PAGE EIGHT
HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON
June 21, 1948
Radar-New Secret Super
Weapon of War-Operates
As Radio Eye in Battles
(Editor's Note: Radar is the
United States' secret super-weap'
en the radio "eyes" ol our
armed forces. The story of its
development is a story of how a
small group of naval scientists
kept the project alive in the face
of official inertia. John M. High
tower of The Associated Press
tells the story so far as it may
be told now in six daily install'
mcnts, of which this is the first.)
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER
(Copyright, 1943.
By The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, June 21 W)
Radar, the most revolutionary
new weapon of this war an in
strument that has secretly
shaped the course of victory in
rnany historic battles was orig
inally developed in ine unueu
States by a by-product of radio
research by a little group of
naval scientists, long on faith
and short on funds.
Had they not persevered in
their work in the face of official
inertia, compounded in many in
stances by scoffing disbelief, the
United States might have lost the
war about 10 to 20 years before
it began.
To military and naval men
now, it is inconceivable that we
should have entered this strug
gle without Radar. The record
shows that the scientists began
to realize that fact more than 20
years ago.
Radio Eyes
Long before the battle of
Guadalcanal, they envisioned ra
dio "eyes" to let warships "see"
through fog and darkness. Long
before the battle of Britain, they
foresaw a wall of detective rays
ringing the frontiers of nations
endangered by air attack. Al
most before airplanes flew at
night, they conceived the ideas
which make today's allied night
fighters the deadly killers they
are.
- This is the story of Radar, so
far as it may be told now, and of
the men who made it.
' Two months ago the story
could not have been told at all.
Radar was to secret and its se
crecy was considered so vital to
the United Nations that even
mention of the name was taboo.
Similar Instruments
It is true that the axis had a
similar instrument; but the ad
mirals and generals who decide
such things believed ours was a
lot better than theirs knew it
by performance if nothing else.
They did not want any loose
talk about Radar so they ordered
no talk at all.
What the scientists, being
naval research men, apparently
did not fully anticipate is that
they were spawning ' a new
branch of the radio industry in
the field of electronics. Today
Radar is a multi-milUon-dollax
industry for war; tomorrow it
Will become a billion-dollar in
dustry for peace. Radar will
guide tomorrow's sea and air
liners through stormy nights to
safety, just as it is guiding to
day's warcraft through the
smoke of battle to victory.
On April 25, the army and
navy put out a joint and unspec
tacular release admitting the ex
istence of a radio detecting and
ranging device and naming it.
Radar is a navy code word mean
ing logically enough, "radio-de
tecting and ranging." Possibly
never has such a remarkable in
strument been camouflaged un
der a more wooden title.
Disclosure Influence
The British previously had
broken down their usually
barbed restrictions to some ex
tent and this undoubtedly influ
enced the American decision in
favor of disclosure.
: But there were other reasons,
too. Many skilled workers in
Radar construction were being
caught in the draft or were un
i der other compulsion to get into
uniform. Neither their draft
boards nor their sweethearts had
been told the vitally important
nature of their work. From that
point of view, publicity about
Radar was urgent. Moreover.
thousands of recruits were need
ed for Radar operation and these
had to be raised by recruiting,
which means publicity. So the
barriers came down.
A series of researches and dis
coveries in this country led to
the creation of Radar not only
among the allies but apparently
among the axis nations as well.
Early Workers
The central figure in that ear
ly work, and the man who liter.
ally begged, borrowed and stole
when necessary to transform his
ideas on radio into reality, is a
slight, baldish, one-time physics
professor vhose professional
career began in 1903 at the Uni
versity of Wisconsin. Albert
Hoyt Taylor now is chief navy
physicist and superintendent of
When in Medford
Stay at
HOTEL HOLLAND
Thoroughly Modern
Jos and Anne Earley
Proprietors
the radio division of the naval
research laboratory here.
Taylor's direct contributions
to radio detection dealt mostly
with the fundamental discover
ies of how radio waves behave
and with some of the first crude
instruments and experiments. As
the naval research laboratory ex
panded and Taylor's duties be
came more complex, it fell to the
lot of a younger genius to devel
op the first modern Radar equip
ment and perfect many of the
improvements which have made
it a battle instrument of uncan
ny precision.
