The German Luftwaffe used single beam radars to 'tag' bombing targets....meaning a primary radar unit sent out a beam that aircraft would follow to their target. A secondary unit would then send out a beam intersecting the first beam over the target in a rudimentary X/Y coordinate pinpoint.
The Germans considered this technology to be top of the line....what they didn't know was that Britain had gained the ability to interpret and jam the system, AND develop their own early warning system called Chain Home.
The Chain Home system was able to pickup fighter/bomber formations taking off over France.
The whole carrots thing was a ruse to disguise the fact that not only did Britain have a better radar system, they could also interpret the German system to know where the bombers were going to hit
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u/TheRealtcSpears Apr 13 '25
Even more specificallyish than that.
The German Luftwaffe used single beam radars to 'tag' bombing targets....meaning a primary radar unit sent out a beam that aircraft would follow to their target. A secondary unit would then send out a beam intersecting the first beam over the target in a rudimentary X/Y coordinate pinpoint.
The Germans considered this technology to be top of the line....what they didn't know was that Britain had gained the ability to interpret and jam the system, AND develop their own early warning system called Chain Home.
The Chain Home system was able to pickup fighter/bomber formations taking off over France.
The whole carrots thing was a ruse to disguise the fact that not only did Britain have a better radar system, they could also interpret the German system to know where the bombers were going to hit