As I and others have described, the results of his efforts turned the course of the war.īush’s system served the country well during World War II and the decades immediately after, when innovation referred to hardware: better, faster missiles, planes, and ships. It transformed the ability of the military to innovate. Roosevelt’s support, Vannevar Bush, formerly the dean of engineering at MIT, created a new structure within the federal government. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, by 353 enemy aircraft, killed 2,403 people.Įighty years ago, on the brink of world war, America lagged in crucial science and technologies, including radar, missiles, jet aircraft, and nuclear fission. One career officer recalled, “It really pained me … to think how much two years of fleet experience with radar before 1941 could have saved us in lives, planes, ships and battles lost during the initial phases of the Pacific war.” A radar early warning system was still being field-tested in Hawaii on the morning of Dec. Eight years later, the same engineers discovered their radio technology, later called radar, could detect enemy planes from miles away. They submitted a proposal to develop the idea. When a ship sailing down the Potomac disrupted their signal, they quickly realized their system could be used to detect enemy ships through fog or darkness. They were testing new ways for ships to communicate at sea. set up a radio transmitter and receiver on opposite sides of the Potomac. Navy’s research lab just outside Washington, D.C.
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