Eric Megaw facts for kids
Eric Christopher Stanley Megaw (1908 – 25 January 1956) was a clever engineer from Ireland. He made a super important invention called the cavity magnetron much better during World War II. This improved device helped find enemy submarines (called U-boats) using radar. Because of his amazing work, he received a special award called the MBE in 1943.
Early Life
Eric was born in Dublin, Ireland. He went to Campbell College and Queen's University Belfast for his education. His younger brothers, Peter Megaw and Basil Megaw, also went to school in Belfast.
Even when he was still at school, Eric loved playing with radios. He was a radio amateur. He was the very first amateur radio operator to connect Ireland and Australia! That was a huge deal back then. After finishing university at age 20, he won a special research scholarship to Imperial College, London. He was also very good at languages, speaking French, German, and Italian.
Career
In April 1940, during World War II, Eric led a team in London. They were working on a device called the cavity magnetron. This device was important for radar, which helps detect things far away.
The original cavity magnetron could produce about 500 watts of power. Eric Megaw changed its design. He coated parts of it with special materials and added more segments inside. These changes made the magnetron much more powerful. By September 1940, it could produce 100,000 watts of power! This was enough power to find submarines.
The first time this improved magnetron was tested on an aircraft was in March 1941. This powerful new device was very valuable for the Tizard Mission, which shared important scientific discoveries with the United States during the war.
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