John Mathieson Dodds OBE (13 September 1905 – 15 October 1983) was a Scottish electrical engineer. He was educated at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

and at the Technische Hochschule, Aachen, where he won a Dr Ing. in 1933. Dodds worked in the Research Department of Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. in

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the l ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. While at Metropolitan-Vickers, Dodds developed high-power

thermionic valves A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...

. These valves were used in the transmitter part of equipment for radar stations for defence ( Chain Home system), thereby making a significant contribution to Britain's survival in World War II. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

1944 Birthday Honours The 1944 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 2 June 1944 for the United Kingdom and British Empire, New Zealand, and South Africa. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they ...

References

*Brown, Jim, ''Radar - how it all began'', . *Dodds, JM and Ludlow, JH (1946), ''Journal of the IEE'', 93, Part IIIA, pp 1123–1129. *Swords, Sean S (1986), '' Technical History of the Beginnings of Radar'', pp 209, 270. *Watson-Watt, Robert (1957), ''Three Steps to Victory''. Photograph of JMD. Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scottish electrical engineers Alumni of the University of Aberdeen RWTH Aachen University alumni 1905 births 1983 deaths Metropolitan-Vickers people Radar pioneers People from Aberdeen {{Scotland-engineer-stub

References

Further reading