Can anyone out there tell me what today`s Air Force carrier field designation & title would be for the old 27350--AC&W Operator (scope dope)??? This assumes of course that the position still exists!!

Air Force brat at St.Albans Vt. AFS and Roanoke Rapids NC AFS. Born up at St.Albans in 1971 then moved to N.C 1974ish. then my father (TSgt Bill Stemple) RET. at Roanoke Rapids and moved to West Virginia. All I remember about the Roanoke Rapids site was one night the radar that `rocked back and forth` started sparking and it took me forever (as a four year old) to get my father and his buddies, who where in the back yard `socializing` to look at what was happening. It must have been bad because we all ended up standing (mothers and kids) out side the radar building while the fathers worked on the problem. If you want to contact my father, e-mail me. I forgot his e-mail address---it changed.

http://www.iwo.com/heroes.htm SS

I was taken by this paragraph from the May 30 NY Times, “Nationally, the number of veterans has been declining every year since 1980. As the overall population rises, the share of veterans has shrunk even more starkly, from a 1970 peak of about 19 percent of Americans 17 and older to 12.7 percent of people 18 and older - the smallest proportion since before the United States entered World War II. About one-third of the country`s veterans served only during peacetime, including a majority of those who are now in their early 40`s or their 60`s. About 6 percent of all veterans are women. The median age of all veterans is 57, with most who were in World War II past their mid-70`s. (Nearly half of the World War II veterans describe themselves as disabled in some way.) The median age of Korean War veterans is 70; for Vietnam-era veterans it is 53.” Rest of the story is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/nyregion/30vets.html

Three years (56-59)I rode the sites from 31st Air Division out of Snelling AFS, Minneapolis. Included Finley, ND; Gettysburg, SD; Chandler, MN; Rochester, MN; Wadena, MN; Willmar, MN; Finland, MN; Osceola, WS; Baudette, MN; Grand Rapids, MN; Beausejour, Manitoba and Sioux Lookout, ONT. Also had Ground Observer Detachments in Sioux Falls, Fargo, and Bemidji. Remember them? Two years at Stead AFB, and I was sent to the Aleutian DEWline! Then three years at HQ, Alaskan Air Command directing site chaplain program. I spent almost as much time on radar sites as the folks assigned to them! Great tours and great folks! Bill

I was stationed at the 799th ACW in joelton tn. 1957/59 looking for a james e. robinson from biloxi ms. stationed there was in air police. any info appreciated.

I was stationed at the 788th Radar Sq. in Waverly Iowa from Jan. 1965 through Sept. 1967. I`m trying to locate a couple buddies from that time frame. Sgt. Tony Hughes and A1C Ed Caffaretta.

For those rare few out there that once served in `the cave` in Kindsbach, Germany, the following may bring back memories: `Time takes its toll on technology. What was advanced in one era quickly becomes obsolete in the next. By 1984, the Kindsbach Cave had become too small and its cost for renovation too high, and USAFE vacated the facility. On Oct. 31, 1993, control was returned to the German government. Today the Kindsbach Cave remains sealed – a relic of the Cold War in Europe and a monument to an air war that was won without ever having been fought.` Source: Kaiserslautern American, March 12 2004

Jeff States - I recall Kindsbach and the 4ATAF. Believe the cave was first used as an ammo dump in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Kindsbach brings back memories of K-Town. The Dutch cave at Maastricht was used for the 2ATAF. Maastricht brings back memories of Brussels and Mons. Central Europe`s air space was covered between these two static war HQs. The Kindsbach cave was mostly sandstone and I believe largely man-made. Maastricht was a very large, natural cave. During my 70s visits to these facilities, the primary means for message traffic was low speed teletype (less than 100 baud)with punched paper tape. We consider it a great improvement to add AUTODIN access for both with record traffic at 300 baud. Well below the grass for todays megabit transmission rates for record traffic. But then, times are a changing as Jeff points out.

