Series number
AWM79
Series title
Records of HMAS RUSHCUTTER Radar School
Contents date range
01 Jul 1940 - 02 Mar 1945
Extent
1.6 m
Access conditions
Subject to the Australian Archives Act (1983)
Agency controlling
Department of Defence
Custodial agency
Australian War Memorial
Function and provenance
This series of records comprises registry files from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) School of Radar, which is referred by a variety of names in correspondence, including:
· HMA Radio School
· HMAS RUSHCUTTER, and
· HMAS RADAR.
Radio Direction Finding or RDF was pioneered by the British scientist Robert Watson-Watt for use in the detection of airplanes, and entered service in 1937, going on to become a pivotal part of the Air Defence of Great Britain in the early part of the Second World War.
By 1940, RDF or “Radar” (RADio Detection And Ranging) as the US called it, sets were small and reliable enough to be mounted in aircraft and ships. The first Australian ship to be fitted with a radar set was HMAS CANBERRA.
As the war progressed, the number of ships fitted with RDF grew. This led to an increased demand for ratings and officers qualified to operate the sets now being used in the fleet and to use them tactically to best effect.
An RDF school was originally established as part of the RAN Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) school at HMAS RUSHCUTTER in July 1940.
In 1942, as a result of growing demand for Radar trained officers and ratings, the Radar school was renamed HMAS RADAR and separated out from the ASW school. The Radar school was a dispersed unit, with personnel posted to various locations around the Sydney Area, but principally concentrated at the South Head Military Area, where it was located in buildings erected adjacent to the Army School of Radiophysics.
In addition to being a training establishment, the School was responsible for developing and issuing radar manuals, providing technical advice on the fitting of various radar types to vessels, and advising on the best tactical applications of the new equipment. In addition the School collected and analysed operational research into Radar, building the results and findings into improved training and documentation packages.
Like any organisation of the time, the School operated a file registry charged with receiving, disseminating, tracking and archiving correspondence. This series holds a selection of these files. Although incomplete, the series represents an interesting view of the RAN’s involvement in developing and applying one of the critical technologies of the Second World War, as well as the administration required to support this work.
Just as importantly, the series provides a view of the early development of what became one of the RAN’s most important training establishments, HMAS WATSON.
Content
This series is an incomplete collection of RAN School of Radar registry files. The files in this series are comprised of duplicate copies of the original documents, usually with cover sheets which contain hand written notes. Most of the content dates between 1942 and 1943, although a few documents from 1944 and 1945 are on file.
As well as the administration, curriculum and personnel of the school itself, the series covers all aspects of RDF/Radar, including:
· equipment installation
· training
· technical matters
· records of policy advice
· operational planning advice, and
· evaluation of new tactical methods.
For a complete overview of RAN policy, organisation and procedures concerning RDF, please see item 871/22
Codeword SNARK.
In December 1942, LT Hallett RNVR was posted from the RN Signals School “Y” branch to HMAS RUSHCUTTER. Y Branch had pioneered the use of airborne, seaborne and land-based mobile RDF detectors in the UK. It is probable that Hallett advised on a series of trials held in the Pacific theatre under the codename SNARK. These trials used Radar Counter Measures (RCM) to detect and observe Japanese activity in the area.
The SNARK trials were led by LT Michell RANVR, and used a variety of aircraft, including a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated PBY Catalina and Lockheed Hudson to carry airborne RDF detectors. These detectors featured antennae mounted on the outside of the aircraft, with a special detection set, operated by a Chief Radioman USN in the cabin of the aircraft. The detector could not be operated when the aircraft ASV radar set was in operation, owing to radiospectrum interference.
The trials were held between January and March 1943, and revealed much about the Japanese use of Radar. As a result of this and similar trials, a passive detection device – the ARC receiver – was developed and issued to ships of the Pacific fleet.
System of arrangement and control
The series uses the original two number control system. While there is no discernible arrangement to the complete series, there are general groupings which can be made. For example:
[10/2] – [28/2] – General administrative records
[600/1] – [608/2] – Policy advice and correspondence
[609 /1] – [610/3] – Radio Counter Measures
[624/1] – [626/4] – training records and exam results for RDF ratings
[755/1] – [764/1] – Reports on fitting and equipment of RDF in HMA Ships
Using the Series
Each item in the series is recorded on the RecordSearch database which researchers can view on the internet. Further assistance in finding relevant information may be gained from related series of records (click on Series Links at the bottom of this page)
Sources
Lewis Brown, Technical and Military Imperatives, a Radar History of World war II (London: Taylor & Francis, 1999)
Alan Payne. HMAS Canberra (Naval Historical Society of Australia,1991)