The Gufo radar (Owl) was an Italian naval

search radar This is a list of different types of radar. Detection and search radars Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The waves are usually less than a meter ...

developed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the ''Regio Istituto Elettrotecnico e delle Comunicazioni della Marina'' (RIEC). Also known as the EC-3 ter.

Description

The first prototypes were designed by navy technicians Ugo Tiberio,

Nello Carrara Nello Carrara (19 February 1900 – 5 June 1993) was an Italian physicist and founder of the Electromagnetic Wave Research Institute. He researched X-rays and was a pioneer of radar, but is best known for coining the term "microwave". Bio ...

and Alfeo Brandimarte in the period 1936–1937. The project was stalled due to budget cuts until 1941, when interest was revived soon after the Italian navy suffered a series of heavy setbacks in night actions against the radar-equipped units of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, especially that of the

Battle of Cape Matapan The Battle of Cape Matapan ( el, Ναυμαχία του Ταινάρου) was a naval battle during the Second World War between the Allies, represented by the navies of the United Kingdom and Australia, and the Royal Italian navy, from 27 ...

. The first tests were conducted on board the

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

in April 1941. The radar sets were produced by the Italian company SAFAR. Only 12 devices had been installed on board Italian warships by 8 September 1943, the day Italy signed an armistice with the Allies. Beginning in the spring of 1943, the recommendation of the Italian high command was to switch the radar on only in proximity of enemy forces, after an incorrect German advisory that the British had radar warning receivers similar to the

Metox The R600A Metox, named after its manufacturer, was a pioneering high-frequency radar warning receiver (RWR) manufactured by a small French company in occupied Paris. It was tuned to receive the signals used by many British radars of the early a ...

. The Allies, however, did not develop such technology until 1944. In spite of this, it has been reported that the crews made a wide use of the Gufo as a search radar, omitting to mention it on the ship's

logbook A logbook (or log book) is a record used to record states, events, or conditions applicable to complex machines or the personnel who operate them. Logbooks are commonly associated with the operation of aircraft, nuclear plants, particle accelera ...

to avoid sanctions. The radar was used in combat by the light cruiser '' Scipione Africano'' on the night of 17 July 1943, while on passage from

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

, when she detected a flotilla of four British Elco motor torpedo boats five miles ahead in the

strait of Messina The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...

. One of the motor boats, MTB 316, was destroyed by the cruiser's guns, and another one was seriously damaged. Twelve British seamen lost their lives.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *{{cite book, last=Swords, first=Sean S., title=Technical History of the Beginnings of Radar, publisher=IET/Peter Peregrinus, doi=10.1049/PBHT006E, location=London, year=1986, isbn=0-86341-043-X Naval radars World War II radars Military radars of Italy Regia Marina World War II military equipment of Italy World War II Axis electronics Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944

Description

See also

References

Bibliography