Robert Watson-Watt was born in Union Street,
Brechin, in 1892. He showed an early interest
in science, spending many hours
experimenting in the workshop of his father’s
joinery business. He won a scholarship to
Brechin High and later to University College,
Dundee where he took a degree in Electrical
Engineering.
Watson-Watt became fascinated by the exciting new
science of radio and at the beginning of World War I, he
accepted a post in the Government Met Office at
Farnborough. He was asked to find a way to forecast the
approach of lightning and thunderstorms to warn aviators.
He had discovered the science underlying radar.
At first he could detect aircraft up to 8 miles away and then
up to 40 miles. The RAF were very impressed with his work
and set up a team of scientists to work on Britain’s secret
weapon. Ironically the equipment Watson-Watt used - the
picture tube in a TV - was given to him by a
German scientist.
His work resulted in the building of a chain
of radar stations along the east and south coasts of Britain before the
outbreak of World War II. The system helped the RAF win the Battle of
Britain and was vital in the Battle of the Atlantic and the D-Day Invasion.
In 1942, when his work became public, he was awarded a knighthood -
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Sir Robert Watson-Watt : Britain’s Secret Weapon !
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