AN/CPS-6 Radar

{{Short description|1940s American air defense radar}} {{Use American English|date=August 2024}} {{Full citations needed|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox radar |name = AN/CPS-6 |image = AN-CPS-6.jpg  |caption = AN/CPS-6 Radar |country = {{USA}} |manufacturer = General Electric |introdate = 1945 |number = |type = Medium-range search/height finder |frequency = S-band {{convert|2.7|{{En dash}}|3.01|GHz|mm|abbr=on}} |PRF =  |beamwidth =  |pulsewidth= 0.5 μs |RPM =  |range = {{Convert|165|mi|km|abbr=on}} |altitude = {{Convert|45000|ft|m|abbr=on}} |diameter =  |azimuth =  |elevation =  |precision =  |power = 40 kw |other names= ''Minnie'' |related = AN/CPS-6, 6A, 6B, AN/FPS-10 }} The '''AN/CPS-6''' was an S-band medium-range search/height finder radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. The radar was developed during the later stages of World War II by the MIT Radiation Laboratory with the first units produced by General Electric in mid-1945.

In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "''AN/CPS-6''" designation represents the 6th design of an Army-Navy air transportable electronic device for search radar equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all Department of Defense electronic systems. {{sfn|Avionics Department|2013|p=2-8.1}}{{sfn|Winkler|1997|p=73}}

==Development== Subsequent development of the '''AN/CPS-6A''' and '''AN/CPS-6B''' models saw them produced at a plant in Syracuse, New York. The radar set consisted of two antennae, with one slanted at a 45-degree angle providing the height-finder capability. Designed to detect fighter aircraft at a range of {{Convert|100|mi|km}} and a height of up to {{Convert|16000|ft|m}}, the radar utilized five transmitters operating at S-band frequencies ranging between {{Convert|2.700|{{en dash}}|3.019|GHz|mm|abbr=on}}. It required twenty-five people to operate the radar.

==History== In 1949, an AN/CPS-6 radar was installed as part of the Lashup Radar Network at Twin Lights, New Jersey, proving capable of detecting targets at ranges of {{Convert|84|mi|km}}. The first units of the follow-on AN/CPS-6B, ready for installation by mid-1950, saw fourteen of these assigned within the first permanent Lashup network.

A component designed to improve the radar's range was added in 1954. Tests showed the 6B-model had a range of {{Convert|165|mi|km}} with an altitude limit of {{Convert|45000|ft|m}}. A single radar unit with its ancillary electronic equipment required eighty-five freight cars for transport. The Air Force phased out the 6B-model between mid-1957 and mid-1959.

Another radar, developed from the CPS-6, was the '''AN/FPS-10'''. It was essentially a stripped-down version of the AN/CPS-6B.{{sfn|Winkler|1997|p= 77}} Thirteen of these units served within the first permanent Lashup network.

==See also== {{Portal|Electronics}} *List of radars *List of military electronics of the United States

==References== {{AFHRA}} {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{Citation |title= Electronic Warfare & Radar Systems Engineering Handbook |edition= 4 |chapter= Missile and Electronic Equipment Designations |last= Avionics Department |publisher= Lulu Press, Inc |location= Point Mugu, California |date= July 20, 2013 |isbn= 9781782665243}} * {{Citation |title= Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program |first= David F. |last= Winkler |publisher= Headquarters Air Combat Command |location= Langley AFB, Virginia |ISBN= 9781907521911 |lccn=97020912 |date= June 1997 |url= https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/airdef/1997-06-01955.pdf}}

==External links== * [https://www.mobileradar.org/radar_descptn_1.html MobileRadar.org radar system descriptions]

Category:Ground radars Category:Radars of the United States Air Force Category:General Electric radars Category:Military equipment introduced from 1945 to 1949 Category:Military electronics of the United States {{USAF-stub}}