11/16/2025
Great South African military history. Not many know about this.
The fact that South Africa was one of the first countries outside of the UK to develop and deploy its own radar technology during World War II is a profound, yet often forgotten, chapter of military and scientific history.
⚡ The SA Radar Project: A Secret Success
The South African radar program was initiated out of necessity and national security. With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the vital sea route around the Cape of Good Hope became a target for German U-boats and surface raiders. Britain, while having developed the technology, could not immediately supply radar sets to its Dominions due to the intense needs of the Battle of Britain.
🔬 The "Schonland Team"
The project was spearheaded by Professor Basil Schonland , a renowned physicist and Director of the Bernard Price Institute for Geophysical Research (BPI) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Schonland was one of the senior scientists invited to the UK just before the war to be briefed on the secret technology (then called RDF - Radio Direction Finding).
On his return, Schonland assembled a small, brilliant team of local engineers and physicists.
⏱️ Achieving the Breakthrough
The team was given the task to design and build a working radar set in an incredibly short timeframe to "learn the technique."
* 1939, September: War breaks out; Schonland returns to South Africa.
* 1939, December 16 (Dingaan's Day): The South African-built radar successfully records its first echo from the Northcliff Water Tower, 8 km away from the Wits campus. This was just three months after starting the project!
* 1940, Early: The system successfully detects a test aircraft in flight.
The success was achieved using components largely sourced from local amateur radio suppliers, demonstrating remarkable ingenuity and resourcefulness.
🚀 The Operational "JB" Radar
The initial prototype evolved into the first operational South African radar system, affectionately known as the "JB" (for Johannesburg).
* Coastal Defence: The JB sets were rapidly deployed along the South African coast as part of the Special Signals Services (SSS) to monitor the crucial shipping lanes for enemy vessels.
* Deployment Overseas: The home-grown radar was so effective that the British military, initially skeptical, was quickly impressed. The JB sets were deployed to East Africa (1940) and later to the Middle East (1941-42), supporting Allied operations and protecting installations like the Suez Canal. In some instances, the local South African JBs were reported to achieve better results than the larger, purpose-built British sets operating nearby.
This pioneering effort not only protected the South African coast but demonstrated a world-class level of scientific and technical capability, cementing South Africa's role as a vital Allied technical partner in the war.
