342-FH-3A-42354-61571AC radar
AAF RADAR SET BESIDE FAMOUS IWO Jima FLAG - Two years ago today, during the fury of the battle for possession of the Pacific Island of Iwo Jima, a tattered United States flag in the hands of a group of determined Marines was carried to the top of Mount Suribachi and raised in defiance of the Japanese defenders. A few days later, an Army Air Forces radar screen was raised to the right of the now famous flag as a defense against enemy air attacks throughout the remainder of the invasion battle. The unit is pictured in this photo with the original flag flying from the temporary pole. This medium range radar set was packed to the mountain-top on the backs of 150 AAF soldiers and immediately set into operation to forewarn ground and air units of impending aerial attacks by the Nipponese. Within three weeks after the battle, Iwo Jima was the most heavily equipped radar site in the world. Every type of offensive and defensive radar available was employed to help make the island a B-29 support base, and there was approximately two radar sets per square mile. Radar sets used included those for detecting and identifying enemy aircraft, controlling escort fighters, and directing interception operations. One airstrip had complete radar-operated ground controlled approach (GCA) equipment to guide crippled B-29s and night-flying fighters to safe landings. First of the many bombers saved by the GCA crews was a faltering B-29, brought down through a 100-foot ceiling a few nights after the equipment had been placed in operation. The Army Air Forces continues research and development of radar equipment to make possible safe all-weather flying, center of this activity being the Electronics Subdivision of Air Materiel Command at Wright Field, Ohio.
More
