Air Ministry Experimental Station
Encyclopedia
AMES or Air Ministry
Experimental Station was the way of identifying RAF radar
types during and after World War II
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
Experimental Station was the way of identifying RAF radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
types during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- AMES Type 1, Chain HomeChain HomeChain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...
(CH) - Early WarningEarly warning radarAn early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as early as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the defences the maximum time in which to operate... - AMES Type 2, Chain Home LowChain Home LowChain Home Low was the name of a British radar early warning system, detecting enemy aircraft movement at lower altitudes than and summarily used with the fixed Chain Home system which was operated by the RAF during World War II...
(CHL) - Early Warning, LOW altitude - AMES Type 3, Type 1 and Type 2 operating in close proximity
- AMES Type 4, Overseas Chain Home, also known as Intermediate CO or CO/ICH
- AMES Type 5, Chain Overseas LowChain Home LowChain Home Low was the name of a British radar early warning system, detecting enemy aircraft movement at lower altitudes than and summarily used with the fixed Chain Home system which was operated by the RAF during World War II...
(COL) - AMES Type 6, Light Warning Set
- AMES Type 7, Final static Ground-controlled interceptionGround-controlled interceptionGround-controlled interception an air defense tactic whereby one or more radar stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was pioneered during World War II by the Royal Air Force with the Luftwaffe to follow closely...
(GCI) station (Happidrome) - AMES Type 8, Various marks of GCI radars, mobile and semi-static
- AMES Type 9, Mobile Chain Home
- AMES Type 10, Mobile Air Transportable System
- AMES Type 11, Mobile sets as possible standby should 1.5 m CHL/GCI be jammed
- AMES Type 12, Low Frequency transportable Chain Home Low.
- AMES Type 13, 10 cm "Nodding" Height FinderHeight finderA height finder is a ground based aircraft altitude measuring device.Early height finder implementations were optical devices and later migrated to radar devices. Devices combining both optics and radar were deployed by the U.S...
. Transmitter and Receiver of Naval Type 277 - MarconiMarconi CompanyThe Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company... - AMES Type 14, 10 cm surveillance radar - Marconi
- AMES Type 15, GCI radar, mobile version of Type 7
- AMES Type 16, FighterFighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
Direction Station - AMES Type 17, Fighter Direction (abandoned)
- AMES Type 18, CHL/GCI Modified Type 11 Mk2 (H) with height finding (abandoned)
- AMES Type 19, GCI Final Standby Type
- AMES Type 20, Decimetric Height Finder
- AMES Type 21, Tactical Control. Five vehicle GCI convoy - Marconi
- AMES Type 22, GCI / COL (similar to AMES Type 11)
- AMES Type 23, LOMAN Overseas LORANLORANLORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
system - AMES Type 24, Long range 10 cm Height Finder
- AMES Type 25, Experimental CHL
- AMES Type 26, GCI British version of American MEW (Microwave Early Warning)
- AMES Type 27, Air Transportable GCI
- AMES Type 28, CMH Air transportable Height Finder
- AMES Type 29, CHEL (Chain Home Extra Low) Air transportable (abandoned)
- AMES Type 30, CD (Coast Defence) / CHL (AdmiraltyAdmiraltyThe Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
only) - AMES Type 31, CHEL CD in wooden hut
- AMES Type 32, CHEL CD - Nissen hutNissen hutA Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
- none built - AMES Type 33, CHEL CD - brick built
- AMES Type 34, CHEL CD 200 ft tower
- AMES Type 37, CHEL CD
- AMES Type 40, CD/CHL
- AMES Type 41, CHEL
- AMES Type 42, CHEL
- AMES Type 43, CHEL
- AMES Type 44, CHEL
- AMES Type 46, CHEL
- AMES Type 47, CHEL
- AMES Type 48, CHEL
- AMES Type 50, CHEL
- AMES Type 100, 20-80 Mhz Transponder-based navigation system - GEE-HG-H (navigation)Gee-H, or sometimes G-H, was a radio navigation system developed by Britain during World War II to aid RAF Bomber Command. Its official name was AMES Type 100...
- AMES Type 700, 1.7-2.0 Mhz Hyperbolic navigation system - LORAN
- AMES Type 7000, 30-60 MHz Hyperbolic navigation system - GEEGEE (navigation)Gee was the code name given to a radio navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.Different sources record the name as GEE or Gee. The naming supposedly comes from "Grid", so the lower case form is more correct, and is the form used in Drippy's publications. See Drippy 1946....
ground station - AMES Type 9000, 200 Mhz transponder-based navigation system - OboeOboe (navigation)Oboe was a British aerial blind bombing targeting system in World War II, based on radio transponder technology. Oboe accurately measured the distance to an aircraft, and gave the pilot guidance on whether or not they were flying along a pre-selected circular route. The route was only 35 yards...