Robert M. Page, sensitive, soft
voiced chief of a research section
of the laboratory's radio division,
is credited by his colleagues
with doing more for Radar's
technical progress than any oth
er man on the staff.
Chief
The naval research laboratory,
at which these men and their
colleagues still work on the ad
vancement of ' Radar, is, of
course, a regular naval station
and thus is under command of an
officer. The present chief is Ad
miral A. H. Van Keuren, a veter
an of many years service both at
sea and ashore. Previously he
had served as chief of the bureau
of construction and repair and
bureau of ships.
Van Keuren succeeded Rear
Admiral Harold G. Bowen at the
laboratory. The records clearly
indicate that it was fortunate for
Radar and therefore for the
country that Bowen got interest
ed'in the laboratory's work about
13 years ago and began to pro
mote it.
For Bowen became the needed
link between the scientists on
one hand and the navy and con
gress on the other. The admiral's
great enthusiasm always has
been to get hold of and promote
sound but revolutionary ideas;
the depths of his belligerent soul
are ' stirred m os t violently
against conservative preference
for keeping things the way they
are.
Farsighted "
A vigorous and confident mis
sionary of progress, Bowen was
one of a handful of farsighted
men who campaigned for years
to sell Radar to the fighting navy
and to congress, which as usual
held the money bags. He cut
red-tape and regulations to deal
frankly on Radar with members
of the house and senate approp
riations committee. They came
through in the grand manner. .
"They were mighty impressed
with what they learned, and
they offered us a hundred thou
sand dollars," he said. 'That was
in 1935. We took it, and it was
all we could use at that time.
You can't buy ' inventions, you
know. All we needed then was
a little money for salaries to in
crease the staff a bit."
About 1940, when the crash of
falling France was heard across
the Atlantic, the appropriations
grew in keeping with the in
creasing importance of the lab
oratory's preparations for war.
The institution that had started
out as a single gray concrete
building rising alone out of the
Potomac river mud flats below
Washington blossomed, after -18
lean years, into a thriving center
of naval science in many fields
the only place of its kind in the
world. v
Before Pearl Harbor
Bowen performed another Im
portant function, too. He inter
ested industrialists in the manu
facture of Radar equipment and
thus cleared the way for its pro
duction on a quantity basis. The
first Radar sets went into the
fleet, in the Pacific, in Decem
ber, 1940, a year before Pearl
Harbor.
Skepticism as to their value
vanished rapidly as they went on
ship after ship and proved them
selves by amazing performance.
Thus officers and men were
ready to use them to the fullest
when war came, and in battle
they proved themselves all over
again, enabling our warriors of
the sea to pull off feats they had
not deamed possible in pre-Ra-dar
years.
At Guadalcanal
Late on the evening of Novem
ber 14, 1942, among the Solomon
islands in the South Pacific, one
of our warships was out looking
for Japanese warships.
The sea battle for Guadalcan
al was in its final phase, the issue
still undecided. Aboard the
American vessel, a Radar, like
an invisible searchlight, probed
the enshrouding darkness with
its magical waves.
Suddenly the indicator on
which Radar registers its discov
eries disclosed the presence of
an enemy vessel more than eight
mils away.
The big ship lifted its gun
muzzles toward the stars. They
flashed and thundered by sal
voes. The second salvo, despite the
darkness and 16,000-yard range,
landed squarely on the target.
The American ships went on
not only to win but to turn the
battle for Guadalcanal into one!
of the most costly routs in Jap
anese history.
British Version
The British version of Radar,
known as Radio-Locator, match
ed in military results the heroic
sacrifices of the handful of fight
er pilots who saved England dur
ing the nazi aerial blitz of late
1940. Land-based Radar ringed
England's coast and rode in its
night fighter planes. Radar's un
erring fingers picked up the
range, direction and speed on
Hitler's bombers far out over the
water, sometimes even over Eu
rope itself. '
Assured of adequate forewarn
ing of each attack, the handful
of RAF heroes who saved the
British Isles from destruction by
air found it unnecessary to main
tain incessant fighter patrols
which would quickly have t
hausted men and planes.
They rested until the foe ap
proached and went into action at
the last minute. It was this con
servation of energy, machines
and fuel which enabled England
to fight back until the blitz col
lapsed. .
