HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON
PAGE NINE
oTests at Sea Prove Value of Radar
As "Eyes11 of Battlewagons During
Attack or Navigating Through Fog
PARADISE LOST
WASHINGTON, Conn. (A')
Moat has been pretty scarce for
the dogs here lately.
So when a little white pooch
spied what he thought wai a big,
Juicy bone, he hurried off to
hide It before one of thoie big
dogs came along.
IT NEVER FAILS
CHARLESTON, S. C. (If)
Chief Accountant J. M. Ellwood
He even figured the deduc
tions of workers with ten do
pendents. Then In walked a
man who proudly announced he
had 12 dependent children, all
under 18.
of the navy yard burned mid
Ho buried the turtle seven : night oil setting up new income
tlmps before he gave up. tax deduction tables.
' June 25, 1943
D
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(Editor's Noto: Iludiir the radio "eyes" which enable our
army and nnvy to spot enemy ships and planes In fog or darkness
at great distances underwent a thorough test at sea early In
lOIIO. Scientist Robert M. Page, who mainly developed the mod
ern equipment, and u crow of assistants went along to operate
the pioneer set. John M. Hlghtower takes up the story at that
point In this fifth of six dally Installments).
By JOHN M. HIOHTOWER
(Copyright. 1943, by Tha Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, June 25 (!) The tests begun aboard the
battleship New York In 1038 wcro crucial in the history of U. S.
naval radar.
The reuctlon of practical, hard-headed line officers to the way
the equipment performed appeared likely to determine 'Its fate
for some years to come.
If results were poor, the scientists knew, then the navy's
fighting' men probuhly would not be Interested In radur for a
long time to come. To win ac-
ceptance, It had to be good.
1' a g e headed the operating
crew which went out on the
.Now York, taking with him
I Hubert C. Guthrie. M. E. Rep
port and A. A. Varela. They
hardly hud cleared the Virginia
capes out of Norfolk, when the
fun started.
Tough Tast
A destroyer squudron had
beon assigned to make a torpedo
attack on the battleship under
cover ot durknuss and I'ago re
calls now tliul the ulglil wus
very black Indeed. From about
sunset on, he and his men stood
by their radur waiting to pick
up the destroyers. They did not
know from whut direction the
attuck wus coining. They to keep
a at)u degree lookout.
Several hours alter they went
on the alert, the Atlantic squad
ron commander, Vlco Admiral
Alfred W. Johnson, showed up
in the control room. Ho watch
ed and watched the radar indl
I aitor. For lima which to Page
"seemed endless, nothing hap
pened. Finally the admlrul lost
patience. Ho knew tho lime of
attack and he evidently decided
tha destroyers wcro closing in
through the darkness without
being discovered. Ho turned to
go, then decided to wall few
minutes longer.
First Signal
Just about that time the first
signal came in. '
Thcro it is." exclaimed the
admiral, pointing to the indica
tor. The destroyers still wcro
eight miles away. The effect on
tho admiral was electric. rrom
lhat moment on he was a radar
enthusiast.
Captain (now Rear Admiral)
Robert M. Griffin, skipper of
the battlewagon, was similarly
Impressed.
"After that." Page says, any
thing we wanted them to do on
tho New York, they would do
it it was possible." Tho ship
never encountered fog but It
often ran through rain. Radar
picked up everything Important
which was within range, includ
ing on one occasion the moun
tain peaks of a distant shore
line. Report Favorable
When the cruise ended, Ad
miral Johnson made report:
"The equipment is one of the
most important radio develop
ments since the advent of radio
ilsolf." , .
Back In the navy's bureau of
engineering the scientists, Rear
Admiral Harold G. Bowen and
other navy authorities decided
the tlma had come to develop
1 additional radar sots, but with
'the understanding that the
branching out into quantity
would not In any way interfere
with further progress in tho im
provement of quality.
Two of the major electronics
laboratories of the country
those operated by Bell Tele
phono and Radio Corporation
of America had by then been
Interested In radio dotectlon
work, and this meant the way
was clear for commercial manu
facture. Contracts Let
On bid basis, the first con
tracts were let to RCA In Oc
tober, 1030 a month after the
outbroak of the war in Europe.
"Wo sent the XAF up to their
i,inwv" Dr. Tavlor says, "and
wo told them that we wanted
IhIx Chinese copies not a thing
changed. They did a fine Job."