I was stationed at Cape Lisburne from May 1971 to May 1972. Interested in hearing from any of those stationed there no matter when.

I was assigned to the 807TCS in July 57, as a scope dope. We operated in a tent in the parking lot in front of the cave, which was still being worked on. In late 57 or 58 we moved the CC into the cave. During the winter it was dark when we went in the cave, and dark when we came out (I worked day shift). At one time an order came out that if anyone left their immediate work area they must wear their blouse or Ike jacket. This was to insure that enlisted troops didn`t take a whizz in the officer`s head! Oh for a Parkbrau!

Good to see this site! I was not in the AF, but was a civilian (feather merchant) on 5 different sites, working for the Burroughs Corporation on the AN/FST-2 computer. Have many good memories of each and every one of them. Thanks for the memories!!!! 822nd AFS Cottonwood, ID 635th AFS Fort Lawton, WA 904th AFS Winslow, AZ 612th AFS Ajo, AZ 658th AFS Winnemucca, NV

About this time every year I think about two guys from 7896th that were hit by a train. I dont remember if they were in S.DK OR just close to the line. THE DRIVER WAS a/1c Dees I beleive that was how his name was spelled I think he was in supply and cut hair on the side. He had a VW that he couldnt remember to put gas in (he should of had my Pontaic)The other boy was A/3cBaumgardner (sp) from MO. we went fishing together several times. That was sad they were there oneday and just gone after that. I site it brings back alot of good memories and a few sad ones.

George Jirout, I see that you`re an ex Fuzzy guy. Do you remember Austin Mason? I was his roomie at Keesler, then was stationed with him for 4 years on the Fuzzy at Charleston AFS, and then again on the FPS-85. He worked MCC on the FPS-85, I worked on Signal Processing and Beam Steering and Sam Benedetto worked transmitters. I say worked very loosely, we were all MSgt`s and didn`t have anything to do. Plus, you`re right about Phased Array radar, there was no real work to be done, except change fuses and light bulbs. The original FPS-85 guys thought we all smelled bad from the hydraulic oil still on our uniforms, plus we old Fuzzy guys were still mad about the Air Force SNAFU that gave all of the Fuzzy Seven promotions to the Eglin guys when we were getting our AFSC`s changed back in the early seventies. Such is life. I decided to retire when I was asked very politely if I would like to `volunteer` to go to Petersen AFB and help crank up the Space Command. I was also asked to `volunteer` to leave Fort Fisher (paradise and the Fuzzy never broke) and go to Mill Valley to help get that place on it`s feet. No one wanted to go to Mill Valley (radar never worked right regardless of who worked on it or ran the place). Anyway, I was glad to shut down Det 3 and get back east. I didn`t want to go anywhere west of the Miss river any more. I got Terry Stonerock to change assignments with me and he went to Otis AFB and I took his FL assignment. It worked out very well for the `Rock`. Oh, Oh...out of hot air again....Jerry

At Cape Newenham Oct. 1956 to Oct 1957

I see Tom Page has posted about red water at AC&W sites. Montauk`s water pipes were installed as part of the WWII coastal artillery base too. Every one at Montauk had pink underwear because of the rust in the water system and wash water. It was so bad the prior commander would not flush the fire system because he was afraid of water pipes that were too thin if the rust was flushed out. But, I just couldn`t take it any more and decided to flush the lines at the most distant fire plug. It ran a red mud for about 5 minutes before it cleared up. The water was a lot better after that and we did not have any more leaks than we had before. PS: Tom I see you are going to the west coast in July. I expect to be there too. I plan to retire some time in the next year to a little farm about 30 miles west of Portland.

I am trying to locate personnel that was stationed at Luke AFB, Arizona from 1961 to 1962. The squadron was the 4629th Support Sqdn for Phoenix Air Defense Sector (PHADS) SAGE. Any and all info greatly appreicated.

Served at Cape Newenham from Oct 1956 to Nov 1957. Worked in the Com center.

