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Light attack aircraft in today’s aviation units are not suitable for the wide range of missions they will be called on to perform should hostilities break out again. That is a strong statement. Yet, a careful perusal of the capabilities of current delivery vehicles indicates that it is true. The diversification required of aircraft in this category is simply not being given the importance it should have in the stipulated design criteria. Atomic weapon delivery requisites have become paramount, t° the detriment of conventional weapon capabilities, even though experience proves that those conventional weapons are still a yital part of our arsenal.
The advent of the jet engine, with its tremendous power potential, set off a trend toward more and more speed and altitude, , with a consequent increase in fuel consumption, logistics problems, and airstrip requirements. Adverse effects caused by the structural de- S1gn necessary to obtain ultra-high speed almost immediately became manifest in reduced range and attack capability. Installation of external tanks has become an integral Part of the configuration of light ground support aircraft, with a resultant loss in destructive load-carrying ability. Vehicles now under evaluation are beginning to reverse the afore- utentioned trend but are still well behind the capability of the one really excellent close air
support plane of recent years, the Navy’s AD Skyraider.
The ideal attack plane should be only sufficiently fast to carry out efficiently its assigned mission of supporting our ground forces. The “sufficiently fast” is not an ambiguous term. Weapons employment data for both nuclear and conventional explosives are explicit in determining the optimum speed for accurate delivery and safe pilot escape. Being able to clear out at supersonic speeds is obviously a comforting attribute for a plane to have. Yet, is it necessary or even advisable to build primarily for speed at the cost of reduced effectiveness? The maximum altitudes at which our strike aircraft can fly are definitely within range of enemy interceptors, antiaircraft artillery and missiles. Therefore, the safest escape method is to retire at as low an altitude as possible, which, since human reactions are limited, means subsonic speeds or a highly-instrumented, virtually auto-
CONTENTS Page
Light Attack Aircraft................................................................ 119
By Sgt. Harold F. Jaster, IJSMC
The U. S. Naval Academy Weapons Department .......................... 121
By Lt. Cdr. W. D. Blevins, USN
Traffic Control in the Panama Canal . . 122
By Lt. Col. R. D. Brown, Jr., USA
Soviet Cruisers............................................................................... 124
By Professor C. P. Lemieux
Midlink Three.................................................................................. 126
By James K. Welsh
How It Works—Search Planning . . . 128
By Lt. M. J. Ruebens, USCG
The Notebook................................................................................. 130
SHOULD WE "RETROGRESS” TO THE EFFICIENT, VERSATILE, PROP PLANE?
The author of the article on the opposite page believes the AD (above) to be the Navy’s best light attack aircraft. He points out that this plane has high endurance and does not really need the expensive altitude and speed capabilities of the A4D (below) to carry out its mission. He suggests a turbo-prop aircraft might be the optimum light attack plane.
matic flight system with an attendant increase in weight, size, cost and sensitivity to malfunctions. The subsonic method seems to be the more desirable. An object traveling in the region of 600 miles per hour at less than 500 feet above the terrain is quite capable of confounding the best antiaircraft weapons in use at present.
Taking a look at the basic requirements of the sought-for, ideal attack machine we find that it should:
(1) be capable of 550-600 miles per hour.
(2) have a flight duration, fully-loaded, of at least four hours.
(3) possess considerable all-weather capability.
(4) carry a larger, more variegated load than presently possible.
(5) for naval use, be able to operate from a carrier.
Combining all these attributes in one aircraft is not a simple matter. Designers and engineers have resolved more difficult ones, however, and, if given the opportunity, can undoubtedly provide an eminently satisfactory solution. The weaknesses in present aircraft design, as related to weapons delivery, appear to be more in the concept called for rather than in the execution of design criteria and construction.
No layman properly can presume to tell the highly-trained technician that this or that is the way to obtain specified results in his chosen field. Are we not overlooking, however, a proven powerplant that could conceivably be a very useful addition to our combat roster? Except for a few abortive attempts, primarily in vertical take-off aircraft, the concept of turboprop power has been virtually ignored by military aircraft designers. Utilization of that concept has proven feasible in several logistic vehicles, both civilian and military. It is reasonable to assume that, with some modification, excellent performance in close air support could be attained by turboprop aircraft. The jet engine is badly handicapped by an inordinate thirst for fuel at the low altitudes necessary in supporting infantry forces. Using a machine whose most efficient area of operation is from six to ten miles above the terrain at altitudes of 10,000 feet and below is not efficient. Turboprop-powered aircraft should provide for the proficient execution of all phases of tactical air support, including nuclear weapon delivery, with a bonus of significantly lowered operational cost and maintenance.
The tactical aircraft’s earth-bound counterpart, the tank, has progressed in the direction of more destructive ability, staying power and increased reliability. Meanwhile, the aerial strike vehicle has retrogressed in all these talents except in destructive ability when delivering nuclear weapons. It is apparent that planes presently in use or being evaluated simply cannot fulfill the varied requirements of the true close air support machine. Since conventional ordnance still furnishes a vital requisite to our combat potential, we cannot deprecate that requisite without harmful effects on our tactical aviation. A balanced striking ability should be the goal if a capability to engage any and all types of targets likely to be encountered is to be provided.
Actually, a form of retrogression is called for in the interest of results. Combining the still-valuable characteristics of the prop- driven plane, low altitude efficiency and economy, with the power available in the jet turbine, is the only apparent solution at the present time. Some day the jet may attain the desired capability.
If present machines do not have the varied talents so important to the accomplishment of the tasks assigned our light attack units, then the creative abilities of our technical minds must be allowed to digress from the one- powerplant corridor into which they have been channeled by current design criteria. Results must be the prime requisite in the conception of the delivery vehicle which our tactical support squadrons will use in any future conflict; inefficient aircraft can only produce inefficient results.
★
the u. s. naval academy
WEAPONS DEPARTMENT
By Lieutenant Commander W. D. Blevins,
U. S. Navy Weapons Depart- jjk ment,
' U. S. Naval Academy
How much does a midshipman need to know about digital and analogue computing techniques? Do the midshipmen need more time on ASW attack analytics? Should they still study gun construction and guns?
To provide a sound basis for determining what should be taught, how it should be taught, and what percentage of time should be allocated for various topics in the two-year weapons curriculum, the head of the Weapons Department in September 1959 established a permanent Weapons Department Curriculum Review Board. Its basic task is to determine curriculum requirements, develop the curriculum, and determine what texts are to be used. It ensures that the curriculum meets fully the requirements of the mission of the Naval Academy Weapons Department—“To Provide midshipmen with the requisite professional education for the performance of duty in the weapons field.”
The Curriculum Review Board is composed of members of the Weapons Department best qualified not only by experience and education in the weapons field, but also by accumulated experience in teaching midship- uien. Its members are the executive officer of the department, heads of each of the three teaching committees, and the departmental representative who acts as technical advisor for the forthcoming Bureau of Naval Weapons Publication, Weapons Systems Fundamentals, OP 3000.
In preparation for the 1960-1961 academic Year, the Board deleted from the curriculum some descriptions of specific weapons and minimized memorization of hardware details. The curriculum was enriched by putting more ernphasis on giving the midshipmen an understanding of the engineering and scientific
principles found in representative systems.
Initial studies concerned matters such as the duty assignments of graduating midshipmen, the needs of the postgraduate student for a basic education in the weapons field, and the equipment in the Fleet now and in prospect as far ahead as could be reasonably forecast. An attempt was made at an objective assessment of curriculum requirements through 1978 through an analysis of trends.
In working out details of the recommended curriculum, in which there was increased emphasis on fundamental scientific and engineering principles and their applications in weapons systems, the Curriculum Review Board found it more apparent than ever that textbook problems were indeed great. The Naval Academy has always found it necessary to rely to some extent on locally prepared supplementary texts for weapons instruction. Weapons Systems Fundamentals, OP 3000, is expected to ease to some extent the burden of local textbook preparation after this publication is completed. However, only one of the three volumes of OP 3000 has been completed. Accordingly, the largest portion by far of the midshipmen’s lesson assignments involve, by necessity, text supplements written by instructors of the department. Even after completion of the OP 3000 series, the Board believes, some local text writing will be required in order to provide some instruction in specific weapons systems.
The attitude of the Board has been that while it is not desirable in many ways to teach a specific antiaircraft fire control system, or a specific ASW fire control system in descriptive terms to the detriment of the analytical approach, it is nonetheless necessary to include in the curriculum some instruction in specific illustrative systems in each of several categories of weapons such as ASW, surface-to-air missiles, and antiaircraft gunfire control. Doing this satisfies the strong need of the student “to have a peg to hang it on” in more analytical work.