From that time on, the bu-
TABU of enalneering under Ad
miral Robinson, who was aided
hv Canta n A. J. Spriggs ana
such enthusiasts as Commander
sum Tucker, devoted consider
able effort toward Increasing
production.
.Tho bureau of ships, formed
in 1040 by consolidation of bu
reau ot engineering and bureau
of construction and repair, and
headed by Admirals S. M. Rob
inson and A. H. Van Keuren,
continued this work, as did Cap
tain J. B. Dow when ho succeed,
rd Spriggs In charge of tha bu
reau's radio unit.
Later the radar business of
the navy as well as that of the
LET.
Stat Farm Ins. Co.
Proliol Your PrlvlUfi ts Drlys
J. I, Beard, Agent
- 1010 Main
army became so great that first
the navy's own office of produc
tion and material, and lotor the
war production board, took over
coordination of orders and out
put.
It was about this time, too,
tliut another government agency
got Into unother phasa of radar
work. The nutlonal defense re
search committee through Its
laboratories was asked to make
and did deliver to thu navy cer
tain loiportant contributions to
radio detection.
More Ordered
Shortly after the first RCA
contract for the original six
commcrcially-madi) radur sots.
14 moro were ordered. These
first 20 went on battleships, air
craft carriers and cruisers as
rapidly as they were produced.
Bowen, who had most to do with
interesting tho privulo compan
ies In radar research and pro
duction, is especially proud of
their work.
"That's tho best way to do
It," he said recently. "Develop
the idea and produce a proto
type in the laboratory and then
let the other fellows make It.
The private companies could,
not have done the radar re
search through all thoso years.
Some ot their men told me their
directors Just wouldn't stand
for the expense on a project
which Initially held so little
chance of commercial develop
ment." Not Ideal Sets
Both Bowen and Taylor say
that the first radar seta sent
out to the fleet were short of
ideal, but they agreed that with
the increasing possibility of
American Involvement In the
war, they had to do the best
they could with what they had.
"We knew that some of the
stuff would have to be junked
as soon as it could be replaced,"
Bowen says. "But we wanted to
get it installed before It might
be needed, The longest chance
we took was with the navy
men. If a new gadget doesn't
work well, they may lose confi
dence in it and not use it. Nat
urally we did not want that to
happen with radar."
One of those who made many
of the Installations was Guthrie.
He started the work In Decem
ber, 1940 a year before Pearl
Harbor and spent the next six
months with the Pacific fleet,
equipping ships and showing of
ficers and men how to operate
the sets at sea.
"The response we got at first
was rather interesting," Guthrie
recalls. "Some ship's companies
were very enthusiastic about
radar, and some were rather
cool toward It."
Works in Fog
One of the vessels Guthrie
served on was the battleship
California. He boarded her at
Puget sound to do down to Mare
island, where she was to Join
the fleet. Just out ot the sound
she ran into a thick fog. It
seemed that the arrival at Mare
island would be greatly delayed,
since the captain was not dis
posed to risk harming his ship
or running down somebody else.
He would have to proceed at
greatly reduced speed.
However, the radar was work
ing and the captain was greatly
Interested in it. Soon he noticed
that every little fishing boat
for miles around showed up on
the indicator. That convinced
him of what radar could do for
navigation in a fog. He ordered
"full steam ahead" and arrived
at Mare island on time.
Another ship on which radar
DANCE
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Every Saturday
Night
9:00 (a liOO
At K.C.Hall
Sponsored by Eagles Auxil
iary and Drum Corps.
Estln Klger's Orchestra
Public Invited
Men 50c Women 25c
Servioe Men 25c
Tax Included
was Installed early was tho air
craft carrier Yorktown. A RCA
man handled that Job and re
turned on tho currier to Long
Beach. While they still were
several hundred miles at sea,
all sorts of weird wavo-putlcrn
disturbances began to show on
the indicator. Neither the RCA
man nor the Yorktown officers
could explain until finally they
realized that radar was "show
ing" them tho California coastal
mountains.
"Mr. Guthrie did an especial
ly splendid Job in getting these
curly Installations In the fleet
and seeing that somebody knew
how to operate them," Taylor
said one day in Guthrie's pres
ence. '
Guthrie looked thoughtful for
a moment, then grinned.
Cloud Trouble
"I had trouble on one occa
sion," he said. "We hud put
rudur on u cruiser, and the ex
ecutive officer dldn'l think much
of it. About tiic first day out
he came to the control roam to
sec whut it could do. We picked
up a flight of plunes all right
and then we got something else.
