26th February 1935: Daventry Experiment proves the ability of using radio waves to detect aircraft, heralding the development of radar

Robert Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins conducted an experiment using a BBC shortwave radio transmitter located near Daventry, Northamptonshire, and a receiving station was set up in a field around 6 miles away that consisted of two receiving antennae attached to CRT monitoring equipment installed in a van. A Handley Page Heyford bomber was instructed to fly through the radio signal’s path, and it caused detectable variations in the received radio waves displayed on the ...