A part of the midshipman’s acquaintance with illustrative systems is obtained in drills, which demonstrate the application of weapons principles encountered in the classroom. One series of drills provides an introduction to Terrier missile systems by use of a series of Terrier missile maintenance training panels
and an installed Terrier missile fire control system of the USS Gy alt type. Some topics, such as battery alignment, have been taught through drills to save classroom hours.
The weapons curriculum at present follows in general the recommendations submitted by the Board early in 1960. In this, the second class midshipmen spend one term on basic weapons system components, and one term on antiaircraft gunfire control. The first class midshipmen spend one term with guided missiles and ballistic missiles, and one term with nuclear weapons effects, digital computers, ASW, and a weapons design problem.
Naturally, the experience with the curriculum during this year indicates that certain changes of content and time allocation are probably in order. It is the business of the Weapons Department Curriculum Review Board to initiate recommendations to accomplish these changes, as well as to introduce new material, when desirable to do so, following technological breakthroughs or in anticipation of planned shifts of emphasis in the weapons field. Considering that midshipman training is a long-lead item, the responsibility for devising a weapons curriculum and for keeping it current in these years of rapid scientific advance is an important one. The job is not made easier by the need to prepare the midshipmen for the future weapons while also putting them on speaking terms with the 20-year-old weapons which most of them encounter upon graduation.
★
TRAFFIC CONTROL IN THE PANAMA CANAL
The Panama Canal had many problems in its early days. They ranged all the way from malaria to obstructive earth slides in Gaillard Cut. One problem not anticipated in that early era, however, was the rapid increase of shipping traffic to the near-capacity flow being experienced today.
In 1921, after six years of operation, the canal was moving 3,200 ships a year (Figure /). Forty years later, the annual total has reached 11,200. All published estimates of future commerce through the waterway have been on the conservative side, with subsequent experience far surpassing predictions. Yet today’s heavy traffic is being handled by substantially the same procedures as those used in 1914.
Because the flow of traffic has become almost continuous, it is apparent that schedules must be subject to frequent revision if they are
to meet constantly changing ship and Canal conditions. Yet unannounced ships arrive at Atlantic or Pacific entrances; a tramp freighter or banana boat has an engine failure in Gaillard Cut; a tropical squall interrupts normal traffic in the approaches to Gatun Locks; one lane is taken out of service temporarily at Pedro Miguel locks for emergency repair. All of these factors cause departures from the established pattern. In many instances, failure to react promptly to changing conditions and to give suitable advisory information to pilots, may result in traffic jams, inefficient lock manning, delays or accidents.
In order to equip marine traffic controllers and pilots with the tools necessary to handle the shipping tempo of today and of the future, the Panama Canal Company is installing a modern, versatile Marine Traffic Control System.
It will provide efficient scheduling and rescheduling service, utilizing high speed digital computers for the job, and it will establish continuous surveillance of ship performance throughout the 51-mile length of the Canal.
Preliminary design calls for two digital computers, both of moderate capacity. One will schedule north- and southbound traffic, weighing and balancing known ship characteristics, existing Canal conditions, and changed conditions as they occur. Schedules
will be printed out at key points along the Canal, such as the offices of the Balboa and Cristobal Port Captains and of course at each lock control house (Figure 2).
This schedule will be fed into the second computer, whose function is to keep track of actual ship locations and to keep all ships on schedule. Every two minutes, using the schedule as a performance standard, the monitoring computer will compare every ship’s actual location with its corresponding scheduled location. The monitoring computer will analyze any discrepancies and then correct them by sending advisory signals, automatically of course, to any affected pilots. The computer will likewise analyze all imminent “meet” situations to see that no unauthorized or dangerous passings occur.
Should the monitoring computer be unable to correct a departure from schedule, it will in effect throw up its hands and call to its twin for a new schedule which takes cognizance of the changed conditions.
An essential feature of the new system is the ship sensing procedure. This is provided by an adaptation (and simplification) of the well known Hyperbolic Radio Field System which ts used extensively for aircraft control and off-shore surveying.
In this system the Canal is divided into a series of reaches. A radio transmitter-receiver (transceiver) will be placed at each end of each reach. One transceiver in each case will be the Control Station; the other the Slave. Upon call from the monitoring computer, the Control Station will emit a VHF signal which will in turn activate the Slave. Between the two transceivers, an electromagnetic field containing fixed equiphase lines will be created, whose characteristic pattern will be two families of hyperbolas whose loci are the two transceivers. (Hence, the term “hyperbolic radio.”)
By means of a portable unit carried aboard sbip, known as the Pilot’s Unit, each ship will be able to locate itself in this hyperbolic field, and will report its position to the monitoring computer upon interrogation.
It can determine its own position; it can report it through VHF radio channels to the monitoring computer; and it will contain auxiliary circuits which receive continuous advisory data from the monitor.
When the Control Station in each reach emits a signal, it is first received by the oncoming ship, and a counting process is started in the Pilot’s Unit. The signal then reaches the Slave Station, which is triggered and which emits its own signal, causing the counting process to stop. The time between the “start- count” and the “stop-count” signals is a measure of the distance of the ship from the start of the reach. The data is duly stored, until called for moments later by the monitoring computer.
In following this sequence, each shipboard unit will respond to signals directed to it, and to no other signals.
The Pilot’s Unit will contain circuitry capable of receiving advisory signals from the monitoring computer. These signals will give advice on speeds, oncoming ships and meet situations. Still another component will provide reliable voice communications with the marine traffic controller. Separate circuits for these two functions give an added factor of safety to the whole system.
The entire Pilot’s Unit will weigh no more than a portable 30-mc radio. It will float, in case it is dropped overboard.
The nerve center of the Marine Traffic Control System will be the central office in Balboa, where the traffic controller will operate from his control console, directly facing a 36-foot electronic replica of the entire Canal (Figure 3).
Should he for any reason wish to override the instructions being sent to any ship or group of ships, he is in a position to do so.
Completion of the entire system in 1963 will influence all phases of the transiting operations, and produce new standards of efficiency. For the first time the Canal’s marine traffic controllers will have up-to-date, comprehensive data on every ship in the Canal.
Efficient, up-to-date scheduling, will be realized; and continuously changing conditions will be met by advisory signals automatically transmitted to all pilots.
Pilots will have continuous, current information about oncoming ships; and in addition, will have reliable voice contact with the marine traffic controller.
Last, but most important, the Canal’s customers will receive a higher degree of service than ever before.
★
SOVIET CRUISERS
By Professor C. P. Lemieux,
Head of Russian Division, Department of Foreign Languages, U. S. Naval Academy
The activities of the Sverdlov-class cruiser during NATO maneuvers last September indicate that despite Khrushchev’s disdainful references to these surface units they still constitute an important element of the Soviet forces at sea. It will be recalled that during NATO exercises of the Dano-Bundesmarine forces the cruiser Oktiabrskaya Revolutsiya steamed to within hailing distance of the NATO forces, where she conducted electronic monitoring of the maneuvering vessels. This appearance and the numerous fleet
visits of other Sverdlov cruisers, usually escorted by two S-type destroyers, indicate that the Soviet fleet still has a number of these units in commission.
Current data on the location of Soviet cruisers indicate that the Admiral Lazarev, Ordjonikidze, Admiral Suvorov, Sverdlov, Admiral Ushakov, and the Zhdanov are in the Baltic; Alexander Nevski and Oktiabrskaya Revolutsia are in the Arctic; Dzerzhinski, Mikhail Kutuzov, and Admiral Nakhimov in the Black Sea; Dmitri Donskoi, Kusma Minin, Dmitri Pocharski, and Variag are in the Far East. Further units of this type whose status or stage of completion is less definitely known are: Askold, Bay an, Bogatir, Komsomolietz, Mikoyan, Oleg, Petro- pavlovsk, Runk, Admiral Senyavin, Svetlana, Petr Veliki, and Voikov.
The role of Sverdlov cruisers in current Soviet strategy is determined to some extent by the defensive mission of a fleet operating in coastal waters. According to the Marxist
military theory, such a fleet is charged mainly with protecting the seaward flank of infantry operations and covering its own bases and communications. As is the rule with Soviet surface units as well as submersibles, they lay mines and are equipped with torpedoes. While both the Soviet President of the Council of Ministers and his naval spokesmen emphasize that the submarine is the naval unit of the future just as the guided missile will supersede the military aircraft, for the time being the Red Navy is not laying up its surface cruisers.
