The P-20 "Periskop" (russian: "Перископ"; en,
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
) also referred to by the
NATO reporting name "Bar Lock" in the west is a 2D
E band/
F bandradar
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, we ...
developed and operated by the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
Development
The P-20 development was started in 1946 when State Federal Order of the Red Banner Research Institute Number 20 (now called All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Radio Engineering or VNIIRT
) was given the task of developing stationary and mobile early warning ground control and interception radar for the
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
.
The stationary radar later became the
P-50 but the mobile radar was to become the P-20. The design inspired a number of successors including the
P-30,
P-35 and
P-37 radar P37 or P-37 may refer to:
* Curtiss YP-37, an American prototype fighter aircraft
* , a submarine of the Royal Navy sold for scrap in 1949
* , a submarine of the Royal Navy lost in 1942
* Papyrus 37, a biblical manuscript
* Phosphorus-37, an iso ...
.
The P-20 was the first Russian radar to use the decimetric wavelength, the first prototype being created in 1947, and a factory test unit in 1949.
By 1949 the radar had completed state trials and was accepted into wide service within the Soviet airforce, the designers of the P-20 were awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1950 in recognition of the achievement.
Description
The P-20 is a semi-mobile radar with equipment mounted on eight
ZIl-151 trucks,
components include the control cabin and power supply equipment as well as a trailer for the antenna and transmitter equipment. The antenna system of the P-20 consists of two open frame truncated
parabolic antennae accomplishing both
transmission and reception. The radar uses two antenna to determine target altitude by the V-beam system with azimuth scanned mechanically. The upper antenna is tilted to an angle of 45 degrees
from horizontal which results in each target appearing twice on the indicator, the distance between the two allows the targets altitude to be approximately estimated by the operator.
The P-20 had four indicators to display the information generated from the radar, panoramic, range and altitude as well as a remote indicator.
The radar used five separate channels for reception and transmission, using different frequencies to avoid mutual interference between the beams, three beam channels being used by the upper antenna and two for the lower antenna.
Operators
The P-20 was operated by the Soviet Union from 1949 and though the radars have since become obsolete, they were passed down to successor states after the fall of the Soviet Union. The design has been superseded by later designs like the P-37 radar.
*
*
See also
*
P-30 radar
The P-30 "Khrustal" (russian: "Хрусталь"; en, crystal) also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Big Mesh" in the west is a 2D E band/ F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
Development
The P-30 was develo ...
*
List of radars
References
{{Russian and Soviet military designation sequences
Russian and Soviet military radars
Military vehicles introduced from 1945 to 1949