Technologies often introduced as World War II innovations were frequently continuations of interwar research. The Royal Navy already had radar on about a dozen ships and was expanding installation in 1939, while British rocket air-defence projects and radio-guided glide-weapon concepts also had prewar roots. War accelerated development and large-scale fielding rather than creating these ideas from nothing. Early weapons called missiles in this scenario would more likely be radar-guided rockets because compact seeker electronics still await transistor development. A technology's origin can precede the mass use that makes it widely visible by many years.
Notable Point · 1:33:33-1:40:05
Prewar research underlies many wartime breakthroughs
Shipboard radar, rocket air defence, and guided weapons grow from 1930s work, while electronics limit how quickly radar-guided rockets can become true missiles.