ITT-Gilfillan was an American electronics company located in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, best known for their

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

systems. They changed names several times, and might be referred to as ITT Corporation Electronic Systems Radar Systems - Gilfillan or

ITT Industries ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesses ...

, Gilfillan Division, depending on the source. They were spun off by ITT in 2011 to form a division of the newly created Exelis Inc. Exelis was in turn purchased in 2015 by

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and spaceb ...

and then merged in 2019 to become part of L3Harris Technologies.

History

The company traces its history to 1912, when Sennet Gilfillan took over his uncle's smelting company, which processed precious metals such as platinum and iridium. He was joined by his brother Jay to form Gilfillan Brothers in 1914. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

they produced platinum

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

for automobile ignition systems and branched out to aircraft parts. In the 1920s they began making

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

receivers and were best known for their

Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed ...

radios based on the

Neutrodyne The Neutrodyne radio receiver, invented in 1922 by Louis Hazeltine, was a particular type of tuned radio frequency (TRF) receiver, in which the instability-causing inter-electrode capacitance of the triode RF tubes is cancelled out or "neutralize ...

system. The introduction of the superheterodyne rendered the Neutrodyne obsolete, and in 1932 the company bought the Willard Radio Company who had a line of "superhet" radios. Beginning in 1942, 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 ...

, the company was selected to build the

precision approach radar Precision approach radar (PAR) is a type of radar guidance system designed to provide lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft pilot for landing, until the landing threshold is reached. Controllers monitoring the PAR displays observe each airc ...

(PAR) systems that had been developed at the MIT Radiation Laboratory. These were installed at

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

airfields beginning 1944 and became a must-have item for bombers returning from missions over Germany. By the end of the war they had also introduced the first dedicated

airport surveillance radar An airport surveillance radar (ASR) is a radar system used at airports to detect and display the presence and position of aircraft in the ''terminal area'', the airspace around airports. It is the main air traffic control system for the airspace ...

, which provided clear images of the large amounts of air traffic immediately around an airport. These successes launched the company into the radar market, where they focused their future development. In the post-war era they began expanding their product line, initially with new ATC systems. During this period they changed their name to Gilfillan Radar Development and Manufacturing Company. The company was purchased by ITT in 1964. By the 1970s they were a leading manufacturer of mid-range systems in the US. Among their better-known lines from this period is the ITT-Gilfillan S320 radar, used as the basis for many US military radars, the PAR-2000 and GCA-2000 air traffic radars, the MPN-26 mobile PAR, and a range of

References

* * * * {{cite magazine , title=Radar Love , first=Robert , last=Mark , date=May 2012 , magazine=Air and Space , url=https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/radar-love-121076372/

External links

Gilfillan Air Traffic Control
product catalog Companies based in Los Angeles Electronics companies of the United States