Technological advances in Radar from Germany WWII

GEMA, the makers of Seetakt, demonstrated lobe switching and 0.1

degree accuracy in 1935. The German navy wasn't interested because of

the complexity (50% extra tubes) and also because of the range

degradation from having two sets of dipoles that received only half

the energy.

Nevertheless all of the antena of Seetakt radars were equiped with

lobe switching dipoles, they were simply tied together, for future

use.

Bismark had a Seetakt FuMO 23. It did not have lobe switching. Nor

did any British or US ship have lobe switching good enough for blind

fire (The Type 279 opperated at 7.5m and had lobe switching but the

wavelenght ensured it was too inaccurate to use for true blind fire.)

Prinz Eugen had a FuMO 27, the new second generation sets, which

apparently all had lobe switching and had been fitted just before her

voyage.

FuMo 21, FuMO 22 were the first generation sets (eg as used on Graf

Spee) FuMO 23 was an intermediate set, FuMO 24,25,26,27 were the

second generation sets with lobe switching.

Nevertheless the FuMO 27 of Bismark had 6 degree beamwidth with which

and opperator could find the direction of a target within +/- 0,1

degree.

That gets you blind fire to within +/-100m at 5km. Moreover the range

accuracy was 50m.

Even more interestingly the AVS, basically the technical artillery

unit of the Kriegsmarine, had griticules painted on the Bismarks FuMO

27 A scope a few weeks before she sailed because they found that

during gunnery practice, even at long ranges they could see the gun

splash relative to the target.

This is very important in terms of finding the range of the target,

more important than absolute range accuracy.

What needs to be noted also is the capabillity of the Bismarks night

vision optics.

During her last night destroyers tried to approach her in order to

launch torpedoes. They couldn't get close enough. Bismark easily

spotted them before the destroyers spotted the Bismark and fired guns

that drove of the destroyers. This is a revesal of the usual

situation where the bigger ship is spotted first.

Phase steering was widely used in German radars.

The GEMA, the makers of Seetakt, demonstrated lobe switching with 0.1

degree accuracy in 1935 using seperate dipoles for each lobe. When

they started introducing the FuMO 21 (4m x 2m antena) and FuMO 22 (6m

x 2m antena) in 1938 (or 1937 if sea trials are included) they equiped

the antena with lobe switching dipoles but did not install the

necccessary electronics, they simply tied together the dipoles

together. The reason for this relates to

1 Reduced range due to less energy gathering by the split beam dipoles

2 extra complexity of more vacuum tubes

3 the two beams broadened out the total beam and made it difficult to

resolved two close together targets.

It's worth noting theat the USN Mk 3 lobe switching fire control radar

had a beam width of 15 degrees which

made it difficult to discriminate between two adjacent targets. Its

bearing accuracy was reasonable but the resolution due to a long pulse
width means it couldn't detect gun splash. It wasn't untill Mk 13

that the issues were solved.

In 1940 GEMA deveoped a completely new system of fine direction

finding. These improved radars appear to have been retrofitted in

from 1941. FuMO 24 (destroyers), FuMO 25(cruisers) and FuMO 26

(battleships and heavy cruisers). FuMO 27 may or may not have had

the modification.

Instead of dual dipoles they switching in phase delays on the receive

line only. This had the advantage of not broadening out the beam

(keeping it a narrow 6 degrees). It also did not reduce range and a

final critical advantage was that it did not disclose the lobe

switching pattern to the enemy thereby preventing the enemy from

interfering with the lobe switching pattern. The RN was stunned to

discover that the Germans had jamming equipment against type 284.

The Shore based "Wassermann" (aquarious) radar used continiously

variable phase shifts for each dipole pair to provide phase steering

of the beam for accuract height finding. These consist of spiral

tapped delay lines that could be varied by mechnical rotation.

The short based ultra long range "Mammut" or (Mammoth) use phase

shifting in the horizontal plane.

The "Lichtenstein" sets used mechanical switching to introduce phase

shifts to provide lobbing.

The Germans were aware of the technique.

Seetakt radars had a relatively weak pulse (9kW) compared to the 120kW

of Type 284 and the US radars. However the allied radars worked by

dumping a capacitor charge via a thyratron into a giant ignition coil

(like an auto ignition) to dump 30,000 volts or so into the anode of

the triode. The tride's grid simply produced the oscilation.

The Germans used the grid modulation both to produce the oscilation

and to switch the pulse on and off.

This meant less power but the pulse could be controlled optimally

shaped (triangle instead of square pulse) to produce less harmonics

and frequency spread. A delay line called the "messkette" allowed

some kind of pulse compression so that long pulses could discriminate

gun splashes close to target.

The big FuMO 26 radar fitted to Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen (and it is now

been determined Scharnhorst with a 6m x 3m antena had a good range

often given 20-25km) ( as given from a book by Fritz Trenkle) but

this is a conservative estimate since the older radars with smaller

antena often achieved more than 25km.

If German radar failed in the battle of North Cape it was because it

was was switched off to the last minute for tactical reasons and then

damaged as the Germans were strictly following their passive

doctrine. There may have been a failure of German passive systems to

accuratly warn of Burnetts cruisers though there seem to have been

radar warnings.

GEMA did devlope a more powerfull modulator for seaborn Seetakt of

125kW in 1943 but it apparently did not make it onto any ships (maybe

Tirpitz but it was too late to use since the ship was damaged in a

fjord). This more powerfull modulator pushed range to a solid

40-50km (to the limit of the horizon)

At this time, In September 44 or so, the Germans were also intoducing

the first microwave surface search radars to their ships FuMO 81 as

well as the 50cm Hohtenweil with PPI to supplement the Seetakt's.

The Hohtenweil could also use lobing as well as PPI and was a

particularly compact set.

They also had a 27cm technology, FuMO 231 Euklid, for medium FLAK.
Bismark achieved a straddle on her first shot, it looked like a repeat

of the situation where Bismark sank HMS Hood and then layed 7 15"

shells into Prince of Wales.

Bismark was attacked by 3 heavy units almost simulataneousy. In that

scenario the probabillity of a first hit goes to the numerically

superior force. This is known as a "Lanchestrian Scenario" and in

this situation the numerically superior force usually wins, Bismarcki

being unable to exploit her superior speed to limit the number of

ships engaging her.

Furthermore Bismark was meandering, listing, shaking and vibrating due

to the damage to her rudder and the sea state while she herself was a

fairly slow easy target.

Bismark's C37 computers required input from a rudder position sensor,

since the twin rudders had been damaged (one had been freed but the

crew hadn't had time to do the second one) the computers lacked

essential data on her own motion.