Harold A. Zahl
| Harold A. Zahl | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 24, 1904 Chatsworth, Illinois |
| Died | March 11, 1973 (aged 68) Red Bank, New Jersey |
| Residence | United States |
| Citizenship | American |
| Fields | Radar |
| Institutions | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | Reflection of Cadmium and Zinc Atoms from Sodium Chloride Crystals (1930) |
| Notable awards |
|
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant colonel
|
| Awards | |
Harold Adelbert Zahl (August 24, 1904 – March 11, 1973) was an American physicist who had a 35-year career with the U.S. Army Signal Corps Laboratories, making major contributions to radar development.
Harold Zahl was born in Chatsworth, Illinois, the son of an Evangelical minister. While still in high school, he became an amateur radio operator (call letters 6BHI). He graduated in physics and mathematics from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, in 1927, and then attended the University of Iowa where he earned the M.A. degree in 1929 and the Ph.D. degree in 1931, both in solid-state physics.
Upon completing his doctorate, Zahl joined the staff of the Signal Corps Laboratories (SCL) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. At the same time, he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
Zahl’s initial work at the SCL was in research on detecting aircraft using thermal radiation from their engines. In 1934, he filed a patent application on “The Art of Locating Objects by Heat Radiation.” Initially held up because of its classified nature, this was eventually granted in 1946. In 1936, the SCL started research in Radio Position Finding (RPF – later called radar). Zahl participated in the development of the Army’s first fielded RPF system, the SCR-268.
While the SCR-268 was being completed, development of an improved RPF system started and Zahl, now a major, was assigned to lead the effort. To use a common antenna for both transmitting and receiving, Zahl invented a gas-discharge device, called a duplexer. Two configurations of the RPF emerged: the SCR-270 (mobile) and the SCR-271 (fixed-site). These systems started to be fielded in 1940, and were used throughout the war.
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