Mk I ground station - Oboe Mk III, S band
Post-War
- AMES Type 80, 2.850/3.050 GHzGHZGHZ or GHz may refer to:# Gigahertz .# Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state — a quantum entanglement of three particles.# Galactic Habitable Zone — the region of a galaxy that is favorable to the formation of life....
1 MW S-BandS bandThe S band is defined by an IEEE standard for radio waves with frequencies that range from 2 to 4 GHz, crossing the conventional boundary between UHF and SHF at 3.0 GHz. It is part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum...
Early Warning radar - a.k.a. Green GarlicRainbow CodesThe Rainbow Codes were a series of code names used to disguise the nature of various British military research projects. They were mainly used from after the Second World War until 1958, when they were replaced by an alphanumeric code system.-History:...
- PlesseyPlesseyThe Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the second world war by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies...
- high performance system made ROTORROTORROTOR was a huge and elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers...
obsolete - AMES Type 82, 3 GHz 3DThree-dimensional spaceThree-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
Early Warning and tactical control radar for Bristol Bloodhound - a.k.a. Orange Yeoman - MarconiMarconi CompanyThe Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company... - AMES Type 83, 4 GHz/10 GHz mobile tactical control radar for Bristol Bloodhound 1 - a.k.a. Yellow River, Stingray - BTHBritish Thomson-HoustonBritish Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...
, later Marconi - AMES Type 84, 1.2 GHz 2.5 MW L bandL bandL band refers to four different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum: 40 to 60 GHz , 1 to 2 GHz , 1565 nm to 1625 nm , and around 3.5 micrometres .-NATO L band:...
surveillance radar - Marconi - AMES Type 85, 2.75/3.2 5 GHz, 54 MW - improved high-power version of AMES Type 82 - a.k.a. Blue Yeoman, LinesmanLinesman/MediatorLinesman/Mediator was the dual-purpose civil and military radar network in the United Kingdom. Against a background of the Russian H-bomb and supersonic bombers Linesman was the answer to the Cold War defence policies, replacing the earlier ROTOR and Type 80 Master Radar Stations that were the...
- AEIAssociated Electrical IndustriesAssociated Electrical Industries was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies...
, later Marconi - AMES Type 86, 10 GHz mobile CWContinuous waveA continuous wave or continuous waveform is an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency; and in mathematical analysis, of infinite duration. Continuous wave is also the name given to an early method of radio transmission, in which a carrier wave is switched on and off...
target illuminator radar for Bristol Bloodhound 2 - a.k.a. Blue Anchor, Firelight - FerrantiFerrantiFerranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The... - AMES Type 87, 3 GHz 600 kW - balloonBlimpA blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
-borne Early Warning radar - a.k.a. Blue Joker - cancelled 1960 - Type No. later applied to Bloodhound Mk 2 guidance control system a.k.a. Scorpion - AMES Type 88, 1.3 GHz/3 GHz Tactical Control/Surveillance radar - used in conjunction with AMES Type 89 - pair a.k.a. Green Ginger - Marconi
- AMES Type 89, 3 GHz Tactical Control Height FinderHeight finderA height finder is a ground based aircraft altitude measuring device.Early height finder implementations were optical devices and later migrated to radar devices. Devices combining both optics and radar were deployed by the U.S...
- used in conjunction with AMES Type 88 - pair a.k.a. Green Ginger - Marconi - AMES Type 90, 1.3 GHz 3MW Early Warning/Fighter Control radar, Martello prototype, only one built - Marconi
- AMES Type 91, 1.3 GHz 132 kW Early Warning/Fighter Control radar - a.k.a., Martello - Marconi
See also
- Telecommunications Research EstablishmentTelecommunications Research EstablishmentThe Telecommunications Research Establishment was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force during World War II and the years that followed. The name was...
- Royal Radar EstablishmentRoyal Radar EstablishmentThe name Royal Radar Establishment was given to the existing Radar Research Establishment following a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Both names were abbreviated to RRE. The establishment had been formed, under its first name, in 1953 by merging the Telecommunications Research Establishment ...
- Royal Signals and Radar EstablishmentRoyal Signals and Radar EstablishmentThe Royal Signals and Radar Establishment was a scientific research establishment within the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom, located primarily at Malvern in Worcestershire. It was formed in 1976 in an amalgamation of earlier research establishments including the Royal Radar Establishment...
- Signals Research and Development EstablishmentSignals Research and Development EstablishmentThe Signals Research and Development Establishment was a British government military research establishment, based in Christchurch, Dorset from 1948 until it merged with the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern, Worcestershire to form the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in 1980...