Looking back over the history of Soviet naval construction, we note that the Sverdlov- class represents a peak effort of Soviet postwar mdustry. As such, it incorporates the accumulated techniques and devices of two prewar cruiser programs and the lend-lease ships and War booty of World War II. The first Soviet cruiser of the Kirov-class was of Italian design. Its acceptance trials were conducted in September of 1937 by an Italian mission. Further acquisitions from the outside world Were the lend-lease cruiser, Murmansk-Mil- oiaukee, whose ripped-up condition on delivery to a New Jersey port indicated that it Lad been used for research purposes rather than in military service, and the Italian and German cruisers Duca cT Aosta (Stalingrad),
Seydlitz {Poltava), and Ntimberg {Makarov). In addition, there was the Liitzov {Petropavlovsk) sold by Hitler to the Soviets in the spring of 1940 and used in uncompleted state as a floating battery at the end of the Kronstadt (Kotlin) channel during the war. Thus while Soviet propaganda was developing the idea of the Soviet “monopoly” over modern inventions, their shipbuilding centers were busy copying or assimilating the design principles and details of construction and equipment from acquired prototypes. So when the first Sverdlov cruiser steamed to its moorings at Spithead in June, 1953, it probably represented the epitome of warship construction up to the time of its launching (1950). In silhouette it betrayed features of both Italian and German design in the Kirov-Liitzov tradition. Of welded construction throughout, its armor belt appears to extend about 2 meters below the waterline at maximum displacement with protection of 80—100 mm. in the engine- room and ammunition spaces. Internal watertight compartmentation is probably patterned after that of the Liitzow, considered unsinkable under the fire-power of 1940.
The several Sverdlov cruisers observed in foreign ports lend support to the principle that Soviet industry tends to favor a standard design even in units as large as the cruiser and
the ocean-going submarine. The long delay in commissioning atomic-powered submarines is in line with this concern for careful development of the prototype which may be safely produced in series with ultimate savings in time and money. However, once committed to the production of a peak model, the Soviet fleet cannot easily change its strategy to meet the requirements of a new policy.
The visible guns of the Sverdlov and Ord- jonikidze include: 15-cm. triple turrets, 3.7 twin mounts, 10-cm. twin mounts. The elevation of the latter two guns indicates a possible dual-purpose gun. There are large optical range-finders and fire control stations evident on the mushroom-shaped forward tower. The heaviest guns on the Sverdlov and Ordjonikidze
appear to be the 15-cm. in triple turrets. However, persistent reports indicate that 7 of the Baltic cruisers are equipped with guided missiles, probably a part of the missile equipment referred to by N. S. Khrushchev in his disarmament speech of 14 January, 1960 before the 4th session of the Supreme Soviet.
It would seem unwise to discount Soviet convictions regarding the ultimate role of the submarine in their naval strategy. Some of their Z-class submarines have been constructed to launch missiles with a range of about 500 nautical miles. However, the 27 postwar cruisers in various stages of commission, many of them armed with guided missiles, appear to constitute the backbone of the present Soviet fleet.
MIDLINK THREE
Sf *fjk- By James K. Welsh, Jr., Information Officer,
< !<-1111.11 Treats ( )i Lt.ini/alicin
During two weeks in October and November of 1960, 35 ships from navies of Central Treaty Organization countries participated in the largest naval exercise ever held in the Arabian Sea. Under the code name, midlink three, this was the third in a series of annual cento exercises. The operation began on 25 October at the Pakistan Naval Station, Karsaz, near Karachi. It opened with a special briefing for Flag, Staff, and Commanding Officers by the exercise commander, Rear Admiral A. R. Khan, Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Navy.
Admiral Khan said that a primary aim of midlink three would be to give participating units “an excellent opportunity to work together and put cento maritime doctrine into practice.” Warning of the importance of the maneuvers to cento nations which desire to preserve their independence and security, Admiral Khan said that “a break in this
[cento] Pac area will jeopardize the security of the free world.”
During the first two days of the exercise, a full schedule of harbor communications drills was carried out to improve teamwork necessary for later maneuvers at sea.
On 28 October, all units put to sea, grouped by types, and headed for assigned operating areas, where they began a three-day schedule of more than 70 individual drills. In one sector, for example, the aircraft carriers Essex and Albion conducted intensive flight operations. Crews were at flight quarters continuously. This phase ended on 31 October, when the ships returned to Karachi for final briefings before a convoy protection operation.
On 2 November, the ships again went to sea, this time as Task Force 343, which was divided into several task groups. All except the submarines formed a friendly Blue Force under the tactical control of Rear Admiral F. L. Ashworth, U. S. Navy, in Essex.
One major task group was the antisubmarine carrier force with the 33,000-ton Essex and her antisubmarine search and attack aircraft and helicopters. Another was the carrier strike group consisting of the 26,000-ton Albion, a British Centaur-class carrier with jet fighter aircraft assigned.
The convoys, too, were formed in numbered task groups, which consisted largely of hypothetical merchant vessels.
The basic battle problem was for the antisubmarine carrier force and the carrier strike group to protect the convoys from hostile action by three submarines deployed as an enemy force.
From 2 November, when minesweepers combed the approaches to Karachi Harbor before dawn, until the end of this phase over 119 hours later, aircraft pilots and ships’ crews were continuously alert and ready to “sink” a hidden enemy. Calm weather facilitated ASW search and more than a dozen “kills” (the submarines were returned to action after a specified period of inactivity) rewarded the keepers of what a casual observer might describe as a monotonous vigil.
One of these occurred at 0503 on 3 November, when the Air Group Commander from Essex detected a snorkling submarine while piloting an S2F Tracker during a routine search mission. On hearing the low-flying aircraft, the submarine tried to evade, but the Tracker maintained contact by sono-buoys.
Although the plane carried weapons capable of delivering a deadly blow to the submerged enemy, a Surface Attack Unit of two destroyers was rushed to the scene. The finishing touch was applied at 0600, when one of the destroyers dropped depth charges.
Naturally, the task force was destined to sustain losses. The first occurred early in the operation on the afternoon of 3 November, when two “merchant vessels” steaming in the faster of the two convoys, a 5,000-ton cargo ship and a tanker loaded with ballast were “sunk.” Several fleet units were also sunk, and both aircraft carriers suffered damage.
There were also reports of some close calls. One evening, during a scheduled aircraft launch, Albion executed a half-circle turn, just in time to avoid a torpedo. A green flare fired from the attacking submarine was sighted off the stern of the big carrier. Observers noted that if Albion had not luckily altered course, she would have become a critical loss to friendly Blue Forces.
On another occasion, unexpected realism Was injected into the exercise. A helicopter pilot reported picking up a distress signal by special listening equipment. Interrupting operations, the task force commander ordered all submarines to surface. At sundown, several hours after receipt of the false alarm, all ships
had been accounted for and the maneuvers were resumed.
During midlink three there were some unexpected and unusual incidents. For example, Essex rammed and killed her first whale in more than 18 years of cruising; the Royal Navy tanker Tideflow also rammed one.
Although they contain major shipping lanes, both the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea remain inadequately surveyed and charted. So, as a service to mariners, navigators collected oceanographic data during the exercises and reported it to hydrographic offices responsible for informing ship captains throughout the world.
The last phase of midlink three ended early on 7 November, when ships returned to Karachi for a tabulation of results. It is always difficult to say “who won” in an exercise of this type. Suffice it to say that the ASW carrier force and the carrier strike group were, by and large, successful in protecting the convoys from the enemy submarines. Again speaking as exercise commander, Admiral Khan said during a critique that the operation had been a success. “Every officer and man deserves a sincere well done,” he said. Justly proud of their achievement, all hands sailed home on 10 November under the control of national commanders.
HOW IT WORKS—SEARCH PLANNING
The fine art of search planning is based on the proper application of the available pertinent data, and the experience and judgment of the search planner. The initial planning of a search, the selection of the proper search pattern, and the area to be searched make up the hard core of all search and rescue (sar) operations.
To plan a search properly, the many factors which vary with each incident must be given consideration. It is impossible to formulate rigid plans in advance.
To illustrate the mechanics of search planning, let us use a hypothetical sar situation.
A single-engine jet completes mid-air refueling over Bermuda at 0000Z and heads west. At 0046Z a transmission is heard by Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, from the aircraft that the pilot is bailing out. Cherry Point, using the Norfolk DF-Radar Net Hotline, alerts the Norfolk sar Co-ordinator.
