Gee (navigation)

Gee was a hyperbolic radio navigation system used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. It was the first long-range radio navigation system to be deployed operationally, and it played a crucial role in improving the accuracy of bombing raids over Germany, as well as aiding other forms of navigation.

Gee worked by transmitting synchronized signals from three or four ground stations. An aircraft equipped with a Gee receiver would measure the time difference between the arrival of these signals. Each time difference defined a hyperbolic line of position. By measuring the time differences between signals from multiple pairs of stations, the aircraft could determine its position by finding the intersection of these hyperbolic lines.

The key advantage of Gee was its ability to provide accurate positioning information at long ranges, typically several hundred miles. This was particularly valuable in conditions where visual navigation was impossible, such as at night or in bad weather.

Gee had some limitations. Its accuracy was limited by the accuracy of the time difference measurements and the baseline distances between the ground stations. Furthermore, the signals could be jammed by enemy forces.

Despite these limitations, Gee proved to be a significant technological advancement and a valuable tool for the RAF during the war. It paved the way for the development of more advanced radio navigation systems in the post-war era. It was eventually superseded by more advanced systems like Loran-C.