Study: A Radar Operator at a Planned Position Indication Tube by Walter Thomas Monnington, pastel on paper

In this study for a watercolour (Imperial War Museums collection), Thomas Monnington depicts radar operators charting the position of enemy aircraft on a cathode ray tube (CRT).

Monnington was an untypical Official War Artist who took flying lessons and experienced over 600 hours in the air before he was commissioned through the War Artists’ Advisory Committee in 1943. This led the Air Ministry to encourage him to represent aerial perspectives from his first-hand experience of flying. Besides dramatic aerial views, he also produced drawings concerning radar. Displaying signals received, CRTs measured the bearings of enemy aircraft relative to the radar station, calculating positions for Fighter Command’s intervention. Purchased in 1993. Copyright: the artist's estate / RAF Museum.