He went outside to look off in
the direction from which the
signal came and there wasn't
anything but a cloud.
" 'You must have picked up
the cloud,' thu exec said.
" 'No,' I said, 'this thing looks
right through clouds.'
"So he wuitcd und waited for
something to come out of the
cloud but nothing did. Then he
a.ikcd me to try to pick up sev
eral other clouds on the horizon.
I tried, but got no signals, and
I couldn't explain then what
hud happened. I'm afraid he had
little faith in radar for a while
after that.
"Now, of course, we know
that the cloud was Ionized (sur
charged with electricity). We
were gutting reflections like
those from the ionosphere in the
old days."
Increase in Pig
Crop Expected
WASHINGTON, Juno 25 (T
The agriculture department es
timated today the 1043 spring
pig crop totalled 74,030,000 head,
or 15 per cent more than the
record crop of 1931 and 22 per
cent more than last year.
The department said also that
reports from farmers on farrow
ing plans Indicated a 1943 fall
pig crop of about 53,000,000
head, or an Increase of about
9,000,000 or 21 per cent over the
1042 fall crop.
ft;,. I
'wv--- - ,i'i!..u1'J)
Example of Cost of
" Motor Overhaul
of Popular 6-Cyl. Car
Item Leber
Install Rln. ...118.70
Grind Valves 4.05
Replace Piston Pins 2.70
Adjust Main Bearings 3.60
Remove Ring Ridges 2.05
Expand Pistons 3.60
Gaskets
Wash and Vacuum .'.
$34.70 $17.05
Total - $51.75
Ask Us for an
Estimate on Your Car
TV Genuine Parts
Work Guaranteed 100
ir Payable On Easy Monthly
Installments
County Judge U. E. Rcedcr
will leave Monday night for
Salem to attend his first meet
ing as a member of the Oregon
state board of forestry to which
ho was appointed last week by
Governor Earl Sncll. ,
This is the annual meeting of
the board and at this time mem
bers will consider fire patrol
assessments for the next fiscal
year. Other matters to come up
will have to do with the policy
pertaining to acquisition and
slash disposal. Judge Recder will
return Wednesday morning.
"Cure" Patients
Held on Narcotic
Law Violations
SEATTLE, June 25 (IP) Four
patients were arrested by fed
eral narcotics agents yesterday
in a raid on a convalescent home
here. The agents seized the in
stitution's records, 100 quarter
grain morphine tablets, and ar
rested a fifth patient downtown.
More morphine and three hy
podermic needles found among
patients' personal effects were
also taken, A. M. Bangs, district
narcotics bureau agent, said.
Bangs said that men sent to
tho institution for "cures" were
allowed to leave the place at
will and to have all the "street
contacts" they desired. They
were being given reduced quotas
of narcotics, according to stand
ard practice, he said.
Western Pine Up
During Last Week
PORTLAND, Ore., June 25 (IP)
Production and shipments show
ed gains during the week ending
June 19 over the previous week,
the Western Pine association re
ported today..
Orders: 8395,000 board feet:
B5. 287,000 previous week, 100,
992.000 same week last year.
Shipments: 80,141,000 board feet,
77.875,000 and 103,145,000. Pro
duction 92,703,000. board feet,
88,013,000 and 102,163,000.
According to census figures,
about 22 per cent of all deaths in
the United States are due to
communicable diseases.
Parts
18.65
8.80
1.75
2.55
Dick B. Miller Co.
The Big Olds Tower at 7th end Klamath
Phone 4103
i
BUY
(2?
All
BUY A BOND!
H we don't win e war your ration
books even won't do you any good-
Tack this up In your kitchen and the
- L time food proh.en,s -nnoyyo
buy an EXTRA BOND!
The "Klamaih Pelican" must have a
Klamath Fighter Plane Escort! Your
Bond Counts!
HOW TO BUY
the Food You Want
at
Pre-Var Prices!
1. Share your food with our fighting men.
2. Shop earlier in the day. early in the week, and
only onee a week If possible.
3. Make up a shopping list and add up the points
BEFORE you shop.
4. Plan your family's diet carefully see that every
one gets enough nourishment. Make up menus for
the week.
"Pay" with 8 and 8 point stamps first when you
can. Save 2 and 1 point stamps to make the count
come out even.
Include fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals, fresh
fish, poultry, and other ' unrationed foods where
you can.
7. Plant Victory Garden, Do all the home canning
possible.
I '
8. Don't blame your grocer or butcher for wartime
inconveniences. .
ICO NIT'
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