NASELLE AFS I passed by the old 759th (Naselle AFS) last weekend on the way down to Cannon Beach, and noticed that logging operations are going on to the west of the site. Clear-cut logging is taking place from the highway frontage up the hill towards the top of Radar Ridge; I`m thinking that the clear cut might end up bordering the area where the GATR site would be. As before, you can see the 26 tower from the road, as well as the four communications towers just east of it(they aren`t part of the old old AC&W ops. Perhaps Tom Page and I will be able to pop up there and take a gander when he comes out this coming July.

Stationed at 758th Neah Bay, 66-67, 751st Mt Laguna 67-70, Det 2 623rd Kume Jima 70-71, 762nd North Truro 71-73 751st Mt Laguna 73-79 7MWS Beale then HQ SAC and AF Spacecommand. Wonderful years with the smell of hydraulic fluid from the 26 and Fuzzy 7. Worked on the FPS 6 SN 001 at Kume Jima. without a doubt the experiences at Biloxi Tech will be with me forever. The ajustment to a phased array where noting moved was a real traumatic experience. Who can forget the smell of burnt resistors and insulating oil. Great Site. George

served as a scope dope @ the folling sites,782acw rockville,ind(march 1958-dec1958)616acw ulm,germany(feb1959-april 1959,turned over to german af)615acw prum,germany april 1959-feb-1962,671acw key west,fla mar 1962-dec 1963 (was there for the cuban crisis start to finish) finished out my af tour @ 657radron houma,la,feb1963-nov1965.lots of fond memories,lots of good frinds,some i still keep intouch with.would like to here from any who served @ theses sites during the same time period. vs

previous text shoud read,657 radron,houma,la,feb1964-dec1965.not feb 1963.

Steve Weatherly and Larry Brandt commented on the FPS-26 hydraulics. You guys should have worked on the 26`s big brother on steriods, the FSS-7 SLBM (Sea-Lauched Ballistic Missile or Slam Bam) radar. Most of the guys who maintained this beast were 303X2`s before we had our AFSC`s changed to 308X0 and later 309X0. Our antenna weighed 10 tons and turned at 10 RPM in Search Mode until it saw something of interest and stopped on a dime. It shook the building and surrounding area. Separate azimuth and elevation hydraulic systems did all the heavy lifting. When we got a broken high pressure line from the azimuth, it would empty the reservoir (in excess of 50 gallons) within seconds before the interlocks could catch it to shut down. This `pink mist` was whipped around inside of the radome area coating everything and then running to the floor where it usually ran out of the floor drains to the ground. We had to plug the drains when the locals at nearby Kure Beach came to Ft Fisher AFS, NC to complain about finding hydraulic fluid in their drinking water. Tom Paige can probably attest to this. If a high pressure hose broke it also meant that the hydraulic motor ate itself up, passing tiny bits of metal throughout the system even with filters, and more work. During the late seventies while at Mill Valley AFS, CA our Fuzzy 7 caught the attention of one of George Lucas` subcontractors who furnished special effect sounds to Lucas Studios. He asked and got permission to record our hydraulic system. We placed his mics in the radome during scheduled `red time` and gave him about 30 mins of fuzzy sounds. The Mill Valley Fuzzy was featured in the 2nd Star Wars movie as the sound that the robot probes were making after landing on the ice planet at the very start of the movie. We maintenance guys usually had hydraulic fluid on our fatigues at all times. When we closed down the Mill Valley FSS-7 in 1980, we presented all of the maintenance guys with a plaque that had an inscription, a small bottle of hydraulic fluid, and a broken spline (the spline was a small mechanical fuse about 2 iches long and the diameter of a dime that was designed to breakaway if too much torque was applied between the hydraulic motor and the bull gear in order to save the bull gear). I still have my plaque and it`s still full of the fluid. If that wasn`t enough we had to maintain a cryogenics system at 20 degrees Kevin but that`s a story for another time. None of us were formally trained on hydraulics, cryogenics, etc, we had to pick it up as we went, but we were all still AC&W guys at heart though. Jerry Sitzlar (Radar Mintenance 1961 to 1981)

Mt Hebo, 1956-1959, 1962-1963, McChord Sage sector 1959-1961, Iceland H-1 1961-1962. Japan 1954-1956. I would love to attend the reunion at Mt Hebo.