Problem: Set up an effective search area. Information required:
A. AIRCRAFT
1. Routing
2. Speed
3. Altitude
4. Survival gear
5. Persons on board
B. METEOROLOGICAL
1. Surface winds past 24 hours locale of sar incident
2. Surface current
3. 24-hour weather forecast
4. Present visibility and sea condition
C. AVAILABILITY OF SEARCH UNITS
1. Aircraft (number and type)
2. Surface units
Why all this data just to plan a search? Why not dr out from Bermuda and look there? It’s not quite that simple.
By dr, we find that the aircraft had been underway from Bermuda for 46 minutes at 600 knots, thus traveling 460 miles. We know that the parachute opens automatically at
10,0 feet irrespective of flight altitude and having determined the wind direction and velocity to be 235°T at 50 knots at 10,000 feet, we figured the pilot as being six miles downwind from the bailout point (Parachute Drift Table, Figure 6-3, National SAR Manual) that point as yet undetermined. Now we can compute an “initial error in position” (iep).
If a position is obtained by a dr estimate from a previous, accurate fix (in this case Bermuda), the probable error is assumed to be 10 miles in any direction, plus 10 per cent of the distance to the dr point from previous fix. Thus the iep is 10 miles plus 10 per cent of 460 miles = 56 miles.
The information we have thus far, however, is still incomplete to commence a projected search. In determining the initial search radius, the iep of the distressed aircraft is combined with the navigational error of the search craft to obtain the total probable error of position for the first search.
This total probable error is used as the entering argument for the Radius-Error Relationship table in the National SAR Manual. The total probable error equals the square root of the sum of the squares of the iep and the navigational error, in this case, V562+102. For this value of total probable error (about 57 miles), the table (Figure 6-9, National SAR Manual) gives a search radius of 63 miles for the first search, thus allowing a safety factor of 6 miles. The safety factor is increased for subsequent searches.
The area computed is acceptable for immediate search, but now the planner must do four things:
First, determine the number of aircraft required to search a given area using the following rule of thumb: An aircraft can search 100 square miles per hour using 1-mile track spacing at effective search speed (135 knots).
Let’s assume that 20 aircraft are available. Our initial search area is roughly 12,000 square miles. Searching 100 square miles per
hour per aircraft, it will take 6 hours to comb the area. Let’s see if the probability of detection makes it worthwhile. A 75 per cent probability of detection (pod) is considered minimal for effective search. Our inputs into the pod formula (the criteria for pod can be found in Chapter 7, National SAR Manual) based on a 10-mile visibility and 1-mile track spacing result in a 50 per cent pod. Reducing the track spacing to one-half mile, an 85 per cent pod is realized on first search at the cost °f lengthening the search from 6 to 12 hours.
Our next problem is the projection of the search based on life raft drift. Essentially we add vectorially five components as they affect the drift of a raft.
The first factor, average sea current, is applied where there are strong natural currents of over 25 per cent steadiness. In our case, the dr position places the incident in the Gulf Stream, where current steadiness is 57 per cent in the area concerned. From an atlas of surface currents, we determine that the average current is 045°T-13.9 miles per day at the dr position. Average wind current and the divergence of the average sea current caused by the average wind may both be disregarded in this case, as the average wind is less than 25 per cent in steadiness. Local wind current is based on wind data obtained from a weather facility, in this instance southwest at an average of 20 knots. The local wind current is 30° to the right of dead to leeward when north of 10° North latitude. Its velocity Is taken from a table in the National SAR
Manual. In this case, the vector is 075°-16 miles.
The last factor is leeway. This is computed with and without a drogue. With a drogue, it is 12 miles per day downwind. Without a drogue, it is 25 miles per day. Now we can compute the total life raft drift by adding the following vectors: 045°-14 miles; 075°-16 miles; 045°-25 miles (no drogue) = (resultant) 055°-53 miles per day. Next we may determine our total error of position by adding one- eighth of the total life raft drift to the total probable error, determined previously. We get about 7 miles plus about 57 miles equals about 64 miles.
The second day’s search radius, with an added safety factor from Figure 6-9, National SAR Manual, would be increased to approximately 100 nautical miles. The search center would be displaced by the computed life raft drift, 055°-265 miles for 12 hours, from the original position we figured the pilot landed after bailout. This is the computed position of the life raft at 1300Z the next morning.
When planning a second day’s search, rechecking of the coverage factor is indicated. The second day’s search will ordinarily allow for an increase in track spacing while still remaining over 75 per cent probability of detection.
Utilizing the search planning procedures outlined in the National SAR Manual afford the best chances for successful culmination of a search. Know them before you need them.
Barking Up the
Wrong Tree
The Skipper of my first ship had a mongrel dog who was his constant companion aboard ship. Whenever Cinnamon came bounding onto the bridge, the watch knew the CO was sure to follow.
One day in port, while standing on the quarterdeck as OOD, I questioned the newly-arrived messenger about the names and duties of the ship’s officers. I went down the list—Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, First Lieutenant, and so forth—then asked, “Who is Cinnamon?”
After a moment’s hesitation, he hopefully asked, “Is that you, sir?”
------------------------------------------- Contributed by Lt. (jg) Terry R. Grant, U. S. Coast Guard
{The Naval Institute will pay $5.00 for each anecdote accepted for publication in the Proceedings.)
Dr. Edward Teller (left), and Vice Admiral H. G. Rickover, U. S. Navy, at the controls of the Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine USS Sam Houston (SSBN-609).
THE NOTEBOOK
History of the Missile-Firing Submarine:
The origin of the missile-firing submarine is found in Germany towards the end of World War II. The Germans designed a weapon on the rocket principle against the mounting pressure from enemy U-boat chasers, corvettes, frigates and destroyers. These rockets were launched at the pursuer by the submerged boat in salvoes of four. The damage caused by the 15 kg. explosive charge sufficed to make the pursuer give up the chase. The aim was based on data obtained by the sound- locator and predictor—a mechanism which computed the aiming triangle. One German project included a submersible launching platform about 100 feet long in the form of a large container, housing a V2 rocket with a gyro-stabilized firing platform which could keep the missile steady regardless of sea swell. Each container weighed approximately 500
tons and a submarine could tow three of them- At the end of the war this weapon system was still in the test stage and it was not used operationally. (From German Secret Weapons of Second World War, p. 218, by Rudolf Lusar and The Soviet Air & Rocket Forces, p. 151, edited by Asher Lee, Signal, February 1961.)
Sub-tracking Device: A magnetic radio device that grips the side of a prowling enemy submarine and broadcasts information on its location was described Wednesday as new U. S. Navy equipment.
Data magazine, a monthly journal in the defense marketing field, said the magnetic broadcasting devices can be sown in known channels through which enemy submarines must pass.
It said that as soon as it fastens itself mag' netically to the metal hull of a submarine, it begins broadcasting a “here I am” message-
“No amount of maneuvering by the sub will dislodge the parasitic transmitter,” the magazine said. (The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk- Portsmouth, Va., 31 March 1961.)
Navy to Barter: The Navy is about to try to barter surplus United States farm products for foreign oil.
An announcement today said the Navy would accept bids starting tomorrow for
6,200,0 barrels of special fuel oil valued at $11,000,000 to $13,000,000. This is a halfyear’s requirement along the Eastern Seaboard.
The Navy oil for this area traditionally is acquired in Venezuela, Trinidad and other Caribbean regions, with some coming from the United States Gulf Coast.
The pilot barter program, reduced to its simplest terms, would have the Navy contract with a United States company to supply a certain amount of oil, with payment to the company for oil of foreign origin to be made in Government-owned surplus farm goods such as corn or wheat. Thus $1,000,000 worth of oil would be exchanged for $1,000,000 worth of corn, for example.
The company would enter an agreement with a wholesale commodity dealer, who would take over the farm goods, pay the company in dollars and then sell the goods in the world market.
“It is anticipated that in addition to providing an outlet for surplus agricultural commodities, a substantial reduction in gold flow expenditures abroad will result,” the Navy said. (New York Times, 7 April 1961.)
Navy Orders New Designs in Big Steps:
If the President’s coming defense budget revision, like President Eisenhower’s original budget proposals of last January, recommends only the anticipated additions to the Navy’s warships, this will be largely due to a recent momentous decision on naval shipbuilding policy.
Summed up, this policy is to go slow on minor improvements of ship’s types and, rather, to collect and save all marginal betterments until a truly big gain can be made with a wholly new design.
This calls for “quantum jumps,” in the current phrasing—that is, truly big leaps forward, rather than slowly creeping changes and additions such as have marked the alteration of the Navy’s destroyer designs for fifteen years.
Thus, nuclear propulsion made possible a revolution in submarine construction and tactics. It justified total dedication to the new principle of a wholly new design.
