William Richards Blair (1874–1962) was an American scientist and Army Officer who led the U.S. Signal Corps Laboratories during its formative years. He is often called the "Father of Army Radar."
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Blair was awarded a Ph.D. in physics in 1906 from the University of Chicago. His dissertation involved experimental studies of microwave reflections, including those from non-metallic surfaces. After graduation, he took a position with the U.S. Weather Bureau as a specialist in atmospheric sciences. There he prepared a major report, “Meteorology and Aeronautics,” for the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, predecessor of NASA) that was widely circulated as a basic handbook. The theoretical portions of the report were published in a research journal.[1]
When World War I began, Blair was commissioned as a Major in the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps Reserves, and served as the Chief Meteorologist for the American Expeditionary Force. Following the war, he remained in the Army as a meteorologist and participated in planning the first round-the-world airplane flight in 1924.[2] While attending the Command and General Staff College, he made a study of acoustical direction-finding for antiaircraft artillery, and soon realized that this could better be done using electromagnetic waves.
In 1917, the Army established the Signal Corps Radio Laboratories at Camp Vail, in eastern New Jersey. After the war, this became Fort Vail, then in 1925, it was renamed Fort Monmouth. In 1926, Blair was assigned as the Chief of Research and Engineering. Coupling capabilities in electronics and meteorology, in 1929 the Laboratory developed and launched the first radio-equipped weather balloon.
Going into the 1930s, the Great Depression with declining economic conditions led the Signal Corps to consolidate their widespread laboratories to Fort Monmouth. On June 30, 1930, the consolidated operations became the Signal Corps Laboratories (SCL), with Colonel Blair named the Director.
In 1931, Blair initiated Project 88, “Position Finding by Means of Light.” Here “light” was used in the general sense of electromagnetic radiation, including infrared and the very-short radio waves with line-of-sight transmission characteristics (microwaves). Some success was made with detection of thermal radiation from aircraft engines, but Blair was soon convinced that detection could best be done using reflected microwave signals.[3]
After several years investigating microwave generating and receiving devices, followed by experiments in target detection using Doppler-beat interference methods, in 1935 Blair reported the following:
In 1936, a laboratory project in pulsed transmission and detection was started, and on December 14, the experimental apparatus detected an aircraft at 7 miles distance.[5] Development then started on the Army’s first system for Radio Position Finding (RPF) -- the name “radar” did not come into existence until 1940.
Unfortunately, Blair’s health failed during 1938, and he retired before the system was completed. This system, eventually designated SCR-268, was intended to aim searchlights.
In 1945, the Signal Corps applied, in Blair's name, for a patent titled “Object Locating System." This was based on the pulse-echo technique that was originally proposed by Blair in 1935. Because of secrecy, however, the patent was not granted until 1957.