Chapter 244: RADAR modèle 37

Words : 1055 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Chapter 244: RADAR modèle 37 "Galène" - IIn his private suite Moreau remained awake. It was nearly 3 a.m.. On the desk before him lay a mess of papers. Strategic maps from the Council Chamber debate. Moreau stood by the window. He looked out at the dark rooftops of Paris with a expression as if seeing something beyond the city’s quiet streets. He returned to the desk and flicked open a ledger-sized notebook. He drew a straight line across the top of the page and wrote, in a precise hand. RADAR modèle 37 "Galène". A moment later he underlined it twice. He sat, exhaled, and then leaned forward to begin writing. "France" he thought. "Has rebuilt its walls and yet, like ghosts beyond them, aircraft will come. France needs eyes before the guns open." He began sketching a basic diagram. Two blocks connected by arrows Transmitter and Receiver. Within his mind, his own memories started resurfacing. The Battle of Britain, where radar saw German bombers before they crossed the English Channel. Where the British skies remained lit like daytime because their people had forewarning. He thought of how France had known of radio-location in theory English Marconi papers, Polish efforts but never committed to constructing a network. Questions remained on him. Why had it never been built? Who had resisted? Finally, he began writing details he remembered. Pulse-modulated not continuous wave. Monostatic, yes same antenna for transmitting and receiving. They’d need a high-frequency source somewhere near 98 MHz, tunable. He sketched a Yagi antenna four elements, horizontal polarization. He wrote the codename quietly beside the drawing: "Galène" the mineral used in early radio detectors, chosen for discretion. He took out another notepad and jotted a list. Pulse width 10 μs, PRF ~500 Hz Peak power ~120 kW (average ~600 W) Superheterodyne receiver, IF at 30 MHz CRT display, A-scope Pulse-forming network, water-cooled triode tube Yagi, 360° rotation at 6 rpm Diesel generator, ~40 kW consumption, water-cooled transmitter He paused. These numbers were all he could recover from memory, but the details felt fragmented. He realized he didn’t remember the exact bandwidth of the receiver, nor the noise figure, nor the dynamic range. He didn’t recall the elevation angle precisely or the beamwidth. He shook his head and wrote in the margin. Need physicist review. Now, with budget allocated, he realized he must pivot part of it, redirect a small portion of the ₣15 billion earmarked for Military Readiness not from tanks or artillery, but toward R&D. He wouldn’t tell anyone that he was building what would become standard by 1940 but he could begin funding a prototype for early radar. He moved to a fresh page and drafted bullet points. Project Justification. Compensates for weakness in static defenses Provides early warning for Luftwaffe bomber formations Integrates into Maginot Line command via telephone/telegraph Builds technical precedent for future mobile radar units He circled "R&D focus" and wrote in smaller letters. Ground-based early warning & gun-laying radar. He paused again. What about power? He jotted. Water-cooled triode oscillator, thyratron pulse modulator. Maybe a Dutch or Philips QB-type tube. He imagined the cooling required and wrote. Closed-loop water cooling and air-cooled receiver. Then he scribbled thermodynamics diagrams, radiator, auxiliary fans, generator shed. His breathing slowed as he drew the technical drawing of the antenna mast 28 meters tall, reinforced guy-wired, with a horizontal Yagi array at the top. He annotated. Azimuth: 360° coverage Rotation motor: belt-driven, variable-speed Azimuth accuracy ±2° Elevation fixed at 15° for optimal height He paused again what about site footprint? He noted. Site plan: Control cabin (10×6m, concrete) Generator shed (6×6m) Antenna clearance (100×100m) Operators: 6–8 per shift plus technical staff He remembered terms like "A-scope," gain control, audio headphone cues. He wrote methodically. Operators: commanding officer, 3 signal op rotating, 2 engineers, 2 electrical staff Display: 7″ CRT A-scope, linear time base (1 μs ≈ 150 m), range calibration, manual plot He paused. After the map he inserted a new section header. Detection Capabilities. He listed. Large bomber detection ~50 km Fighter detection ~25–30 km Altitude: 1,000–8,000 m Range res ±500 m, Azimuth ±2° Track up to 4 targets He underlined Limitations. No elevation discrimination Target saturation >5 blips Rotation delay in plotting Fixed installation only Then Future improvements. B-scope Triangulated plotting Mobile version AA fire control integration IFF interrogation Radar network geo-positioning He realized the full technical architecture was too complex he needed collaboration. He thought of French physicists. The International Centre for Radio Waves at Sorbonne, the technicians at CSF, the laboratories once run by Pierre Weiss or Paul Langevin. He thought of telephone engineers who created microwatt precision why could they not focus their skill on this? He scribbled. Approach scientists delicately, target advanced labs, present problem not solution. Seek R&D advisory group. Then he reassessed, timing. He wrote. Timeline April. Prototype design & funding May - June. Build prototype hardware bench-level July. Initial tests at coastal site (Dieppe, Le Havre) August. Adjustments and first detection S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. September. Commissioning systems October. Build second site November Initial network operating He underlined commission preproduction in January 1938, just before growing tensions. He then wrote. Public budget line? No. Confidential schedule. Classified "Direction Générale de l’Armement." He folded over the top of the page. Then he glanced at the empty wine glass. He reached for it, drank and returned it to the table. Then he opened a fresh sheet and wrote. Security plan: Classify as secret military research Only Ministry of Defense, DGA, and Cabinet-level must know Sealed orders, no ministerial briefing except Reynaud for finance. No parliamentary oversight Site security via prefectorial police & military guard Cover story. Early-warning acoustic detection or radio-telephony experiment He ran a hand through his hair, exhaled, and whispered. "Galène, you will see the storm before it comes. And France....France will learn to see it." He closed his eyes. Saw the invisible lines of enemy bombers traced like spider webs across radar arcs. Saw France listening for the storm. He whispered once more. "France will see." This is just the start. Moreau knows deep in his heart. If World War 2 happens. It will happen on his own terms.

Chapter 244: RADAR modèle 37

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