P-20 radar
Encyclopedia
The P-20 "Periskop" also referred to by the NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

 "Bar Lock" in the west is a 2D E band
E band
The NATO E band is the range of radio frequencies from 2 GHz to 3 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 15 cm and 10 cm. The E band is in the upper UHF range of the radio spectrum...

/F band
F band
The F band is the range of radio frequencies from 90 GHz to 140 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 2.1 mm and 3.3 mm...

 radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 developed and operated by the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

Development

The P-20 development was started in 1946 when State Federal Order of the Red Banner Research Institute Number 20 (now called All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Radio Engineering or VNIIRT) was given the task of developing stationary and mobile early warning ground control and interception radar for the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...

. The stationary radar would go on to become the P-50 but the mobile radar was to become the P-20. A design would go on to spawn a number of successors including the P-30
P-30 radar
The P-30 "Khrustal" also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Big Mesh" in the west is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

, P-35
P-35 radar
The P-35 also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Bar Lock" in the west is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

 and P-37 radar.

The P-20 would become the first Russian radar to use the decimetric wavelength, the first prototype being created in 1947, a factory test unit 1949. By 1949 the radar had completed state trials and was accepted into wide service within the Soviet airforce, the designers of the P-20 would go on to be awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1950 in recognition of the achievement.

Description

The P-20 is a semi-mobile radar with equipment mounted on eight Zil-151
ZiS-151
The ZiS-151 is a general-purpose truck, produced by the Soviet Union in 1947–65, at Automotive Factory No. 2 Zavod imeni Stalina. In 1956, the factory was renamed Zavod imeni Likhacheva, and new trucks were called ZiL-151 ....

 trucks, components include the control cabin and power supply equipment as well as a trailer for the antenna and transmitter equipment. The antenna system of the P-20 consists of two open frame truncated parabolic antenna
Parabolic antenna
A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or parabolic dish...

e accomplishing both transmission
Transmission (telecommunications)
Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless...

and reception. The radar uses two antenna to determine target altitude by the V-beam system with azimuth scanned mechanically. The upper antenna is tilted to an angle of 45 degrees from horizontal which results in each target appearing twice on the indicator, the distance between the two allows the targets altitude to be approximately estimated by the operator.

The P-20 had four indicators to display the information generated from the radar, panoramic, range and altitude as well as a remote indicator. The radar used five separate channels for reception and transmission, using different frequencies to avoid mutual interference between the beams, three beam channels being used by the upper antenna and two for the lower antenna.

Operators

The P-20 was operated by the Soviet Union from 1949 and though the radars have since become obsolete, they were passed down to successor states after the fall of the Soviet Union. The design has been superseded by later designs like the P-37 radar.
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