Similarly, the development of the Polaris missile represented another quantum jump, and its fortunate timing made possible a merging of this guided missile with nuclear propulsion and also with a new and equally revolutionary navigational system, along with a device for underwater launching. (The Baltimore Sun, 26 March 1961.)
Service Record Changes: Washington—
(NAVNEWS)—Naval enlisted service records are about to undergo a “face-lifting”—the result of a study conducted by the Bureau of Naval Personnel to see what improvements could be made in keeping personnel records.
Foremost among the changes will be the return of an old friend with a new name—the well-known Continuous Service Certificate of World War II days, now called History of Assignments (page 5). The present page 5 Gunnery Record will be discontinued and necessary entries permanently put there will be recorded on page 13, Administrative Remarks.
Other enlisted service-record page changes which will come in the near future include a revised Administrative Remarks page, a revamped Navy Occupation and Training History page, and a new Transfers and Receipts page.
Besides showing assignments over a man’s career, the new page 5 will be used to record reenlistment bonus information, so that payments for reenlistments or extensions can be more easily made.
Submarine Escape Record: Key West, Fla.
■—(NAVNEWS)—A new depth record for submerged submarine escapes was set March 3, 1961, in waters off Key West by the Navy. Two naval officers simulated an actual escape from the submarine USS Balao, utilizing a new hooded device designed by Steinke. They ascended from a depth of 318 feet to the surface in 55 seconds.
Upon recovery by the submarine rescue vessel USS Skylark, both men were examined and pronounced in excellent health. The old record of 302 feet was set in the same general area on October 1,1959.
The hooded escape device consists of a standard Navy inflatable life jacket with a rubberized fabric hood fastened to it. The hood also has a transparent plastic face section, allowing the man to see where he is going. Relief valves are located on the collar and so arranged that expanding air from the life jacket fills the hood and allows the man to breathe normally during his ascent.
Amphibious Assault Support: The Navy is taking more than a casual second look at the possibilities raised by giving submarines the capability of providing firepower support to amphibious troop landings. No, they’re not thinking of putting deck guns back on the highspeed nuclear submarines now in service.
But Navy planners are intrigued at a suggestion to equip submarines with yet another class of missile—essentially the eye-guided,
wire-controlled type now being adopted for antitank operations by the Army.
Idea is that a submarine, lurking offshore at periscope depth, could pop these birds up pneumatically and then guide them visually to their targets. The present study could lead to a whole new family of PSW (prosubmarine warfare) weapons. (Ordnance, March-April 1961.)
Hull Protection: Navy’s program for improving methods of cathodic hull protection is beginning to show results. Both zinc and magnesium anodes have been tested—with data now available on magnesium from Metallurgy Division, Physical Metallurgy Branch, U. S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D. C. In summary form, the results are:
Secret base for Polaris subs tl
Magnesium anodes—either coated with plastic or uncoated—can be attached to the hulls of ships up to and including destroyers in such a manner as to provide protection for as much as three years. Special techniques of installation increase anode life and reduce
for
iore > up [ally lead rine k.pril
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current loss to hull adjacent to anode. {Ordnance, March-April 1961.)
Navy’s Sea Transit Arm: The Navy’s Military Sea Transportation Service is rapidly expanding its new function as operator of the military establishment’s fleet of special project ships.
Formed originally as the hauling agency of the armed forces, the service is now providing and operating ships for oceanographic work, missile research and space programs.
Since it was formed eleven years ago the service has transported 15,000,000 passengers, including military personnel and their dependents.
It has carried 189,000,000 tons of cargo between this country and bases around the world. It also has been a major customer of the country’s merchant marine, and in the last year 74 per cent of its expenditures went into transport activities in which privately owned shipping participated.
The service operates the biggest single fleet in the world—114 vessels.
The service’s special projects assignment began in 1959 when two ships, the USNS Chain and the USNS Gibbs, were activated for oceanographic work. USNS stands for United States Naval Ship, a vessel operated by the Navy with civilian crew.
At present the special fleet has expanded to seven space support ships and five oceanographic vessels.
One of the service’s vessels, the Haiti Victory, which is used on missile ranges, made history last year when her helicopter team recovered a re-entry capsule from the Explorer XIII. This was done in the sea near Honolulu and was the first “man-made object ever recovered from outer space,” Admiral Gano said.
The Gibbs ship is engaged in Operation Mohole and is assigned to the penetration and the study of the earth’s ctust under the sea. She has the largest and heaviest deepsea winch ever used in this country for oceanographic research. The winch can handle
40,0 feet of wire rope.
The Navy now has on order eight new
three-fourths of the world
oceanographic research ships—the first, the Agor 3, is nearing completion—and the service is expected to operate six of them.
In the future there will be special missile transports to carry weapons for missile-firing submarines, a satellite communications ship with elaborate tracking, telemetry and communications equipment for use in support of the Army’s Project Advent, and a small ice- strengthened research ship for the National Science Foundation. It will operate in the Antarctic in a project on oceanography, hydrography and meteorology, the Admiral said. (New York Times, 18 March 1961.)
New Steering Gear: Currently undergoing evaluation is a special steering gear, recently installed on the U. S. Navy destroyer R. E. Kraus. It weighs about one-third as much as the conventional steering gear it replaced and takes about one-half the space.
The steering gear was designed and built for the Navy by the Hyde Windlass Company of Bath, Me.
This lightweight steering unit uses a ballbearing nut-and-screw assembly in place of a hydraulic ram. The twin hydraulic-power units are conventional in that electric motors drive parallel-piston, variable-delivery pumps.
The differential control units, which regulate the delivery of the hydraulic pumps, are lightweight, low-torque assemblies. These have geneva wheels and cams for motion storage in place of the barrel cams generally used in Navy steering gears.
Each control is operated locally by a knob connected directly to the input shaft of the differential or remotely by an electric servo motor controlled from the pilot house through a synchro and magnetic-amplifier system. Follow-up motion from the ball-bearing screw assembly to the differential controls is transmitted by flexible shafts.
Two hydraulic motors are flange mounted on the gear case which houses the reduction gears and the ball-bearing nut. Multiple-disk clutches on each hydraulic motor are actuated hydraulically by oil pressure from the servo system on each main pump. A regulating device insures that only one clutch is engaged at one time. When neither hydraulic pump is running the clutches shift automatically to become brakes. This prevents the nut-and-screw assembly from being turned by the rudders.
Thirty-four turns of the ball-bearing nut results in 70 deg of rubber swing. A 17.37 to 1 gear reduction between the hydraulic motor and the ball-bearing nut provides the necessary mechanical advantage for the motor to rotate the nut under full load.
The Navy may specify ball-bearing nut- and-screw steering gears on future ships if the unit being tested continues to operate satisfactorily throughout the evaluation period. (C. Alofs, Bureau of Ships, in Marine Engineering/Log, March 1961.)
Handy Inflatable Bunk Will be Used by
Navy: A new type bunk that answers the old problem of having more guests than beds was delivered to the Bureau of Ships for use on a new nuclear-powered submarine.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company delivered an initial order of 25 air-inflatable bunks which can be erected in virtually any unused space—a corridor, torpedo room or even the top of a desk—in seconds.
The bunks will be utilized as temporary berths for extra personnel accompanying the regular crew on the new submarine’s shakedown cruise, Goodyear said.
Made of a versatile rubberized fabric called Airmat, the bunks provide comfortable rest with two to 10 lb of pressure psi, depending upon the desires of the sleeper, the firm said.
Maximum operating pressure is 20 psi and min burst strength is 60 psi.
When not in use, the bunks can be folded flat or rolled into packages 25 in. by 6 in. and stored wherever there is room, Goodyear officials explained. (Marine Engineering/Log, January 1961.)
Navy Bottle Won’t Break: A better bottle— lighter and nonbreakable—for storing and transporting distilled water and acids for the Navy is expected to save the taxpayer about
S70,0 yearly.
The bottle, called a “cubitainer,” is a flexible, polyethylene container that will replace bulky glass carboys formerly used.
The new container has been thrown, stamped on, heated and generally abused in tests recently completed at Naval Supply Center here.
To insure that the cubitainer would resist the rough handling encountered in resupplying at sea, a Navy stores ship passed a container in a netful of stores to a destroyer. Not a scratch showed.
At the Center, a packing and preservation specialist froze a cubitainer full of distilled Water and dropped it four feet. It bent, but did not break. He tossed another and laid a lighter to a third. The cubitainers did not fail.
How will it save $70,000 yearly?
