During the summer of 1936, experiments were carried out at RAF Biggin Hill to examine what effect the presence of radar would have on an air battle.
Assuming RDF would provide them 15 minutes warning, they developed interception techniques putting fighters in front of the bombers with increasing efficiency.
They found the main problems were finding their own aircraft's location, and ensuring the fighters were at the right altitude.

In a similar test against the operational radar at Bawdsey in 1937, the results were comical.
As Dowding watched the ground controllers scramble to direct their fighters, he could hear the bombers passing overhead.
He identified the problem not as a technological one, but in the reporting; the pilots were being sent too many reports, often contradictory.
This realization led to the development of the Dowding system, a vast network of telephone lines reporting to a central filter room in London where the reports from the radar stations were collected and collated, and fed back to the pilots in a clear format.
The system as a whole was enormously manpower intensive.

By the outbreak of war in September 1939, there were 21 operational Chain Home stations.
After the Battle of France in 1940 the network was expanded to cover the west coast and Northern Ireland.
The Chain continued to be expanded throughout the war, and by 1940 it stretched from Orkney in the north to Weymouth in the south.
This provided radar coverage for the entire Europe-facing side of the British Isles, able to detect high-flying targets well over France.
Calibration of the system was carried out initially using a flight of mostly civilian-flown, impressed Avro Rota autogyros flying over a known landmark, the radar then being calibrated so that the position of a target relative to the ground could be read off the CRT.
The Rota was used because of its ability to maintain a relatively stationary position over the ground, the pilots learning to fly in small circles while remaining at a constant ground position, despite a headwind.

The rapid expansion of the CH network necessitated more technical and operational personnel than the UK could provide, and in 1940, a formal request was made by the British High Commission, Ottawa of the Canadian Government, appealing for men skilled in radio technology for the service of the defence of Great Britain.
By the end of 1941, 1,292 trained personnel had enlisted and most were rushed to England to serve as radar mechanics.
During the summer of 1936, experiments were carried out at RAF Biggin Hill to examine what effect the presence of radar would have on an air battle. Assuming RDF would provide them 15 minutes warning, they developed interception techniques putting fighters in front of the bombers with increasing efficiency. They found the main problems were finding their own aircraft's location, and ensuring the fighters were at the right altitude.
In a similar test against the operational radar at Bawdsey in 1937, the results were comical. As Dowding watched the ground controllers scramble to direct their fighters, he could hear the bombers passing overhead. He identified the problem not as a technological one, but in the reporting; the pilots were being sent too many reports, often contradictory. This realization led to the development of the Dowding system, a vast network of telephone lines reporting to a central filter room in London where the reports from the radar stations were collected and collated, and fed back to the pilots in a clear format. The system as a whole was enormously manpower intensive.
By the outbreak of war in September 1939, there were 21 operational Chain Home stations. After the Battle of France in 1940 the network was expanded to cover the west coast and Northern Ireland. The Chain continued to be expanded throughout the war, and by 1940 it stretched from Orkney in the north to Weymouth in the south. This provided radar coverage for the entire Europe-facing side of the British Isles, able to detect high-flying targets well over France. Calibration of the system was carried out initially using a flight of mostly civilian-flown, impressed Avro Rota autogyros flying over a known landmark, the radar then being calibrated so that the position of a target relative to the ground could be read off the CRT. The Rota was used because of its ability to maintain a relatively stationary position over the ground, the pilots learning to fly in small circles while remaining at a constant ground position, despite a headwind.
The rapid expansion of the CH network necessitated more technical and operational personnel than the UK could provide, and in 1940, a formal request was made by the British High Commission, Ottawa of the Canadian Government, appealing for men skilled in radio technology for the service of the defence of Great Britain. By the end of 1941, 1,292 trained personnel had enlisted and most were rushed to England to serve as radar mechanics.
Chain Home