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Texas Towers
Texas Towers were a set of three radar facilities off the eastern seaboard of the United States which were used for surveillance by the United States Air Force during the Cold War. Modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employed off the Texas coast, they were in operation from 1958 to 1963. After the collapse of one of the towers in 1961, the remaining towers were closed due to changes in threat perception and out of a concern for the safety of the crews. Planning Upon re-formation of the Aerospace Defense Command, Air Defense Command in 1951 to oversee the nation's developing surveillance radar network, there was concern that shore-based radars along the east coast provided insufficient warning time. A 1952 report from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT's Lincoln Laboratory looked into the possibility of extending radar coverage by building platforms in the Atlantic using offshore oil drilling technology. They concluded that a set of such platforms, equipped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inactivated in 1950, reactivated in 1951, and then redesignated ''Aerospace'' rather than ''Air'' in 1968. Its mission was to provide air defense of the Continental United States (CONUS). It directly controlled all active measures, and was tasked to coordinate all passive means of air defense. Air defense during World War II Continental United States air defense forces during World War II were initially under the command of the four air districts – Northeast Air District, Northwest Air District, Southeast Air District, and Southwest Air District. The air districts were established on 16 January 1941, before the Pearl Harbor attack. The four air districts also handled USAAF combat training ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AN/FPS-3
The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, and a variety of other users. The design started life as the Bendix AN/FPS-3 in 1950, was upgraded to the FPS-20, then spawned over a dozen different variants as additional upgrades were applied. The FPS-20 formed the backbone of the US air defense network through the early Cold War with over 200 units deployed. Most FPS-20 sites were replaced by modern equipment in the late 1960s, although a number were turned over to the FAA, modified for air traffic control use, and became ARSR-60s. The first AN/FPS-3 arrived in December 1950, slated for installation at Eniwetok Atoll to control aircraft involved in the atomic bomb tests of early 1951. Over the next few years, 48 FPS-3s were installed to replace older systems in the Lashup Radar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying (magazine)
''Flying'', sometimes styled ''FLYING'', is an aviation magazine published since 1927 and called Ziff Davis#Popular Aviation, ''Popular Aviation'' prior to 1942, as well as ''Aeronautics'' for a brief period. It is read by pilots, aircraft owners, aviation enthusiasts and aviation-oriented executives in business aviation, business, commercial aviation, commercial and general aviation, general aviation markets worldwide. It has the largest paid subscription, newsstand, and international circulation of any U.S.-based aviation magazine, according to its former publisher the Bonnier Corporation, and is promoted as "the world's most widely read aviation magazine". It is owned by digital media entrepreneur Craig Fuller. History The magazine first began publishing in 1927 as ''Popular Aviation'' soon after Charles Lindbergh's historic Charles Lindbergh#New York–Paris flight, transatlantic flight. It was given the name ''Aeronautics'' briefly from 1929–1930 and was changed back t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engine anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engines. The Sea King has its origins in efforts by the United States Navy to counter the growing threat of Soviet submarines during the 1950s. Accordingly, the helicopter was specifically developed to deliver a capable ASW platform; in particular, it combined the roles of ''hunter'' and ''killer'', which had previously been carried out by two separate helicopters. The Sea King was initially designated ''HSS-2'', which was intended to imply a level of commonality to the earlier Sikorsky H-34, ''HSS-1''; it was subsequently redesignated as the ''SH-3A'' during the early 1960s. Introduced to service in 1961, it was operated by the United States Navy as a key ASW and utility asset for several decades prior to being replaced by the non-amphibious S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piasecki H-21
The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter (later Boeing Vertol). Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicopter, capable of being fitted with wheels, skis or floats. The H-21 was originally developed by Piasecki as an Arctic rescue helicopter. The H-21 had cold-weather features permitting operation at temperatures as low as and could be routinely maintained in severe cold weather environments. Design and development Piasecki Helicopter designed and successfully sold to the United States Navy a series of tandem rotor helicopters, starting with the Piasecki HRP-1, HRP-1 of 1944. The HRP-1 was nicknamed the "flying banana" because of the upward angle of the aft fuselage, which ensured that the large rotors could not strike the fuselage in any flight attitude. The name was later applied to other Piasecki helicopters of similar design, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otis AFB
Otis Air National Guard Base is an Air National Guard installation located within Joint Base Cape Cod, a military training facility located on the western portion of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It was known as Otis Air Force Base prior to its transfer from the active duty Air Force to the Air National Guard. In the local community, it is more commonly known as Otis Air Base or simply Otis. It was named in honor of pilot and Boston surgeon Lt. Frank "Jesse" Otis. Today major units include the Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Coast Guard Base Cape Cod and the 102nd Intelligence Wing. Other units include the wing's 101st Air Operations Squadron, the 253d Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group, the 212th Engineering Installation Squadron, the 267th Combat Communications Squadron, the 202nd Weather Flight, the 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, part of the 29th Infantry Division (Army National Guard), and the Coastal Patrol Squa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4604th Support Squadron
