D-160052

WE copy of the British GEC E1189 S/N 12 magnetron brought to America by the Tizard Mission and successfully operated at Bell on 6 October 1940. British delegation asked for volume production of the device. Within November Bell delivered a small qualification lot, about 10 or 12 samples labeled as Bell / Western Electric 1259M, to the Bell developmental coding system. Then Western Electric built in the new magnetron facility at Chicago, Ill. at least some 60 additional units, most of which distributed to the MIT Radiation Lab and to American firms involved in the microwave radar developments. These units were labeled with the WE developmental code D-160053. Other copies were commissioned by British to Raytheon, but their quantity is unknown.

As the original British sample, all the D-160052 units came with eight-fin radiator. We will see that their production outcomes, REL3D and NTA98, were updated to the latest NT98 design, with four radiating fins.

The development of the E1189 magnetron at GEC can be read at this link.