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When Battleship Massachusetts was designed, "electronics"
generally meant ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore radio with Morse Code. It seems
remarkable, then, that the naval communications and fire control world was revolutionized
in only a few short years. USS Massachusetts'
radars can be divided into two classes: search and fire control. The former came
first, and by 1942, BB59 was equipped with a complete air search set, which was
modified and improved throughout the war, as newer technology was developed. Fire
control radar was provided for the main (16") and secondary (5") batteries.
The Mark 3 controlled the former; the closely related Mark 4 controlled the latter.
About 1943, the Mark 3 gave way to the Mark 8, and the Mark 5 was replaced by
the Mark 22. By the end of the war, these, too, were updated. Massachusetts
also carried electronic countermeasures equipment. Her TDY jammer on the forward
face of her fire control tower made it possible for her to inhibit enemy radar. At
this time, the US Navy adopted the use of "whip" style radio antennae,
which were less effecient but sturdier than the horizontal wires sthat ships had
previously suspeded between masts. The whips provided another advantage: They
made transmissions less detectable and and freed ships to communicate with one
another with less fear of being detected by the enemy, ending the era of "radio
silence at sea." | 
