When he asked about radar, knowing they had been briefed on the topic by famous Canadian explorer Charles Wright in early 1939, he was saddened to learn that only a small amount of money had been spent on studying the matter, and this only started in September 1939 . Although several rounds of funding had followed, including $ 40, 000 in May 1940, the NRC efforts had been somewhat bumbling, successful only in developing a Coast Defence radar that was state-of-the-art for 1938.