The 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 26th Air Division, Aerospace Defense Command, stationed at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 1 July 1963. The mission of the squadron was to provide logistical support to the Texas Tower radar stations located offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. The squadron was activated as the 4604th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on 8 October 1956 by the 26th AD at Otis AFB. It was re-designated as the 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) on 1 December 1956. The squadron operated helicopters for personnel transport to and from the towers and Otis Air Force Base. It also coordinated with the Military Sea Transport Service the use of the and two smaller vessels for carrying cargo such as fuel oil, aviation gasoline, food and other material. It also was capable of transporting up to 76 personnel when necessary to and from the port of New Bedford. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parabolic Antenna
A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or parabolic dish. The main advantage of a parabolic antenna is that it has high directivity. It functions similarly to a searchlight or flashlight reflector to direct radio waves in a narrow beam, or receive radio waves from one particular direction only. Parabolic antennas have some of the highest gains, meaning that they can produce the narrowest beamwidths, of any antenna type. In order to achieve narrow beamwidths, the parabolic reflector must be much larger than the wavelength of the radio waves used, so parabolic antennas are used in the high frequency part of the radio spectrum, at UHF and microwave ( SHF) frequencies, at which the wavelengths are small enough that conveniently sized reflectors can be used. Parabolic antennas a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microwave Transmission
Microwave transmission is the transmission of information by electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the microwave frequency range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz (1 m - 1 mm wavelength) of the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwave signals are normally limited to the line of sight, so long-distance transmission using these signals requires a series of repeaters forming a microwave relay network. It is possible to use microwave signals in over-the-horizon communications using tropospheric scatter, but such systems are expensive and generally used only in specialist roles. Although an experimental microwave telecommunication link across the English Channel was demonstrated in 1931, the development of radar in World War II provided the technology for practical exploitation of microwave communication. During the war, the British Army introduced the Wireless Set No. 10, which used microwave relays to multiplex eight telephone channels over long distances. A link across the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropospheric Scatter
Tropospheric scatter, also known as troposcatter, is a method of communicating with microwave radio signals over considerable distances – often up to and further depending on frequency of operation, equipment type, terrain, and climate factors. This method of propagation uses the tropospheric scatter phenomenon, where radio waves at UHF and SHF frequencies are randomly scattered as they pass through the upper layers of the troposphere. Radio signals are transmitted in a narrow beam aimed just above the horizon in the direction of the receiver station. As the signals pass through the troposphere, some of the energy is scattered back toward the Earth, allowing the receiver station to pick up the signal. Normally, signals in the microwave frequency range travel in straight lines, and so are limited to '' line-of-sight'' applications, in which the receiver can be 'seen' by the transmitter. Communication distances are limited by the visual horizon to around . Troposcatter allow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radome
A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna electronic equipment from view. They also protect nearby personnel from being accidentally struck by quickly rotating antennas. Radomes can be constructed in several shapes spherical, geodesic dome, geodesic, planar, etc. depending on the particular application, using various construction materials such as fiberglass, polytetrafluoroethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-coated fabric, and others. In addition to radar protection, radomes on aircraft platforms also act as aircraft fairing, fairings that streamline the antenna system, thus reducing drag (physics), drag. When found on fixed-wing aircraft with forward-looking radar, as are commonly used for object or weather detection, the nose cones often additionally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Height Finder
A height finder is a ground-based aircraft altitude measuring device. Early height finders were optical range finder devices combined with simple mechanical computers, while later systems migrated to radar devices. The unique vertical oscillating motion of height finder radars led to them also being known as nodding radar. Devices combining both optics and radar were deployed by the U.S. Military. Optical In World War II, a height finder was an optical rangefinder used to determine the altitude of an aircraft (actually the slant range from the emplacement which was combined with the angle of sight, in a mechanical computer, to produce altitude), used to direct anti-aircraft guns. Examples of American and Japanese versions exist. In the Soviet Union it was usually combined with optical rangefinders. Radar A height finder radar is a type of 2-dimensional radar that measures altitude of a target. The operator slews the antenna toward a desired bearing, identifies a target e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