Donald, where did you learn of a reunion at Mt. Hebo? I attended the one in 2002 but have tried in vain to learn of a more recent one. If you have a reference, please post it. Thanks.

I always wondered why the drinking water at Fort Fisher AFS was red and tasted funny!!! Now, thank to Jerry Sitzlar`s note below, I know it was the fault of those Det 5 guys! Seriously, our water indeed was red and tasted funny ... but it was because our site was originally a World War II Army coastal anti-aircraft base, and our station used the original plumbing. The problem was, many of the metal pipes dead-ended where buildings used to be. The water at those dead ends stagnated and filled with rust, and when the water pressure dropped, the rusty water would back up into the main channel. It tasted and smelled awful, and looked even worse. It tested safe, but ... yech! Adding hydraulic fluid from the Fuzzy-7 probably would have been an improvement!!! :-)

Looking for those who were at Joelton TN (799th) We are having a reunion August 19-21. contact me for information. all 799thers are welcome.

For Ray McDonald. Ray, I don`t know if this counts, but I was a Radar Maintenance Officer for a AN/TPS-43 of the 728th Tac Cntl Sq back in 1971-1972 and did a few training deployments with it. Then Hq, 507th TCGp moved me to their staff as their Radar/Tropo Siting and Evaluation OIC for 3 years (until I was RIFed). Prior to my stint with the 728th, I had been 18 months in Teheran, Iran (ARMISH/MAAG) as the Radar Advisor to the Imperial Iranian Air Force, and was instrumental in suggesting that they purchase AN/TPS-43 radars for their mobile requirements. They already had a couple of Plessy (I think) `mobile` radars from UK but were having problems finding suitable locations to site them: it seems that they were not set up to operate above 5000 ft MSL and most of Iran is higher than that--just a few places around the edges are lower. The AN/TPS-43 met USAF standards and was good to 10,000 ft. The reason I said my job might not qualify for you was that, as RMO, I did not do any actual work on the radar, although I may have helped with some of the physical activity once or twice.

From a story the New York Times on May 8, headlined, “Air Force Seeks Bush`s Approval for Space Weapons Programs,” “Another Air Force space program, nicknamed Rods From God, aims to hurl cylinders of tungsten, titanium or uranium from the edge of space to destroy targets on the ground, striking at speeds of about 7,200 miles an hour with the force of a small nuclear weapon. A third program would bounce laser beams off mirrors hung from space satellites or huge high-altitude blimps, redirecting the lethal rays down to targets around the world. A fourth seeks to turn radio waves into weapons whose powers could range ‘from tap on the shoulder to toast,’ in the words of an Air Force plan.” This reminds me of the vintage Tesla illustrations that showed an antenna radiating energy through the air to operate distant machinery. The article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/business/18space.html?ei=5065&en=60787fcf0b0f012c&ex=1116993600&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1116389179-cuLSydFa9CCBN0MvzsfilA&pagewanted=print Also, these kind of weapons render radar detection of an oncoming enemy action problematic if possible at all.

Served at 616 ACW Squadron 1/67 to 1/70

Ray & Harvey, I was NCOIC, Radar Maintenance of the first TPS-43 to go into the PACAF area (1968). Went to Texas on TDY to train on it and then to 5th Tac @ Clark, RP. Took it on the first deployment (training) to Mactan AB and put it up and down 3 times due to hurricanes coming through. It was Christmas time so we took florescent light tubes and attached them to the antenna in the shape of a star and had a rotating XMAS star for everyone. It sure worked out your arms, cranking that antenna base up and down. WOW, the memories. Had to keep replacing the RG-59 cables since the natives would climb over the fence, cut the cables and steal them. Remember the 400 cycle Wankle generators? Cheers.

