Radar during World War II Radar during World War II It has been
said that radar won the war for the Allies in World War II.
While that’s an overstatement, it is true that radar had a huge
impact on how World War II was fought on both sides. Radar is,
in essence, a very basic way of obtaining information. That very
simplicity makes it highly adaptable—during the war scientists
and engineers found dozens of ways of using it. During World War
I (1914-1918) airplanes played a relatively small role, being
used mainly for reconnaissance. But as airplanes increased in
size, range, and speed in the 1920s, it became clear that they
would become major weapons in future wars. Bombing was the major
concern. Airplanes might carry enormously destructive bombs, and
there was little to prevent enemy aircraft from reaching a
nation’s cities. The words of British Prime Minister Stanley
Baldwin, spoken in 1932, were well known: “the bomber will
always get through.” The threat of bombing revived interest in a
technology that had