Military Communications and Electronics Museum | Musée de L'électronique et des communications militaires

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Radar and Computers

Although patented in 1904, practical radars were not developed until the early 1930s. World War II German radars were superior until the British introduced the powerful magnetron vacuum tube in 1943. This ultimately gave the allies radar superiority.

Early in the war, enemy aircraft and submarines were considered a very real threat to Canada. To counter this, radar equipment was built in Leaside Ontario, personnel were trained at the RAF/RCAF school in Clinton and 41 coastal radar stations were established. Staffed by hundreds of dedicated personnel, this system provided surveillance and navigation assistance until the end of the war.
 [Early Radar Equipment]
 [4Kb Computer Core]

Subsequent developments in solid state electronics and computer controls have resulted in very sophisticated radars that can operate unattended even in the arctic.