History

Annex C - World War II Ground Radar

The first radar, or Radio Direction Finding (RDF) station was established in Britain in 1935. By the end of 1936 the British had four Chain Home (CH) stations in operation. These stations became the basis for Britain.s World War II Radar Early Warning System. The first Canadian interest was shown in 1939 when a research mission composed of a physicist from the National Research Council and an RCAF officer was sent to Britain to investigate "every detail of Radio Direction Finding". Their report, dated 14 April 1939, recommended immediate action to implement the use of RDF.

In June 1940 the British Government requested Canada to supply experienced civilian radio personnel to service radio direction finding equipment.

In August 1940 Britain asked the Canadian Government to begin manufacturing radar equipment in Canada. Research Enterprises Limited opened a factory at Leaside, Ontario which was soon producing enough radar equipment to supply most of the military requirements of Canada, Britain and the United States. Shortly after, other factories opened in the United States. The National Research Council of Canada opened a field research station near Ottawa to manufacture and test experimental radar equipment.

In November 1940, the first Canadian radio direction finding (Radar) course was held at Anti-Aircraft Defence, Wireless Wing, Halifax. Called the First Canadian Radio Group it was made up of RCCS, Artillery and 23 RCAF candi-dates and was later the 13th class "Special Signals" of the Royal Air Force.

In late 1940 three RCAF Signal Officers were sent to the United Kingdom to receive complete training in all aspects of radar. They returned to Canada in May 1941 where they were instrumental in organizing Canadian radar training at Clinton.

In January 1941 No 1 Canadian Radio Location Unit, RCCS, was formed. It operated radar stations in support of Anti-Aircraft defences on the south coast of England until disbanded in early 1943. Army Anti-Aircraft radar generally became the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Artillery with technical support from the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (redesignated Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in May 1944).

In March 1941 the Air Council of Canada agreed to the establishment of a radio direction finding school in Canada. Two months later the Tyndall farm outside Clinton, Ontario was selected and construction of the new school was under way. The school was ready for the arrival of staff on 20 June 1941.

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In April 1941 recruiting of RCAF "radio technicians" for "Overseas Duty" began and in June 1941 preparatory radio training for candidates was begun in Canada.

On 27 August 1941, Number 31 Royal Air Force Radio School opened at Clinton (three weeks after the arrival of the first staff contingent from England). Staff consisted of 360 Royal Air Force personnel and included the three RCAF officers who had been trained in England the previous year. The first commander was Wing Commander Cocks, RAF. This station was created to provide a secure environment to teach radio direction finding or radar as it later became known. Security of the technology was very tight and the camp had electrically charged fencing and armed guards, something virtually unheard of in Canada. Even local civilians were unaware of the nature of the training or of the station's contribution to the war until long after. The first course started in September 1941 and consisted of United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps students taught by Royal Air Force instructors. Even before the Americans had entered the war Britain was assisting them to develop radar and other technologies in a form of reverse "lend-lease". By war's end 2,345 Americans and 6,500 Canadians had graduated from Clinton.

By 1942 the superior Canadian radar equipment soon found itself protecting the strategically vital Panama Canal with Canadians providing "know how" to the American forces. At the same time, less effective American manufactured equipment was being rushed into service to protect parts of the Canadian West Coast.

In 1942 A23 Coast Defence and Anti-Aircraft Advanced Training Centre, Radar Wing was conducting army radar training at Debert, Nova Scotia. The term radar appeared to be already in comon, if not official, use. S5 Canadian Ordnance Corps Training Centre at Camp Barriefield had commenced training army technicians in radar maintenance. This school evolved into the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) School when that Corp was formed. The RCEME School trained army radar technicians until 1969 when all radar training was amalgamated at the new integrated school at Kingston.

On 6 November 1942 the Army Committee on RDF was authorized by Canadian Army Routine Order (CARO) 2524. On 28 November 1942 CARO 2628 amended the organization to add the Director of Signals who had been inadvertently left off the Committee.

On 21 June 1943 the allied "Committee on RDF" was renamed the "Committee on Radar" and on 23 August 1943 the American term "RADAR" (RAdio Direction And Ranging) was officially adopted in place of "Radio Direction Finding". The term "radar" was in common usage by the time of the official change.

On 31 July 1943 No. 31 RDF School, RAF at Clinton became No. 5 Radio School RCAF and was actually handed over to the RCAF, Wing Commander Patrick, RCAF commanding, on 15 October 1943.

In June 1944 control of No. 5 Radio School Clinton was transferred from the Commonwealth Training Plan to Home War Operations Training.

On 28 February 1945 No. 5 Radio School, Clinton had a staff of 478 all ranks with 627 trainees.

