The AN/TPS-1 Radar was an early warning and

tactical control radar Tactical Control is a term originating in the British Army to refer to a class of medium-range radar systems. They are generally used for controlling the airspace around a set location on the ground, sometimes a dispersed battery of anti-aircraft a ...

developed by

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

and the MIT Radiation Laboratory 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 ...

. Initially used by the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, it was later used by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

, and a number of European armed forces. A number of variations were produced by several vendors, including

Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

, Westinghouse Electric,

Bendix Corporation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company which, during various times in its existence, made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft brakes, aeronautical hydraulics and electric power systems, av ...

and several European manufacturers in the post-war era. In

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 ...

service it was known as AMES Type 61. The TPS-1 is a lightweight portable search radar using a cut-down

parabolic antenna A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or pa ...

of the "orange peel" design with an off-axis feed and transmitting in the

L-band The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower en ...

between 1220 and 1280 megahertz (MHz). The initial versions were designed to break down into ten packages and then be assembled on-site, but a number of adaptations to large trucks and even school bus frames were made over the years. A crew of two could operate the radar. The 1B model could detect bombers at 10,000 feet at a distance of 120 nautical miles. Versions B through G differed primarily in the antenna pattern, providing better vertical range, but were electrically identical. TPS-1s were used to defend many beach-heads in the Pacific during the war and were among the first portable radar units to go into operation following the invasions of

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. These units saw considerable postwar service. It was used in the temporary Lashup Radar Network beginning in 1948. The AN/TPS-1D was the main component of the AN/GSS-1 Electronic Search Central system used with Nike missile systems.

Photographs

File:19501200 - Radio Callsign was 'Edith' - Yong-po, Korea.jpg, MGCIS-1 radar site at

Yonpo Airfield Yonpo Airfield, also known as Yonpo Air Base or K-27 Air Base, is an airport near Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. History Korean War On 2 July 1950 the 19th Bombardment Group launched a strike on Yonpo Airfield based on faulty i ...

, Korea in December 1950. The TPS-1B is on the far left of the photo.

References

USAF Factsheet Bendix AN/TPS-1

* Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.

External links

USMC Archival footage of a US Army AN/TPS-1B operating on Iwo Jima beginning at 2:16.
{{DEFAULTSORT:AN TPS-01 Radar Ground radars Military radars of the United States Radars of the United States Air Force World War II radars TPS1B Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944

Photographs

See also

References

External links