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Monica (radar)

Monica

Monica Mk III Indicator Unit
Country of origin	the United Kingdom
Introduced	June 1942[1]

Monica was a range-only tail warning radar for bombers, introduced by the RAF in June 1942.^[2] Officially known as ARI 5664,^[3] it operated at frequencies of around 300 MHz (on the boundary between VHF and UHF). The system was also used by the US Army Air Forces, under the name AN/APS-13, and the nickname Archie.

History[edit]

Monica was developed at the Bomber Support Development Unit (BSDU) in Worcestershire.^{[citation needed]} After the Luftwaffe became aware of Monica from a crashed bomber, German scientists developed a passive radar receiver, named Flensburg (FuG 227). From early 1944, FuG 227 was used by nightfighter crews to home in on Allied bombers using Monica.^[4] However, on the morning of 13 July 1944, a 7.Staffel/NJG 2-flown Junkers Ju 88 G-1 nightfighter equipped with Flensburg mistakenly landed at RAF Woodbridge. After examining the Flensburg equipment, the RAF ordered Monica withdrawn from all Bomber Command aircraft.^[5] An AN/APS-13 was used as a radar altimeter during the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the 509th Composite Group, USAAF.

See also[edit]

• List of World War II electronic warfare equipment

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monica tail warning radar.

• Oral History of Defence Electronics
• Folded Dipole UHF Yagi antenna patent used on Little Boy^{[dead link]}

Further reading[edit]

• Price, Alfred : Battle Over the Reich (1973) ISBN 0 7110 0481 1
• Forczyk, Robert: Bf 110 vs Lancaster 1942-1945 (2013) ISBN 978 1 78096 3167

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