There is a sizeable transportation saving due to the reduction in weight and cube—an estimated $10,000 yearly at NSC Norfolk alone.
Added to this is a $2,500 saving in labor costs. The old carboys had to be cleaned and sterilized; the cubitainers are non-returnable.
Biggest saving is the $56,776 in the lower cost of the cubitainers.
The next resupply of the ships with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean will carry distilled water in cubitainers, not carboys. (The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk-Portsmouth, Va., 14 February 1961.)
German Navy: The Western allies were reported Saturday finally to be nearing a “compromise” solution that would permit the West German Navy to build destroyers of more than 3,000 tons.
The proposed increase in German naval strength has solid American backing but has been hamstrung for several months by red tape in the Western European Union, of which the United States is not a member.
The WEU is the seven-nation body which, under earliest post-war treaties, must approve any change in previously agreed restriction on German rearmament. Its members, besides West Germany, are Britain, France, the three Benelux states and Italy.
The plan for raising the limit on German destroyers from 3,000 to 6,000 tons is aimed at enabling the German Navy to play a more effective role in preventing Soviet submarines from breaking out of the Baltic Narrows into the Atlantic Ocean in the event of war.
Despite strong backing for the plan from the United States Navy and Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Lauris Norstad, it has been stalled since it was raised with the WEU last October.
At the time, United States officials are known to have confidently expected that the permission would be granted before the end of 1960 at latest. However, six months have expired without a final decision. (Gaston Coblentz in The Virginian-Pilot and Portsmouth Star, 19 March 1961.)
Special Notice
U. S. Naval Institute General Prize Essay Contest, 1962
Any person, civilian or military, is eligible for this contest. A prize of not more than $1,500, a gold medal, and a Life Membership in the Naval Institute shall be offered annually for the best essay on any subject entered in this contest which contributes toward the mission of the Naval Institute, “the advancement of professional, literary, and scientific knowledge in the Navy,” subject to the following conditions. If no essay is adjudged of sufficient merit to receive the prize, an “Honorable Mention” may be awarded in lieu thereof. Regardless of whether or not a prize is awarded, additional essays of merit may receive “Honorable Mention.” The author of an essay awarded “Honorable Mention” shall receive a silver or a bronze medal, dependent upon the quality of the essay, similar in all other respects to the gold medal, and such compensation as may be adjudged by the Board of Control, but not including a Life Membership.
In the event that the author of a General Prize essay is adjudged a medal and already holds this medal, he shall be given a bar suitably engraved in lieu of a second award of the medal. In the event that the recipient is awarded a medal of dissimilar metal to that which he holds, he will be awarded the new medal. If an author awarded a Life Membership is already a life member, his cash award shall be increased by the commuted value of a Life Membership in his case.
In the event that no essay is adjudged of sufficient merit to receive the “Prize” or an “Honorable Mention,” the best essay submitted may receive a special award in lieu thereof.
The following rules will govern this competition:
(1) Essays should not exceed 5,000 words.
(2)Essays must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer ori or before 1 November, 1961.
(3)The name of the competitor shall not appear on the essay, and each essay must have a motto in addition to the title. This motto shall appear (a) on the title page of the essay, (b) on the outside of a sealed envelope containing identification of the competitor, (c) above the name and address of the competitor inside the envelope containing this identification. This envelope will not be opened until the Board has made the selections. Essays and identifying envelope must be mailed in a large sealed envelope marked “General Prize Essay Contest.”
(4) The selections will be made by the Board of Control, voting by ballot and without knowledge of the names of the competitors.
(5) The awards will be made known and presented to the successful competitors at the annual meeting on Thursday, 15 February, 1962.
(6)All essays must be typewritten, legible, double spaced, on paper approximately 8Yi" X 11", and must be submitted in duplicate, each copy complete in itself.
(7)Essays awarded the “Prize,” “Honorable Mention,” or “Special Award” are for publication in the Naval Institute PROCEEDINGS. Essays not awarded a prize may be published at the discretion of the Board of Control, and the writers of such essays shall be compensated at the rate established for articles not submitted in competition.
(8) Attention of contestants is called to the fact that an essay should be analytical or interpretive and not merely an exposition or personal narrative.
William M. A. Greene Commander, U. S. Navy, Secretary-Treasurer
Bonn Warship: The West German Navy put into service today the largest warship to be built in Germany since World War II. hhe 2,100-ton vessel, designated an escort ship, is small by world standards. It is sim- har to an American destroyer escort.
West Germany is currently prohibited from building ships over 3,000 tons, although this limit is expected to be raised shortly to 5,000 tons. The German Navy claims destroyers within the 3,000-ton restriction are too small for modern armament. (Washington Post, 16 April 1961.)
Royal Navy: Many of the ships, planes and weapons now being produced and developed will be entirely new to the Royal Navy,” according to an Admiralty statement.
Four guided-missile destroyers at present being built will be supplemented by two more. All will be equipped with the improved British Mark II Seaslug surface-to-air medium-range guided missile. This will be further developed to give it range and speed sufficient to combat any aircraft likely to be flying by 1970.
During the coming year a U. S. Navy- developed, British-built light-weight antisubmarine torpedo which can be dropped from a helicopter will go into service with frigates of the Royal Navy. This is described to the Navy Estimates as a “significant advance” in anti-submarine warfare.
The 50,000 -ton aircraft carrier Ark Royal (which has recently been visiting New York) can expect an active squadron of Wessex anti-submarine helicopters with a superior load-carrying capacity by the end °f summer. These will be equipped with a homing torpedo and dipping asdic.
Work on a second nuclear submarine will continue during 1961.
A new class of swift-moving self-sinking 1015,000-ton assault-craft carriers—able to sub- toerge to a depth sufficient for landing craft to take straight to the water, and then to act
command ships for offensive operations— >s being designed. These will embody a helicopter platform.
Broadly, the Royal Navy will continue operating as separate units the Far Eastern, hfediterranean and Home Fleets. (British Information Services, 24 February 1961.)
New Fight on Seasickness: Seasickness may replace exposure to the weather as one of the chief menaces to survival at sea after shipwreck, according to recent tests by the British Admiralty.
The British found that seasickness is a life- and-death matter even for survivors who are adrift in completely enclosed life rafts that protect them from the heat and cold.
Navy and medical researchers reached their conclusion after setting men clad in pink plastic survival suits adrift in the stormy North Atlantic.
As expected, they found that the enclosed rafts protected the “survivors” from the sea and weather, but they were surprised by the paralyzing effect of seasickness on the men.
In one trial, only two out of sixteen men escaped seasickness. A seventeen-year-old “survivor” said:
“The raft became a jumble of arms and legs. People were groaning and being sick. When you stopped being sick you got on with your task of bailing out. Then you were sick again.”
A navy surgeon who participated in the trial added:
“It is clear that a large proportion of survivors must be capable of working the raft in the early stages. If nearly everyone is seasick, essential tasks such as bailing out cannot be performed adequately.” (Robert S. Burns in New York Herald Tribune, 19 March 1961.)
Seacats and After: Announcement of an order by West Germany for 50 Short Seacat surface-to-air missiles was one concrete decision which emerged from Mr. Thorney- croft’s visit to Bonn last week. Focke-Wulf has an agreement with Shorts concerning the German evaluation programme and possible joint development of the missile.
Future collaboration on a missile system to intercept low-flying aircraft was also mentioned in the official communique. “The Government of the United Kingdom and the Federal German Republic hold the same views on new weapons for defence against low-flying aircraft. The British Government intends to expand the tripartite co-operation existing in this field between France, Italy and the Federal Republic by participating in this joint effort and thus giving it a broader basis.” (The Aeroplane and Astronautics, 20 January 1961.)
Soviet Military Justice: The Soviet Disciplinary Regulations authorize a commanding officer to impose the following punishments without intervention of a court-martial: reprimand; restriction for a period of one month; five details of extra duty or extra work; confinement for a period of 20 days; confinement on bread and water for a period of 15 days; reduction of a corporal to private.
The Disciplinary Regulations classify the following as the most serious military offenses: desertion; absence without leave; insubordinate conduct; and drunkenness.
Desertion is punishable by imprisonment for a period of from 3 to 7 years; in wartime, death before a firing squad or imprisonment for a period of 5 to 10 years.
Absence without leave for a period over three days is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 1 to 5 years; in wartime, imprisonment for a period of 5 to 10 years.
Absence without leave for a period over 24 hours but not over 3 days, or for a period less than 24 hours if it is the second offense, is punishable by transfer to a disciplinary battalion for a period of 3 months to 2 years; in wartime, imprisonment for a period of 2 to 10 years. (Leo Gawjesky in Marine Corps Gazette, January 1961.)
