Decca Radar

Decca BridgeMaster II turning units and antennas aboard a BC Ferries vessel in British Columbia, Canada

The Decca Radar company was a British manufacturer of radar systems. There were originally two divisions, Marine and Heavy Radar, with separate product lines. The latter was sold to Plessey in 1965, and the term "Decca Radar" normally refers to the Marine division. That division remained with Decca until 1979 when it purchased by Racal to form Racal-Decca. After a series of further mergers and purchases, from 2000 the division is part of Northrop Grumman.

Decca is best known for its marine radars, starting with 1949's Type 159. Their most successful line was the 1970s Bridgemaster series which continued sales into the 2000s. Under Plessey, the company was particularly successful in the US pleasure boat market. The Heavy Radar division produced the AMES Type 80 radars for the Royal Air Force, and used that technology to develop the Decca HF200 height finder radar. This led to the Decca Air Surveillance Radar, which spawned a number of adaptations for civilian and military use.


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