 Type 82 at RAF Lindholme | |
| Country of origin | UK |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Marconi |
| Introduced | 1957 |
| No. built | 5 |
| Type | tactical control |
| Frequency | S band, 3 GHz |
| PRF | 750 |
| Beamwidth | 1.5º horizontal, ~30º vertical |
| Pulsewidth | 2 μS |
| RPM | 12 (later 8) |
| Range | 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi) |
| Altitude | 60,000 ft (18,000 m) |
| Diameter | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Azimuth | 360º |
| Elevation | 0–27.5º |
| Precision | 1,500 ft (460 m) or better |
| Power | 1.5 MW |
| Other Names | Orange Yeoman AA No. 4 Mk. 8? |
The AMES Type 82, also widely known by its rainbow codename Orange Yeoman, was an S-band 3D radar built by the Marconi Company and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), initially for tactical control and later for air traffic control (ATC).
Development started in 1949 at the British Army's Radar Research and Development Establishment to provide medium-range early warning for up to sixteen anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) batteries. Early in the program, the team saw the Royal Navy's Comprehensive Display System, and adapted it as the Data Handling System. This provided a semi-automated track while scan function that allowed operators to handle larger numbers of aircraft.
The system was originally designed to support AAA guns by passing data on a selected target to point (or "put on") the AAA's local gun laying radar. In 1953 the RAF took over the air defence role and began to move from guns to the new Bloodhound missile. They also took over the design work and gave the system the Type 82 name. The first prototype began operation that year and a second was briefly used in 1955 before being moved to the UK east coast as an operational unit in 1957. Three production units were added in 1960.
The Type 82 was withdrawn from the tactical control role in January 1963, as the data it provided for Bloodhound was now available from other radars like the AMES Type 80s. They were then repurposed as air traffic control systems, where its ability to measure range, bearing, elevation and secondary radar information in a single unit was a major advantage over previous systems. During this period they were manned by military and civilian operators. In spite of their increasing age, three of the systems lasted into the 1980s and '90s in this role.
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