Politics and Innovation in the Development of Radar Technology in Germany and Great Britain up to 1945

The book compares the development of radar in Britain and Germany before and during the Second World War. It demonstrates how innovation systems, leadership structures, and organisations influenced technological progress, particularly in Britain. Based on extensive archival research, it reassesses groundbreaking technological developments as well as strategic and operational measures such as signals intelligence, jamming, and operational research. The comparison of innovation processes and obstacles in the context of political decision-making plays a central role. Strategic foresight, combined with close cooperation among political, military, industrial, and scientific actors, proved crucial to the outcome of the war. This book offers a fresh perspective on wartime innovation.