Gary, Thanks for your postings detailing the recent incursion by the Cessna into the restricted Washington airspace. However, your posting of 05/16/2005 (although likely written by an unknown news reporter) contained a couple of errors. First, MOST little planes DO have transponders; something on the order of 85-90% of them. And secondly, while radar returns are now digitized to the point that all targets are displayed the same size on a controller`s scope, the speeds of the targets would invariably separate them out. A small single-engined Cessna would be bumping along at around 100kts while a larger airline-sized plane would be doing several times that. Nonetheless, I will be the first to agree that the Cessna`s pilot was grossly negligent in his actions and probably deserves to have the the book thrown at him. After all, EVERY pilot in the world these days knows that Washington D.C. is a super-sensitive place to fly around and is highly defended. Incursions, no matter how innocent or accidental, are delt with severely!

William Hatfield, I had forgotten about the effort that it took to crank up the TPS-43`s sail. While I remember that it wasn`t hard to crank, it was that it took no less than 100 gazillion turns to do it! We didn`t have `Wankle` generators. By the time I joined TAC in 1972, we all used the AE24U-8 (a.k.a. `dash eight`) turbine generators. I can still remember the roar and smell those things produced when they were running!

Harvey, You are correct in cranking up the sail and not the base, as I said. Too many years (37) under the bridge. Cheers.

Radar-related excerpt on the D.C. air incursion incident from “The New Republic” magazine, ` ... The problem is that security officials did not know the intruder was a single-engine Cessna until the plane had reached about 15 miles from the White House, where the DHS helicopter pulled up nearby. The Washington area`s TRACON (or Terminal Radar Approach Control) sports the very latest equipment in a newly opened regional air control center in Vint Hill, Virginia, near Dulles Airport. But that radar cannot tell what type of plane it is seeing unless the plane is using a transponder that broadcasts an identification code. Most little planes don`t have transponders, and, as we recall, on September 11 the terrorist hijackers turned off the transponders abroad the airliners they took exactly so that air controllers would be slow to realize what types of planes were approaching. For an aircraft that has no transponder or whose transponder is off, what the air-control radar in Vint Hill shows is a little square representing an echo and a number for airspeed. The echo might be from a tiny Cessna or a 747. ...` Read the rest of the story here: http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050516&s=easterbrook051605

I had no idea this site even existed. It brought back a lot of memories. I was stationed at the 671st Radar Squadron, Key West NAS. I was a 30352, there from 1968 to 1970. I went back in 1992. The place has changed a lot in 20 plus years. I will definitely join Radomes. Thanks for the memories

