Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins
Okay, let's check the scorecard:
Your radar is on. What do you know? You know their exact position, course and speed, and you know exactly when that changes and what their NEW course and speed are. You have the complete keys to the city.
Now, what do they know? We'll assume they have radar detection gear and they detect you. "Shazzam! There's something out there somewhere running a radar set."
Now you tell me is it's worth it to run the radar if you think you're going to be detected. The answer is HELL yes. Run that puppy ragged.
The exact situation came up when Captain Joe Enright's Archerfish (the only US submarine whose name was changed by her crew, by the way!) saw this island moving on his radar. A bright crewmember suggested he turn the radar off and Enright made the same assessment as I just made.
But he was wrong. Detecting the radar, Admiral Abe of the Shinano concluded that anyone brazen enough to run radar must be part of a vast wolfpack of submarines, so instead of maintaining his invincible straight line speed where he was untouchable, Shinano started a zig pattern--right into the jaws of Archerfish. Radar being detected was the death of the largest target ever sank in WWII.
I'd say the score is advantage submarine and you should run the thing all the time.
|
RR, your analysis overlooks one small but important fact. The strength of a radar signal varies inversely with the square of the distance, while the strength of the radar return varies inversely with the fourth power of the distance. Assuming that the receiver of your radar set is just as sensitive as the receiver of his detector, then he will detect your emission at four times the range at which you detect him. That's why modern radar detectors way outrange the radar sets themselves, and why modern doctrine stresses use of passive systems.
Now, it's certainly true that the USN had technically superior electronics, so the assumption of equal sensitivity is probably invalid. And a large target - like Shinano
- would give a powerful return. But the physics is always on the side of the detector. Think of looking for someone at night using a spotlight. No matter how bright the light, he will see your light long before you can see him. When the enemy may have effective radar detection capabiliy, it is always prudent to limit your own emissions as much as possible. The Viet Nam era axiom applies: "He who lights up first, gets smoked."