OF
CAMP WHITE. Ore. Entry
upon the area near Upper Table
Rock is exceedingly dangerous
at the present time, It was an
nounced by the training division
of Camp White. All military
and civilian . personnel arc
warned against entering this sec
tion. Rifle ranges and machine gun
courses are situated east of Up
per Table Rock, and unauthor
ized trespassers are in danger of
being seriously injured by bul
lets which ricochet from the face
of the rocks.
If it is necessary to enter this
area, permission should first be
secured from the training di
vision. Camp White. . The tele
phone is 5221, Extension 3228.
The University of Pavia, Italy,
was founded in 825.
AP 10 FILE
F TS
TRUST ACTON
i lid
NEW YORK, June 21 (IP)
l no Associated Press proper
to file in federal court today
more than halt a hundred affi
davits in opposition to a gov
ernment motion for summary
judgment in the anti-trust civil
action against the non-pro(lt,
cooperative newsgathcring
agency.
Other affidavits also were to
be placed in the record by the
Chicago Tribune, a co-defendant
which has made a separ
ate answer to the government
charges seeking to open AP
membership to all who are will
ing and able to pay their share
of the cost.
Arguments on the summary
judgment motion, by which the
government seeks a decision
against the AP without tho tak
ing of testimony from witnesses
in open court trial, aro sched
uled to be heard by a three
Judge federal court July 8.
Chief among the AP affidav
its was one preporcd by Frank
B. Noyes, publisher of tho Wash
ington Star and president of- the
AP for 38 years until 1938, whoi
declared that "it was not cun
trmplaled by tho men who or
ganized the AP that all news
papers In the United States
should become members" but
that it was recognized that In
order to establish "a true, coop
erative organization, tho mem
bers must have tho opportunity
to select their own associates."
Arguments to Be
Heard On Potato
Grading Question
Because of offleo of price ad
ministration regulations, labor
shortages, and tho fact that com
peting states aro packing com
bination rates on potatoes, tho
Oregon department of agrlcul
turo lias been requested to estab
lish a commercial griulo for po
tatoes conforming or similar to
the United States commercial
grade.
A public meeting has been
called for Tuesday, June 22, at
8 p. m. to hear arguments for and
against inclusion of this grado
in Oregon standards for potatoes.
Anyone interested Is Invited to
attend tho meeting at 819 Pino
street, or to submit their views
in writing to tho Oregon depart
ment of agriculture there.
THE STAND-IN
KANSAS CITY, (,T) It can
happen to anyone.
Rep. Frank Carlson (R Kaiis.)
was a passenger on a Chicago
to Kansas City train, an eight
hour trip.
Ho stood the entire distance.
OF
WASHINGTON, June 21 l')
Tho supremo court reversed to
day tho action of the federal
court ut Sun Francisco In or
dering cancellation of United
States citizenship on the ground
that the alien obtaining It was u
member of the communist
party.
Justleo Murphy delivered the
majority opinion which assert
ed that clear and unequivocal
evidence was necessary to can
cel American citizenship uiul
that this hud not been produced
against tho communist involved
when ho became un American
citizen.
WELL-BRED. AND BUTTERED
KANSAS CITY, )) The
Stanley Stewart's dug ate two
pounds of butter; Value, 10
points,
"Did our Cocker Spaniel rat
up all those points?" inquired
Mrs, Stewart, unbelievingly.
"He's no Spaniel," corrected
Stewart, "He's a pointer."
Frisco Area Has
40 Minute Blackout r
SAN FRANCISCO, June l(
(I') The San Francisco bay area
underwent 40-nilnute blackout
over the weekend, tho first ono
In more than n your,
Tho sirens sounded at 1:07 a.
m Pacific wur time yesterday
and the all clear cumo at 1:47
a. m. Tho western defense, com.
mnnd announced only that the
alarm came us tho result of an
unidentified target approaching
tho nren. They Inter were Iden
tified us friendly.
Woodpeckers do not have to
curry nesting materials. They
lay their eggs on a soft bed of
sawdust and wood chips,
P i L E S
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GRAY HAIR
TURNING DEEP BLACK
says Mrs. J. B., Chicago
"After using Grayvita only a
short time, I noticed my
gray hair wai turning to
real deep black, exactly at it
used to be. What a differ
ence this makes in my ap
pearance." Mrs. J. B.'s experience
tnav or mav not be different
than vouri. Whv not trv GRAYVTTA?
