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In 1950, Sam Newfield directed the movie Radar Secret Service. In it, radar plays a front-and-center role in breaking up a crime ring. Of course, radar was still a relatively new invention, to the point that the technology depicted in the movie bore no real resemblence to actual radar. But even in its infancy, it somehow managed to out-act all the human characters.
Radar has talent.
The Battle of Cape Matapan is a lesser known naval engagement that took place between the British and Italians in 1941 in the Mediterranean Sea, but it was essentially radar (or the lack of it) that made the difference.
Intelligence intercepts tipped off the British to the fact that an Italian battle fleet was heading out to harass Allied convoys in the Mediterranean, so they sent a larger force in response. The first part of the battle saw the British pretty much just stay out of range of the Italians but, on the evening of March 28th, they moved in.
This wasn’t 1950, but even rudimentary radar in the early 40’s gave a distinct advantage to those that possessed it. The British had it on some of their ships, the Italians did not. Using their advantage and the cover of night, the British closed to within 2 miles of the enemy before opening fire. For battleships, cruisers, and even small-gunned destroyers, 2 miles is considered point-blank range.
And in very short order, the Italians got a whooping. When morning broke on March 29, 1941, they had lost 3 heavy cruisers, a pair of destroyers, and the lone battleship was damaged. More than 2,300 sailors were lost. The ledger’s other side showed the British suffering very light damage to a couple cruisers and losing one torpedo bomber and its 3-man crew.
But more than the loss of the battle (fought to the west of the Grecian port Cape Matapan and to the west of Crete), the Italians had largely lost control of the Mediterranean Sea and allowed the British to concentrate on countering the German buildup in North Africa.
Today's History Lesson 