From the “Washington Post,” The pilot who caused a midday panic in Washington on Wednesday failed to get briefings about the weather and restricted airspace and became lost minutes after leaving a Pennsylvania airport, Federal Aviation Administration records show. Hayden “Jim” Sheaffer, 69, froze when he saw a Black Hawk helicopter appear near his right wing while flying toward the White House and had difficulty operating his small, single-engine aircraft, officials said yesterday. It took the valiant effort of Sheaffer’s student-pilot companion, Troy D. Martin, who had only 30 logged hours of flight time, to take over the controls and land the plane at an airport in Frederick, officials said. The FAA plans to take the most extreme action against a pilot since new airspace rules were put in place in 2003 and will revoke Sheaffer’s pilot certificate, according to aviation officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the order had not been finalized. The FAA does not plan to take similar action against Martin, 36, because he is a student pilot and does not have a pilot certificate, sources said. FAA records indicate that Sheaffer failed to take the most basic steps that are required of pilots before operating an aircraft. He did not check the weather report before he left Smoketown, nor did he check FAA’s “Notices to Airmen,” which serve as the agency’s pre-departure required reading for pilots to alert them of airspace restrictions. Had Sheaffer checked the notices, he would have seen that there is a 2,000-square-mile area around Washington known as the Air Defense Identification Zone. Sheaffer became lost soon after departure, records show. The documents show that he also failed to communicate with the FAA and provide necessary navigation information to ensure the safety of the flight. The Cessna crossed through three layers of increasingly restricted airspace. The first, the Air Defense Identification Zone, is defined by the areas that are within a 30-mile radius of each of the Washington area’s three major airports. The second, known as the Flight Restricted Zone, covers a 16-mile area around the Washington Monument. Once intercepted by the Black Hawk and minutes away from flying over sensitive landmarks in the city, Sheaffer told investigators that he thought he had mistakenly flown over Camp David, another restricted airspace known as Prohibited Area P-40, FAA records show. The FAA also said that Sheaffer was unaware of intercept procedures and did not know how to respond once he saw the Black Hawk, customs jet and two F-16s. The F-16s flew by several times, both of them dropping flares to get his attention. The most dangerous breach occurred when Sheaffer crossed into Prohibited Area P-56, no-fly airspace covering the White House and the Naval Observatory. The Cessna passed over that area while being escorted away by the Black Hawk. Compounding the problem, federal authorities had difficulty establishing communication with the Cessna, a security log of the events shows. (Read the rest of the story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/13/AR2005051301570_2.html)

I served at the 750th AC&W, Boron Air Force Station, 1957-1960. I am trying to contact some of those who served at that location at that time. Hope to hear from you. Carl Leach cleach1@comcast.net

As a private pilot who uses a Cessna to commute back and forth to work each day, I was also very interested in the recent `Small Airplane Scare.` While I find it hard to understand how a student and instructor were able to blunder into highly publicized restricted airspace, I also don`t understand the hysteria that our country has over small planes these days. The tragic events of 9/11 were carried out with airliners specifically because of the huge amounts of fuel that they carried. The Cessna that crashed into the whitehouse several years earlier, as well as the one that crashed into the Tampa skyscraper shortly after 9/11 showed that `little` airplanes were hardly a threat due to the minimal damage that they inflicted. If the terrorists want to strike us again, I suspect that they`ll use something like an 18 wheeler loaded to the hilt with explosives or a Chevy sedan with a black market ex-Soviet tactical nuke in the trunk. After all, America has private and commercial aviation under a constant microscope while it continues to allow 18 wheelers and Chevy sedans to roam her countryside and cities with nary a glance. And the success of car bombs in Iraq have amply demonstrated their effectiveness. THAT`S what worries me.

The BRAC Report came out this morning and Otis ANGB was slated for closure. Otis AFB was the reporting point for the Texas Towers, as well as several land-based AC&W sites in the New England area throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Otis was downgraded from an AFB to an Air National Guard base several years ago and now... well I guess it`s going away completely. Changing times dictate necessary changes to our military but sometimes I just wish things would just stay as they are. While less exciting, life is often more secure and comfortable that way.

The full finalized 2005 Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) Recommendation Report may be viewed in its entirety, state by state, at http://www.dod.mil/brac/pdf/Appendix_C_FinalUpdated.pdf (note that this is a large Adobe Acrobat file).

Re the current round of published base closings. The older we all get, the more we yearn for the past and for things to remaim `as they once were.` Unfortunately, the simple fact is, it can`t be...just ask any American Indian.

Enjoying your site very much. I was a 303X2 for nearly 21 years and enjoy looking and reading about the old sites.

Gene, I just followed your link (posted in a previous message below) to your `510 Full Days` story. In fact, before I knew it, I had read just about every word on this excellent website devoted to Thule. Like almost everyone in the USAF`s AC&W career field, I have always heard stories about Thule and what a miserable assignment it was supposed to be. (Rumored to be second only to Shemya, AK.) Therefore, when a two week TDY was offered to me in July 2000, I just had to experience Thule for myself to see if the stories were true. While I did not experience one of the dreaded Phase 3 storms, I do explicitly recall the stark barreness of the landscape and could only imagine what the cold winter nights must have been like. I loved the natural beauty (read: GREEN!) of my 2-1/2 year tour in Alaska but I couldn`t imagine what a year at Thule must have been like until I visited the website today!