This anti-gray hair vitemin discovery, Caldtim
Pantothenate when tested by a leading maga
sine showed 88 of those tested had positive
evidence of some return of hair color.
H A CRAYVITA tablet h 10 mgm. of Calcfun
Pantothenate PLUS 480 U. S. P. unite of "pep"
vitamin Bi. Get GRAYVITA now! 30 cUysup
ply fl JO, 100 day supply $4.00. Phone 45U
CUttRIN't FOR DflUGt
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MsasssaBaBSsaBBssBaaaaassaaaaaBasasBaaaw ' Vmmmmmmmmmmammmmmmmmmmm
, i viw y-y f s A
m$Sr astS1 wv.hr-N y f ij&s V y y ,
Hie inside story of lOO octane ajcisolimc
" pr
,l.ln1M7, 100 octineiviinon jKolincvu
1 jutt tmerging from the oil company labors
toritt. Production was hardly great enougTi
Co keep one squadron of fighter planes in -combat,
and it cost tlito mike each gallon,
.7 lahi Vi tank tar fill 4 Fcrlmt
2 Today She Amarlcpn ell companlM are
turning out enough 100 octane to fuel the
greatest Air Force in the World. They are ship
ping millions of tddUional barrets to our
Allies. And they have cut production colts to
in average of 13W per gallon
OCTANE RATING BY YEARS
I
IW 19V lIO IOIT WI Kftl
3e Th tnildt tlory of this accomplishment
is i typical example of American Tree Knter
prise ac work. For 100 octane was perfected
by our oil companies in their own labontorici
itore ut tier tnttrtd the uur-witliout one cent
of government subsidy
A This was largely the result of just one
peacetime influcncc-COMriiTiTioN, You
don'tdccldctonutc 100 octane one morning
and stare producing it the next. You have to
Jcarn how over period efyart. Rick in 1920,
the best gasoline our oil companies could
mike wis 52 oct in
'5. lulby 1930, they had hic7I;by 1937 they
j ere shooting for 100, and by 1159, for 100
Why had they made such progress? Not
because they expected a war all those years.
But because each company kept struggling to
put out a better product than the others and
fflmnmUmm.
6. If th oil business had been controlled by
one company, or by the government, this
wouldn't have happened. For (here's not much
incentive to go after more customers when
you already hail I htm all
T But many companUs. compiling with
each other for your business, forced improve
ments. And forced them ata much greater rate
of speed than any monopoly (private or gov
ernmental) has ever managed on its own in
itiative. That's the inside siory of 100 octane.
8. And It's the story of most oilier war pro
duction as well. Years of peacetime tomptiiihn
under American Free F.nterprisc gave us the
"know-how,"tlic plants and lie mass produc
tion lechnirjucs to do the grcjtcst job ever
tackicd by any nation in histotv.
The company that bemme Union Oil
toa fotwileit in tSK6 out of the per
tonal savings of aim Santa Paula,
California business mttu
Today. II Is owned by 31,652 people,
most of whom live right here in the
Wcst-3,628 in San Francisco, 431 in
Seattle, 7 In Grants I'ass, Oregon,
274 in San Diego, etc.
TheCompany's profits which, in 1912,
amounted to 3.8 on capital invested,
are shared among Ihtsefmplt.
Last year tills net profit amounled to
$1 74.94 per stockholder. Of this sum,
$147.42 was paid out in dividends
$27.52 was left in the business.
In return for these profits, the 3 1,652
owners have financed the tank ships,
oil wells, refinericsamtservicestationi
thatmakcUnion'soperalionspossible.
This is the story of most A merican
corporations. By pooling the money
and talents of a lot of people, we are
able to do a job collectively that we
Could never do alone.
t
w n Kf (Q) n n, c n m ip m m h
OV CAKIIORIIA
AMIR ICS'S f 1 f T H rillDOM II Fill fNTMPRfSf
This series, sponsored by the people of
Union Oil Company, Is dedicated to
discussion of Wand K'jy American busi
ness functions. Wc hope you'll feel ftee
to send in any suggesiions or criticisms
you have to offer. Write: The President,
Union Oil Company, Union Oil Building,
Los Angeles, California. v
J