Watson-Watt, Sir Robert Alexander

Watson-Watt, Sir Robert Alexander (1892-1973), scientist, b. Brechin, Angus, Scotland.

In 1935, stories began to be told in England about scientists experimenting with death-rays.

They worked at lonely spots on the coast of Suffolk and their leader was Robert Watson-Watt. He did not mind the rumours about death-rays. They allowed his secret to be kept.

He was really experimenting with something then called radiolocation and now known as radar. The Second World War began in 1939 and radar played an important part in defending Great Britain from air attack. It was later used by aircraft and ships to search for enemy ships and submarines, and for many other purposes, too.

Today radar is used at airports and seaports and it can be used by any moving craft in fog or darkness to detect obstacles ahead.

Radar sends out beams of radio waves. When the waves strike objects, they are reflected like echoes back to the radar. Reflected waves picked up by the radar aerial cause dots of light called blips to appear on a screen like a television set's. From the position and movement of the blips on the screen, the radar operator can find the position of, for example, an aircraft.

Radar is also used by weather forecasters, astronomers and other scientists.

Watson-Watt was knighted in 1942 and later the British Government gave him £52,000 for his invention.

See John Rowland The radar man