Putting the Long Range in LORAN

LORAN receivers picked up signals that were either broadcast directly from stations as "ground waves" or reflected as "sky waves".  Sky waves could travel three times farther than ground waves because they reflect off the ionosphere, the layers of charged particles in Earth's upper atmosphere.
Caption:
LORAN receivers picked up signals that were either broadcast directly from stations as "ground waves" or reflected as "sky waves".
Type: Illustration
Image Date: 2012
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Origin: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Creator: Bruce Morser
Innovations
Navigation Methods
 

300-si_fl_lo-ra-n_14_fa2_flat_rev_5-14.jpg

LORAN receivers picked up signals that were either broadcast directly from stations as "ground waves" or reflected as "sky waves".