The VR Before VR

⊲ Halldale ⊳ Royal Navy officer Henry Christian Stephens, a Battle of Jutland veteran turned photographer, developed one of the world’s first virtual reality training simulators during the Second World War. His Dome Trainer projected moving aircraft models onto a curved screen, allowing anti-aircraft gunners to practise with simulated weapons, sounds and visuals. With 300 units deployed globally, the device is credited with saving £350 million in Allied shipping. The technology continued in use until the 1980s and helped seed the IMAX dome cinema and the modern VR industry.
To learn more, “The Secret Dome” by Stephens’ grandson Ewan Ward-Thomas has recently been published and can be found at Pen and Sword Books.

⊲ Feature Image – WWII ground-to-air training dome, RAF Langham UK (Wikipedia) ⊳
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