[Ads-l] Query on Coinage of "Radar"

[Shapiro, Fred]

This is a terrific response to my query, Stephen.  But I am struggling to formulate a citation for the acronym usage in this document.  Where does the dating appear?  Is this reprinted anywhere?  The sentence toward the bottom where the acronym seems to appear is largely unreadable -- is there a better copy or a transcription of this letter anywhere?

Fred Shapiro



________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 10:40 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Query on Coinage of "Radar"

18 November 1940
serial 069120

SG

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 10:32 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Query on Coinage of "Radar"

Stack--Stark
________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 10:31 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Query on Coinage of "Radar"

Letter from Adm. Stack directing the use of "Approved Abbreviation" RADAR:
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radartutorial.eu%2F04.history%2Fpic%2Fletter*20stark.big.png__%3BJQ!!OToaGQ!6qbDDVmkY_ePRii3aD1FciOuxGRGs4dL2ibdLygDabfFYpIXqNkGmuMSKca3VJe-%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=7w6OTG9Fc%2F%2B7wny9%2FZrkI7ECgaKXcbD5D9waLH3OpC0%3D&reserved=0
[https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radartutorial.eu%2F04.history%2Fpic%2Fletter*20stark.big.png__%3BJQ!!OToaGQ!6qbDDVmkY_ePRii3aD1FciOuxGRGs4dL2ibdLygDabfFYpIXqNkGmuMSKca3VJe-%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=7w6OTG9Fc%2F%2B7wny9%2FZrkI7ECgaKXcbD5D9waLH3OpC0%3D&reserved=0 ]

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 9:57 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Query on Coinage of "Radar"

This is the kind of question that military buffs on this list might enjoy researching.  The term "radar" has a first use of October 1941 (from the New York Times) in the Oxford English Dictionary.  I think I was the one who contributed that citation to OED.  Various sources I have looked at say that the acronym was coined by the U.S. Navy in 1940.  Can anyone point me to publications using this term before October 1941?  Classified uses that were later reprinted or cited to would also be of interest to me.

Fred Shapiro

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org__%3B!!OToaGQ!6fL30oQ4y4T4Hc17C67_0L8AJ4ACxlZ8ftjJfeZoZz92Rfaih9zcC8nY37CA_2lw%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=jAwLTd88D6Vd1zaEMJme5vhxLDb1AnvL%2B6IGvoKkOQk%3D&reserved=0

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org__%3B!!OToaGQ!6qbDDVmkY_ePRii3aD1FciOuxGRGs4dL2ibdLygDabfFYpIXqNkGmuMSKZMIcM_O%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=HIh9zYH8dbYCIDpZbYk9yu2AMtCsKD%2B6S91Y9bKRrtY%3D&reserved=0

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org__%3B!!OToaGQ!7nPd7nyeH8Os8lVQALFPf1td2-IB4XsZi7G_SItFjWdpBZaiWa1w7CjItEr4WUnZ%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191275474%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=a%2FLQgZLE9aIZjDCvCCbFQ5W8tskS7ONdwJ0G%2Byv2w%2Fk%3D&reserved=0

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191275474%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=DUr2pT23Hxt1iMQQvv2czMa9PK%2Fd%2FRcFF%2BwbM2QRr8o%3D&reserved=0

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org