Within minutes of notification, 2 F-16`s and a blackhawk helicopter `confronted` the `off-course` Cessna with satisfactory results. Let`s hear it for the air defense people of today`s armed forces...way to go people!!

Re the `off-course` Cessna incident, there are at least two ways to view this. Yes, it does show how much better our air defenses are today -- that`s the good part. However, another spin on the outcome is that the incident served as yet another ``victory,`` so to speak, for the terrorists. That is, the air-space violation caused panic and the evacuation of the Capitol building -- another disruption of America`s daily way of life. I bet the Al Qaeda and the other terrorists are laughing their collective derrières off!

Like to hear from anyone stationed at 784th AC&W from dec-56 thru Jul-60.................this was my tour of duty there as radar operator......thanks

Larry Brandt commented on the FPS-26A hydraulic tilt and azimuth drive system. What I remember was problems with the FPS-26A drive system servo valves and the hazards of high pressure hydraulics that can cut like a hot knife thru butter. I don`t recall any specialized 303x2 training in this type of drive system, but we knew that aircraft used high pressure hydraulics. At Mt Hebo, our servo problems went away after we contacted the F-106 Field Maintenance Squadron (FMS)at McCord AFB. Sealer on the cement floor for the FPS-26A antenna, getting hydraulic fluid in 5 gallon cans vice 55 gallon drums, and disposal of any fluid from an open can was the FMS approach and it worked. Cement dust in the air of the FPS-26A radome was significantly reduced and our servo valve problems became just a memory. I also recall that the FPS-26A drive system was smooth and had less noise and tower motion than that associated with slewing the FPS-90 antenna.

Tom Scanlan: The unit you`re referring to was known as the `Organ Pipe Scanner`, and was a part of the AN/FPS-50 Detection Radar (which we Tracker guys called the `Directional Radar`). It looked like a real Rube Goldberg, but apparently worked well. I can`t remember ever hearing of a scanner failure in my year-and-a-half tour at Thule. The klystrons in the Tx cabinets were approximately 10 feet tall and 18 inches in diameter. The bottom 3-4 feet were in an oil bath which also held a transformer. Several hundred gallons of transformer oil in each. In our building, I think there were 12 klystrons, all paralleled into the waveguide which could be switched to either of two scanners, to provide backup transmitter capability to an adjacent scanner. In my write-up at http://www.bwcinet.com/thule/4techdr.htm, there`s a photo of the transmitter bay, and an organ pipe scanner.

I was stationed at 166th AC&W( the `Koop` from March 1960 till Dec. 1962. I was a radar operator on` Bravo crew. In 1962 i switched to ` Charlie crew, Some of the people i knew, Stokton Cooke III, Fritz Newsome,Msgt. Cusick.

Gene- On your 26 April post you mentioned the AN/FPS-49 and 50. I was at Diyarbakir, Turkey in 1969 and visited the site there, and saw what appeared to be about 20 GE TT-50 UHF television transmitter cabinets. Clearly they were housing the klystrons used for tracking. Impressive also was the monstrous mechanical switch that alternately switched the feeds from the vertical to the horizontal feed horns for elevation and azimuth detection. Was that rig an FPS 49 or 50, or something else? What was also good to see was that the manufacturing consisted of using existing housings, rather than a complete manufacture of all new cabinetry from the ground up. Must have been a rush job!

My dad died in 2003.

I was with the 743rd AC&W Squadron Campion Air Station ,Alaska 1955-1956 Also with the 859th AC&W Squadron , Red Bluff, Calif. 1956-1958 Like to hear from some guys that were stationed there at that time.

