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Gee (navigation)

Gee, sometimes written GEE, was a radio-navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II. It measured the time delay between two radio signals to produce a fix, with accuracy on the order of a few hundred metres at ranges up to about . It was the first hyperbolic navigation system to be used operationally, entering service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942. Gee was devised by Robert Dippy as a short-range blind-landing system to improve safety during night operations. In the course of development by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) at Swanage, the range was found to be far better than expected. It then developed into a long-range, general navigation system. For large, fixed targets, such as cities that were attacked at night, Gee offered enough accuracy to be used as an aiming reference without the need to use a bombsight or other external references. Jamming reduced its usefulness as a bombing aid, but it remained in use as a navigational aid in the UK area throughout and after the war. Gee remained an important part of the RAF's suite of navigation systems in the postwar era, and was included in aircraft such as the English Electric Canberra and the V-bomber fleet. It also had civilian use, and several new Gee chains were set up to support military and civil aviation across Europe.…

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Article summary

Gee, sometimes written GEE, was a radio-navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II. It measured the time delay between two radio signals to produce a fix, with accuracy on the order of a few hundred metres at ranges up to about . It was the first hyperbolic navigation system to be used operationally, entering service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942. Gee was devised by Robert Dippy as a short-range blind-landing system to improve safety during night operations. In the course of development by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) at Swanage, the range was found to be far better than expected. It then developed into a long-range, general navigation system. For large, fixed targets, such as cities that were attacked at night, Gee offered enough accuracy to be used as an aiming reference without the need to use a bombsight or other external references. Jamming reduced its usefulness as a bombing aid, but it remained in use as a navigational aid in the UK area throughout and after the war. Gee remained an important part of the RAF's suite of navigation systems in the postwar era, and was included in aircraft such as the English Electric Canberra and the V-bomber fleet. It also had civilian use, and several new Gee chains were set up to support military and civil aviation across Europe.…

Key claims

  1. publication date: 1939 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "1939". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373873650

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.