SCR-296-A - A short-range Gun-Laying Radar Set - A short-range Gun-Laying Radar set built by Western Electric Company. Installed to provide target range and azimuth data to World War II Coast Artillery gun batteries with 6" and larger guns.
SCR-296 Gun-Laying Radar
Development of the SCR-296 began in 1941 when the Signal Corps Lab obtained a set from Western Electric Company and enhanced the target tracking ability with a lobe-switching modification. The modified set was designated the SCR-296-A. The Coast Artillery tested it and ordered 20 sets. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy expressed concern for the safety of harbors and anchorages. The Coast Artillery did not have a radar to protect the harbors but expected that the SCR-296-A, with lobe switching, could do the job, providing a gun laying radar set for 6" gun batteries and above.
The first SCR-296-A was delivered in April 1942, the second in July 1942. The Coast Artillery then had 176 sets on order for delivery before the middle of 1943. This capability coincided with the construction of the new 200 series 6" gun batteries at every significant harbor defense and 100 series 16" batteries at selected harbors.
SCR-296-A Gun-Laying Radar
Element
Value
Notes
Nomenclature
SCR-296-A
Origins
SCR-296
Variants
Manufacturer
Western Electric Company
Type
Gun-Laying
Number Made
176
IEEE Band
Frequency
700 MHz
PRF
Pulse Width
Rotation Speed
Manual
Power
Range
short range
Altitude
Introduced
1942
Site Operation
SCR-296-A Range Operator Display.SCR-296-A Azimuth Operator Displays
In operation, the SCR-296-A radar could only track one target at a time. Target assignments were made from the harbor HECP/HDCP command posts by telephone, citing the approximate range and azimuth of the target. The SCR-296-A radar operators would then find the target and pass the precise range and azimuth to the plotting room at the gun battery by phone. Two operators were required, one for the range position and one for the azimuth position.
The radar operators would continue to track the target and update the plotting room as the range and azimuth changed.
In operation, the range accuracy was about ± 30 yards while azimuth accuracy was about ± 0.20 degree under the best conditions. The set had a dependable range of 20,000 yards on a destroyer size target when properly sited between 150 to 500 feet above sea level.
Operating crew consists of 5 men plus a power plant operator and ar radar maintenance man.
When crated, the total weight is 91,763 lbs. The largest unit is 5,270 lbs. The SCR-296-A includes a tower, an operating building, and two power plant buildings. The tower is obtainable in heights of 25, 50, 75, and 100 feet. Concrete foundations are engineered by the Corps of Engineers who also erects the structures. The equipment and the equipment installation were usually provided by the Signal Corps. Primary power of 2.3 KW could be supplied by one of two PE-84C generator sets, post power or commercial power.
U.S. Radar, Operational Characteristics of Radar Classified by Tactical Application, FTP 217, Prepared by Authority of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, by the Radar Research and Development Sub-Committee of the Joint Committee on New Weapons and Equipment, 1 Aug 1943, Washington, D.C.
