functions properly. KEEP
WHAT YOU LEARN TO YOURSELF!
This manual has been prepared in response to repeated requests for a
summarization of radar
operating information written in non-technical terms, to be used by ships
and other units in
setting up training programs of their own for officers and men. In its
preparation, care has
been taken to avoid terms that are not readily understandable. It has
been the purpose of the
writers to use simple language and familiar illustrations so that the
contents will be within the
comprehension of the untrained seaman.
Part I is a simplified course in general radar principles presented in a
fashion similar to that
used at radar operator's schools. It is given as a fundamental course
prior to instruction on the
radar equipment, for it has been found that the one who knows the reasons
for tome of the
phenomena encountered in operation develops into a better and more
resourceful operator. It is
therefore recommended, that in setting up a training program, all
operators be instructed in radar principles.
Part 2 is a presentation of the principles and employment of IFF
(Identification, Friend or
Foe). It points out some of the shortcomings of the IFF currently in use,
some of the problems
that result, and some methods for solving these problems. A thorough
study of this chapter
should be made, and all radar personnel are urged to be constantly alert
for changes and new
developments in this held.
A general discussion of operational techniques is presented in Part 3
(and particularized for
each radar in Part 4). In Part 3, many questions that arise in the
minds of operators who
have not had the opportunity to attend a thoroughgoing, formal course of
instruction at a radar
school are answered. For instance, the experience representing many
hundreds
of hours of operation answers such questions as "When should automatic
control of antenna
rotation be used, and when manual?" When should the PPI scope be used,
and when is the "A"
scope the preferred unit?" It has been found that many operators who
received their training
before the development of the PPI scope are not getting maximum benefit
from present-day
radar because they have never learned the full advantages of the PPI and
the proper method of using it.
Another section of Part 3 is devoted to a general discussion of pipology,
the art of interpreting
the various types of pips that appear on radar scopes. This is not an
exact science, but an art in
which the operator cannot be expected to attain absolute perfection. It
is probably the most
difficult, and yet most interesting phase of radar operation. The basic
principles and finer
points are discussed and illustrated to give the operator the benefit of
the experience of others,
so that he need not start at the "bottom of the ladder". Even so,
proficiency comes only after the
operator has made many estimates, good and poor. and has been encouraged
and corrected by a
patient topside observer who can see the targets under consideration.
The third section of Part 3 is a discussion of both mechanical and
electronic jamming, with
stress on operational counter-measures. It is vitally important that all
radar personnel
understand this section thoroughly.
Individual radar sets are carefully illustrated and discussed in Part 4.
Correct step-by-step
procedure in turning on and off, calibrating, tuning and operating each
set is presented in this
chapter. The various uses of each set are explained. Anti-jamming
techniques are discussed
briefly. Ways to recognize improper operation and inferior performance
are described, along
with suggestions for correcting these faults. Finally, results to be
expected from each are given,
so that the efficiency of radars aboard ships may be compared, and steps
taken to correct
performance if it is not up to standard.
The new requirements for advancement in rating as a radarman demand a
knowledge of plotting
and combat information center (CIC) operation. It is therefore necessary
that all radar
operators become adept plotters as well. At the radar operator's schools,
iii
FOREWORD
air plotting is taught concurrently with air-search radar; and surface
plotting, covering use of
the maneuvering board and DRT, is taught along with surface-search radar.
Approved methods
of plotting air and surface targets from radar information are outlined
in RADFOUR and RADFIVE.
Part 5 gives a clear and concise explanation of the relative motion
problem, with a series of
practice problems on the maneuvering board. Classes should he organized
to study the text and
work the sample problems given. Similar test problems should be developed
by the CIC officer
for additional practice. Constant practice, and only constant practice,
will produce the degree of
proficiency necessary for good operation in CIC.
A brief section on CIC has been added to acquaint the operator with the
basic object and functions
of that organization, inasmuch as he will not only work with it but in it.
To answer the need for a standardized phone-talking procedure, Part 6 has
been included. In this
part there is a discussion of phone circuits, articulation, procedure,
standard Navy
phraseology, and care
of the phones. The radar operator must learn to appreciate the
importance of his role in the
ships internal communications system, and to make a concerted effort to
perfect his technique
so that vital time may he saved and misunderstandings minimized.
Because of the urgent need for this manual, it has been rushed to press
even though Part 4 is
incomplete. For this reason and also because developments in radar
equipment and operational
techniques are in a state of flux, the manual has been bound in
loose-leaf form. From time to
time new material will be introduced and old material deleted so that the
manual will keep pace
with this rapidly changing field. Nevertheless, it will probably he
impossible to keep it
completely up-to-date at all times. For this reason, even though
information presented is
believed the best available, it will not he claimed that variation from
every procedure here
outlined should never be permitted. In some instances, to deal with
special cases, it may not
only be practical but advisable to follow another course of action.
Resourcefulness based on
knowledge and sound judgment should always he the goal.
