AN/TPS-1

AN/TPS-1
	AN/TPS-1B at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1944
Type	Portable Long Range Search Radar
Frequency	L-band, 1220 to 1350 MHz
PRF	4 usec
Beamwidth	3.7 ° (horizontal)
Range	28, 80 or 200 miles
Azimuth	360º
Precision	+/- 1 mile + 3% range.
Other Names	AMES Type 61

The AN/TPS-1 Radar was an early warning and tactical control radar developed by Bell Labs and the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. Initially used by the US Army, it was later used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, and a number of European armed forces. A number of variations were produced by several vendors, including Western Electric, Westinghouse Electric, Bendix Corporation and several European manufacturers in the post-war era. In Royal Air Force service it was known as AMES Type 61.

The TPS-1 is a lightweight portable search radar using a cut-down parabolic antenna of the "orange peel" design with an off-axis feed and transmitting in the L-band between 1220 and 1280 megahertz (MHz). The initial versions were designed to break down into ten packages and then be assembled on-site, but a number of adaptations to large trucks and even school bus frames were made over the years. A crew of two could operate the radar. The 1B model could detect bombers at 10,000 feet at a distance of 120 nautical miles. Versions B through G differed primarily in the antenna pattern, providing better vertical range, but were electrically identical.

TPS-1s were used to defend many beach-heads in the Pacific during the war and were among the first portable radar units to go into operation following the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. These units saw considerable postwar service. It was used in the temporary Lashup Radar Network beginning in 1948. The AN/TPS-1D was the main component of the AN/GSS-1 Electronic Search Central system used with Nike missile systems.

Photographs

MGCIS-1 radar site at Yonpo Airfield, Korea in December 1950. The TPS-1B is on the far left of the photo.

gollark: As I sort of said, I think having a personal car around all the time which is designed for really long trips and incurs a lot of expense that way is kind of wasteful.

gollark: It could be done partly manually for now anyway.

gollark: It would be pretty good, though. You could actually replace dying parts (curse nonreplaceable phone batteries!), get upgrades as technology improves, and with eventual infrastructure support swap batteries at stations on roads or something.

gollark: If the battery modules were actually standardized you could swap them out as needed, which would be neat.

gollark: Those don't have good energy density, though, compared to batteries.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

USAF Factsheet Bendix AN/TPS-1
AN/TPS-1B @ radomes.org
Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.

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