Soviets Training with Chemical Weapons:
CBR training in the USSR includes not only the military application of chemical weapons but civilian defense against these weapons as well.
Civilian defense training is given through the Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Navy and Air Force, and a civilian organization (DOSAAF) of pre-military age and adult civilians. BW and Radiological training are lumped with CW defense, with emphasis on CW weapons. DOSAAF has an estimated 30 million members and places great emphasis on passive defense measures against air chemical attack.
Civilian training is the continuation of a Soviet policy on chemical weapons which has been carried on for some 30 years past. An extremely efficient civilian protective mask
has been developed by the Soviets and it is offered for sale in local stores.
Military training in CBR begins with defensive CW training included in military courses given to students at all levels. This training is also given to members of school age paramilitary organizations. After induction into the Army this training continues.
Enlisted personnel are taught use of the mask, antispray cape, and identification of agents by odor through the use of a sniff-kit. Protective mask training includes wearing the triask during duty hours and tactical exercises.
Soviet NCO’s are trained in special schools with courses lasting from nine months to two years. Emphasis is on toxic agent reconnaissance, decontamination and preparation for CBR instruction. Specialist schools for other Arms and Services also give 90 to 100 hours for CBR training over a 9-month period.
Chemical Warfare officers in the Soviet Army are trained in CW Officer Candidate Schools, or commissioned from the graduates of institutes or universities where the students have received scientific and military training. Students in OCS are trained in offensive and defensive CBR, as well as in tactics and in basic and advanced chemical laboratory Work.
Officers are given advanced training at the Corochilov Military Academy of Chemical Warfare Defense in Moscow. The Frunze Military Academy (General Staff Academy), attended by battalion and regimental commanders for a three-year course, has CBR instructors and includes CBR tactics in its curriculum.
Troop units are given gas chamber exer- Clses at least annually, and are drilled in replacement of defective gas mask components. Units in training observe special days when masks are worn continuously for increased Periods of time, reported to be as much as six hours.
Most Soviet troops are given explanatory mstruction in radiological defense. They are told about dosimeters, survey meters, and contamination meters. In some organizations, these instruments are demonstrated. Specialists who are members of radiological reconnaissance teams are issued the instruments and trained in their use. Troops are told individual dosimeters will be issued if and when atomic war takes place.
The Soviet equivalent of our Chemical Corps is a large, well-trained organization. The USSR must be credited with an across- the-board capability in CW agents and weapons, including a persistent type nerve gas.
Toward the end of World War II, the Soviet troops captured German G-agent plants, complete with staff personnel. They have been producing a G-agent which they call Tabun, probably the original German product. Little can be said about their development of persistent type nerve gases, but they have produced a closely related insecticide.
The Soviets have shown a great interest in hydrogen cyanide, a gas used by California and other states in executions. They have indicated that it can be thickened and sprayed effectively from a plane at about 50 feet from the ground. The U. S. Army Chemical Corps is inclined to regard this agent as obsolete for military purposes.
Stated USSR policy has been to provide a chemical warfare potential for every suitable weapon on the ground. In World War II, they had shells for both mortars and artillery charged with chemical agents. The Soviet Army must be viewed with chemical weapons capable of attacking all tactical targets. Soviet aircraft and rockets provide a capability for attack on far strategic targets. The extensive civil defense training in the USSR indicates that long-range CW attacks are considered practical in their plans.
Soviet cluster bombs employ the principle of dispersion of frangible ampoules containing CW or BW agents. Air weapons would also include rockets for point targets, clusters for area targets, and spray tanks for direct attack on personnel with liquid agents.
In terms of quantity in stockpile and production at this time, the USSR probably has more mustard than any other agent. The fact that mustard is solid at low temperatures, which prevail over Russia during a large part of the year, has led them to develop a number of mixtures of mustard with other toxic agents, or chemicals to hold a liquid form. Persistent gases, too, last much longer
in the field when the climate is cold.
Considerable emphasis has also been placed on so-called toxic smokes, vaporizing toxic agents or tear gas in smoke. Harassing effects of vomiting agents such as Adamsite are available, and it is possible that those agents could be employed with the idea that troops would be prevented from wearing masks under incapacitating conditions.
The protective mask of the Soviet Army, the Shlem Maska-1, a helmet mask, is characterized by virtually complete coverage of the head with soft rubber. This mask is considered one of the safest available. CW protective clothing is also adequate. Detection equipment and identification of agents includes the use of indicator papers, or silicon- gel packed tubes with reagents to color reactions with CW agents. Larger equipments range in capability from detection and recognition of specific agents to complete coverage of CW, BW and sanitary laboratory work by larger units.
Individual decontamination kits are in use which neutralize mustard, Lewisite, or sulphur containing nerve agents. There is also equipment for personnel decontamination and steaming equipment for military clothing. (Armed Forces Chemical Journal, November- December 1960.)
Floating Drydock En Route to the Far East:
In late February a floating drydock, built in the Baltic Shipyard in Klaypeda, in the Soviet Union, was reported en route to the Far East for use by the fishing fleet in that area.
The expedition which sailed from the Baltic consisted of two tugs, Ispolnitelnyiy and Dozornyiy, and the diesel-electric cargo ship Arsenyev, under the general direction of Captain M. Malaksionov.
The trip, which is to cover 13,000 miles through eight seas, the Suez Canal and three oceans, is expected to take several months. (Vodnyiy Transport, 25 February 1961.)
Soviets Are Developing Air-Cushion River Boat: Flying river boat using the air cushion principle is reported under development by the Central Technical Design Bureau of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic’s Ministry of the River Fleet.
An experimental model will be built on twin pontoons and will carry 38 passengers and have a 34-mph. maximum speed, according to Pravda. Lift will be provided by two aircraft engines. A third engine mounted behind the cabin will propel the craft, which will be maneuvered by an aircraft-type rudder on the stern.
The Soviet Union is developing the craft to travel smaller and shallower streams than the hydrofoil, which also is under development by the Ministry of the River Fleet. {Aviation Week, 6 March 1961.)
First Soviet Gas Turbine Designed: TASS, the Soviet news agency, reports the completion of the design of the first Soviet gas turbine propulsion installation for tankers by the Kirov Works in Leningrad.
The Soviet unit is said to consist of two sections, each of which will have two compressors and two gas turbines for high and low pressure. The unit is rated at 13,000 horsepower. The weight and size of the installation is less than other, modern engines and the amount of metal used in the construction is two to three times less than that used in the construction of diesel or steam turbine installations.
The smaller size of the unit will enable the designers to reduce the size of the tanker’s engine room, thus increasing the capacity of the tanker, the report stated. Other advantages, according to TASS, include lower fuel consumption and the use of remote controls, to be located in the wheelhouse, to control both the engine and the controllable pitch propeller included in the design.
The first such unit is scheduled for production in 1961. {Vodnyiy Transport, 18 February 1961.)
Soviet Astrophysical Observatory: Pravda of 20 February carries an article on the new Crimean observatory, termed the largest in Europe. The article is signed by A. Severny, Director of the Astrophysical Observatory and corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, as well as by B. Ion- nisiani and P. Shelavitlyev, chief constructor and engineer respectively of the telescope- The new telescope, named after Academician A. Shein, has as the basis of its optical system a mirror 2.6 meters in diameter. The mirror,
weighing over 5 tons, was poured from special glass of low expansion coefficient. The article claims that some of the smallest stars in Mt. Palomar’s atlas (diameter of 2 seconds of arc) have been successfully photographed at the Shein installation. Prior to the establishment of the Crimean observatory, the most important such installation was that founded at Pulkovo near Leningrad in 1838.
Japan to Sweep Mines from Sea: Japan’s Defense Agency has planned a three-year mine sweeping operation to rid the seas of wartime mines that still float about and menace shipping.
The agency hopes to have 80 per cent of the dangerous areas cleared by 1963. Only 40 per cent were cleared after the first “Operation Mine Sweep” was completed in 1957. There are still dangerous areas in Japan’s Inland Sea.
The maritime self-defense force said about
65,0 mines were laid around Japan during the last war. Japan laid about 55,000 for defensive purposes. The others were laid by the Allies to block Japanese ports and harbors.
A fleet of 35 mine sweepers will be used during the clearing operation. (The Christian Science Monitor, 5 April 1961).