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EQUIPMENT DESIGNATIONS

Early RCAF radio direction finding, later radar, stations often included the type of radar used within the unit title. Comon designations for ground mounted radar included:

THE PACIFIC COAST AIR DEFENCE RADAR SYSTEM - WORLD WAR II

With the outbreak of war in the Pacific in late 1941 there were insufficient aircraft to carry out comprehensive patrols and radar was entirely lacking. West Coast air defence initially relied upon scattered volunteers of the Aircraft Detection Corps for early warning and tracking duties.

No 1 Coast Watch Unit RCAF was established in 1942 in the uninhabited west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands to provide visual surveillance. In 1943 when radar coverage permitted the coast watchers were withdrawn. 1 CWU had eight detachments (each with a "woodsman", two radio operators and a man with "some cooking and camping ability") at:

In 1942 construction of a chain of radar stations for surveillance of the Pacific Coast began. By November 1943 it was in place. Initially the stations were called "Radio Detachments" and in 1943 the title "Radio Unit" was adopted. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. The chain ceased operations with war's end in mid 1945. The units were:

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RCAF ATLANTIC REGION AIR DEFENCE - WORLD WAR II

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ST LAWRENCE VALLEY ANTI-SUBMARINE RADAR SYSTEM - WORLD WAR II

In March 1943, at RCAF request, the Canadian Army provided ten GL Mark III (anti-aircraft artillery control) radar sets for deployment at ten mile intervals from Matane to Gaspé and created No 1 Radar Direction Finding Operating Unit, Royal Canadian Artillery to man them. These sets could detect submarines at a range of 25 kilometres. The first two were operational in June 1943 and six by July 1943.

In May 1943 experimental MEW sets were rushed into production. Eight sets were ordered by the RCAF to cover Cabot Strait, Strait of Belle Isle and the Gaspé Passage. The first experimental station was erected near Fox River (Gaspé) in 1943. When the operational sets were installed in 1944-45 submarine tactics had rendered them useless and the chain was not completed.

CANADIAN RADAR DETACHMENT ON LOAN TO AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES

In 1943 the Australian Government purchased 86 anti aircraft radar equipments (AA Number 3 Mark 1 (APF) and AA Number 4 Mark 1) from Canada. At the time a request was also made for sufficient radar technical personnel to maintain the equipment and to instruct at the Radar Wing of the Australian School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, New south Wales. The Minister of National Defence, Ralston, granted the request (Order In Council Number PC 3464 29 April 1943).

An advance party of Lieutenant Colonel C.A. Manson, RCA, and Major H.P. Cadario, RCEME, departed for Australia on 15 June 1944 for liaison and planning duties for the employment of Canadian soldiers on radar duties in support of Australian forces as agreed to by the Canadian Government in April 1943.

On 17 June 1944 the Canadian Radar Detachment on Loan to Australian Military Forces was formed at Lansdowne Park Barracks, Ottawa. The unit consisted of four officers and 28 other ranks of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, five officers and 35 other ranks from the Royal Canadian Artillery and one Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps NCO. On 4 July 1944 the detachment left Ottawa for Australia. The first draft arrived at Sydney aboard the SS Fort Dennison on 19 August 1944. the second draft, aboard the SS William I Chamberlain arrived at Melbourne 6 September 1944.

Personnel were dispersed among a number of Australian units and locations and were employed, not only as instructors and maintainers but also deployed operationally in Australia, New Guinea, Borneo, Philippines, Morotai and Cocos Island. Some operated as part of the Allied Intelligence Bureau as operators and mechanics. Several of these participated in the Allied reoccupation of Java in August 1945 and were caught in native uprisings against the Netherlands East Indies Forces following the war. The Java contingent was replaced by British Signals personnel and, two weeks later, departed Batavia on 26 January 1946.

The main body returned to Canada arriving in Vancouver on 14 February 1946 aboard the SS Kootenay Park and 27 February 1946 aboard the SS Socotra. The last original, Lieutenant I.A. (Don) Mayson, RCA, of the contingent departed Australia for Canada on 12 April 1946.

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RCAF (COMMUNICATION) SQUADRONS - WORLD WAR II

The term "Communication" was misleading as these were flying squadrons used for command, control and liaison purposes rather than for message and telephone communications as in the post 1966 Communication Squadrons. These war time RCAF "communication" units included:

Squadron Location Dates
12 (Communication) Squadron Ottawa 28 jun 40 - post war
166 (Communication) Squadron Sea Island BC 15 Jul 43 -1 Nov 45
167 (Communication) Squadron Dartmouth NS 15 Aug 43 -1 Oct 45

Next: Annex D - Katakana Code