Highlighting the history of French radio astronomy. 3: the Wurzburg antennas at Marcoussis, Meudon and Nancay

Abstract

During the 1940s and 1950s ex-World War II 7.5m WOrzburg radar antennas played a crucial role in the early development of radio astronomy in a number of European nations. One of these was France, where three different antennas began to be used during the late 1940s. Two of these were associated with the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, and were in itially sited at Marcoussis, near Paris, before being transferred to the Nan9ay field station in 1957. The third WOrzburg antenna was used by staff from the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, and was installed at Meudon Observatory on the outskirts of Paris. This paper describes the three antennas, lists the personnel involved. discusses the observations made, evaluates the significance of this research in a national and international context, and comments on their current whereabouts.