Chaff: Does anyone know a good website that discusses chaff? What was the ideal wavelength for chaff to produce maximum reflectivity, anyway...1/2 wave? Block 10 at Keesler (`the twilight zone`) kinda went over my head, and microwave theory, especially waveguides, etc, always sounded to me like someone`s over-rich imagination. FPS-26, because someone asked; It`s tilt drive system was hydraulic, as was its azimuth drive - not electro-mechanical. Our FPS-26 at Ft Lawton had lower nod limits set in to avoid radiating its FPS-6 neighbors.

Just looking for people I knew. I served at severa; locations.

For anyone who was stationed at the 794th Ac&w Cape Newenham , There is a website with over 1100 pictures and 163 members go to www.msnusers.com/capenewenham and join.

Yeah Ray. There are a few of us Tac Trained Killers (TPS-43 types) here. 609TCS, 1972-1975 and 81TCF, 1977-1981.

I have tried several times to get on your roster for 786th but I guess I am doing something wrong. I reported in Jan 1 1961 and was discharged from there on Feb 18 1963. I was a 62250 cook. I am planning on joining your museum soon. I was in a accident in the oil field and dissabled so money is a little tite. I guess I have been through most of this several times and I still enjoy it and all of the wor you have done

USAF Oct 1960 - Aug 1964 AFSC - forgotten the number (Radar Operator/ICT) Assignments: Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Tx (Basic Traning) Oct - Nov 1960 Keesler AFB, Biloxi Miss. (SAGE school)Dec 1960 - Apr 1961 693rd Radar Sqdn (SAGE), Dauphin Island, Alabama Apr 1961 - July 1963 932nd Radar Station(manual), Rockville, Iceland Jul 1963 - Jul 1964 Would appreciate hearing from anyone from (back-in-the-day).

Hi Bob, Number is (was) 27350. Those were the days!!

Hey, there is nothing about autotrackers 303X3s on this site. I thought this was a real radar site page. With all that Always, Cleaning and Waxing you probably forgot about us. Hey any TPS-43E guys here? Checkout http://www.1stcombatevaluationgroup.com/ or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/combatevaluationgroup/ they are real radar groups. Ha Ha, just kidding AC&W weenies. Was ACW last three yearws in AF.

Was Stationed Texas Tower-2. Lewistown AFS MT/Tonopah AFS NV Been there Done that(smile).Mac

I was a `tracking` technician on the Missle Master site at Fort Lawton, Washington (USA Signal Corps UAS Missle Master Support Detacdhment). I served at Fort lawton in 1963 and transferred to Fort Mac Arthur (in San Pedro, California) in 1964. The Missle Master tracking and control equipment was in process of transfering to a truck mounted, transistorized system that year--so the reason for my transfer to Fort Mac. I would love to exchange memories/info with any associates in SAGE or Missle Master. I am in contact with some other former techs. also.

i spent 10 yrs in the air force,1954 to 1964 ,was at hamilton field,in calif,then went to 777 ac&w klamath,calif,then went to misawa air base in japan,and to 613th ac&w det #33,also amori,then shaw field in s.c.reup,to mcchord afb in tacoma wash,then to 1957aacs at hickham field,hawaii,then to lewistown,mont,and to miles city,mont,and i ended up at harmon field,nwfld,got out,spent the next 14 yrs in n.h. nat guard,retired as a e-6,what times i had,bouncing around,i met some nice guys,also some jerks,take care

Just wanted to leave a thought for an old buddy. Ken Showers, with whom I survived basic training, Keesler tech school, and a four-year first assignment at Port Austin, died Friday. `April` worked in BUIC II and III Manual Inputs from 1966 to 1970, and as I recall it, nobody on station could find a bad thing to say about him. He and I kept in touch at least annually, when we`d celebrate our 8 April anniversary. It was the (not-so) Good Friday in 1966 when we hit Lackland for basic, and I`m glad I had the chance to trade very old, very bad jokes with him again one last time. Schultz, Pitts, Kushner, Royse, Turner (some of the names I recognized from the site roster): Remember `April`?