Six-Wheel-Driven Jeep for Swedish Army:
The biggest vehicle ever built in Sweden is a new jeep for the Army. Designed and constructed by the Scania-Babis Company, famous for their trucks and buses exported to many lands, it has been nicknamed “Myrs- loken,” which means the “Anteater.” It is six- wheel-driven and equipped with a six-cylinder diesel engine of 220 h.p. The jeep weighs just over ten tons, loads five tons on the platform at cross-country running and eight tons °n roads. On the top of the cab is the mount- mg for an anti-aircraft machine gun. The vehicle hauls a trailer with a 12-ton gun in fight terrain and 10 tons in heavy terrain, and a trailer of about 20 tons on roads. Thus, the total weight, on roads, is 38 tons, and in terrain, 25 tons. Top speed on roads is 75 kilometers an hour. (National Defense Transportation Journal, January-February 1961).
Italians’ Nuclear Tanker: A preliminary contract for a nuclear-powered tanker was signed here today by the National Committee for Nuclear Energy, the Ansaldo shipyards of Genoa and the Fiat Company of Turin.
Under the contract the national nuclear agency and the two industrial groups join their resources for the construction of a 23,100-horsepower vessel capable of a speed of seventeen knots. No data on the proposed tanker’s tonnage were made public. (New York Times, 18 March 1961.)
Italy’s Space Experiment: Italy has made a most successful start to a programme of space research, which is being conducted jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the National Council of Research. The vehicle used was a Nike-Cajun rocket, supplied by NASA, which was launched on Jan. 12 from the rocket range at Perdasdefogu in Sardinia. The second stage of the rocket reached a height of 170 km. and, in response to a command from the ground, released a stream of sodium vapour from an altitude of 90 km. to the top of its trajectory. The launching took place shortly before sunset in a clear sky. The sodium vapour was clearly visible to the naked eye and was successfully photographed by seven different observing stations situated in Sardinia and on the Italian mainland.
The purpose of the experiment was to obtain data of the density, temperatures, and coefficient of diffusion of the outer atmosphere, and of wind velocities. The detailed research Work involved in this experiment and those which are to follow is being undertaken by the University of Rome. (The Aeroplane and Astronautics, 27 January 1961.)
Paris—U. S., French Space Agreement:
French and American representatives have reached agreement in principle for a joint space probe in which French frogs and rats will be sent up in a United States Scout rocket, French space committee officials have announced. {The Christian Science Monitor, 25 March 1961.)
Aerospace—A Franco-British Approach: A
working basis for the future of aerospace development in Europe has been established by the alliance announced this week, of the Hawker Siddeley Group and the French aviation and missile consortium, SEREB. A
feasibility study, jointly prepared by the two organizations, was published simultaneously in London and Paris on Feb. 28.
This comprehensive document lists three main projects for consideration by the respective governments: (1) Civil communications satellites; (2) Civil navigation satellites, and (3) Military anti-satellite missiles.
The study discloses that Hawker Siddeley and SEREB have been working together for many months as a Franco-British Initiative Group for the purpose of analysing the aerospace potential in Europe. (The Aeroplane and Astronautics, 3 March 1961.)
Australia Selects Jet: It was announced here recently that Australian private and Federal Government aircraft factories would undertake almost complete manufacture of the French Mirage III jet-fighter for the Royal Australian Air Force, the Australian News and Information Bureau reports.
Late last year the Federal Government concluded agreement to purchase thirty of the aircraft as initial replacements for the Australian-made Avon Sabre jet-fighters currently in use by the R.A.A.F. The cost of the purchase amounted to about £30,000,000 Australian ($67,500,000) with spare parts and special equipment.
The Mirage III was selected to replace the Avon Sabre only after extensive examination of several fighters, including United States types. With maximum speed of about 1,500 miles an hour, it was said to have performance equal to, or better than, any fighter currently operational. (The New York Times, 9 April 1961.)
Malaya Buying Rifles: The Federation of Malaya has decided to adopt the self-loading 7.62-mm caliber rifle as a weapon for the federation’s armed forces, according to the Malayan Embassy in Washington.
An order has been placed with Australia’s Department of Supply and first shipments are expected shortly.
Much of the equipment in use in the Malayan Army is near obsolescence. (New York Times, 19 March 1961.)
Radio-Medical Aid in I960: The International Radio Medical Centre (CIRM) Rome,
handled over 8,000 medical messages, and arranged treatment for over 900 patients. Many hundreds of ships applied to CIRM for radio-medical assistance, and twenty-eight air-sea missions were undertaken. (Reeds' Marine Equipment News, March 1961.)
Panama Canal Short of Pilots: To meet a shortage, the Panama Canal is calling for shipmasters to train as pilots.
There is no emergency, such as arose two years ago when a sudden surge of traffic and a wave of retirements laid such heavy demands on qualified men that an accelerated program of recruitment became necessary.
But while there is yet no undue overtime, the authorized total of 130 pilots and trainees has fallen to 110. Many senior pilots are approaching the age of 62, when retirement is mandatory.
Whereas the average 8,000-ton freighter needs only one pilot, bigger bulk carriers require two to four. Some of the heavier ships have used six pilots for maneuvering through the continental divide.
Requirements are stiff for the man who would exchange his job as master or mate of a deep-sea vessel for about four runs a week of fifty miles each on different ships. But there are rewards, including the assurance of spending Christmas with the family.
A pilot must be 25 to 35, have a high school education and hold a license issued by the Coast Guard as master of steam or motor vessels. He must have served a year as chief mate of an ocean-going vessel of at least 1,000 gross tons.
Once hired for training, it would be eighteen months or more before a man could take a ship through the canal.
His first training is as a towboat master. After becoming familiar with canal harbors, piers and methods, he may qualify to accompany first the harbor pilots, then regular channel pilots. Meanwhile, he is undergoing hours of instruction on techniques for handling different types of craft.
After months as a probationary pilot on smaller craft or an assistant aboard the big ships, he becomes fully qualified.
While in training, his salary ranges from $10,358 to $11,629 yearly. When qualified, he receives $12,900. Senior men with more
than seven and a quarter qualified years get a top salary of $15,856. (New York Times, 5 April 1961.)
U. S. Lagging in Shipbuilding Methods:
A recent informal study just completed by high Navy officials of American shipbuilding methods has revealed “a very disturbing” lack of the latest modern techniques that are needed to construct the future nuclear surface naval vessels and deep-diving submarines.
The Navy technical experts agree with a recent British official report that Germany, Japan and Sweden lead the world in modern shipbuilding methods. Norway and Holland are close behind.
The British report did not list the United States as being ahead in any category. However, the other countries are admitted to be well in advance in equipment for metalshaping, in welding equipment and in modern methods of ship construction.
Navy officials revealed that for over a year the Navy has been urging private shipyards to modernize their plants in order to reduce costs and efficiently construct the latest designs of submarines and surface vessels.
Administration and Congressional leaders have been concerned about the increasing costs of naval vessels—$109,000,000 for a Polaris-type submarine and $285,000,000 for an atomic aircraft carrier, for example.
Against the background of excess shipbuilding capacity in the world, and the probable contraction in British shipyard production over the next few years, the report reaches these conclusions:
(1) The world shipbuilding industry is facing a major and probably prolonged recession.
(2) There is no indication that the United Kingdom shipbuilding industry has on balance any marked technical or economic advantage over its major foreign competitors, apart from its large home market.
(3) The total effort at present devoted to research and development in the field of shipbuilding and marine propulsion is insufficient in relation to the serious problems now facing the industry.
(4) In particular, almost no organized research has hitherto been applied to the industry’s production and management problems with the object of increasing the productivity of labor and capital and reducing costs.
(5) While adequate effort is probably being devoted to problems of hull resistance and propeller design, the development of propulsion installations is handicapped by the organizational structure of the industries producing propulsion units and auxiliaries, and in consequence by the insufficient use of available research facilities.
Many Navy officials believe these conclusions apply equally well to the United States shipbuilding industry. (New York Herald Tribune, 19 March 1961.)
Merchant Fleets to Grow: The rate of growth of the world’s merchant fleet, which slowed during 1959 and 1960, is expected to accelerate over the next two years.
By the end of 1962 the fleet is expected to total 131,500,000-gross tons, compared with
121.740.0 tons at the end of 1960.
A study of the growth of the fleet by W. G. Weston, Ltd., British shipping analysts, said that between 1955 and 1958 there was an annual compounded growth in the volume of tonnage of the fleet each year. By 1958 the growth rate was close to 8,500,000 tons annually. However, from 1959 on, largely because of an increasing rate of scrapping, this growth slowed to an annual increase of
5.300.0 tons in 1959 and 4,000,000 tons last year.
This year a net expansion of 4,400,000 tons is expected, while in 1962, the figure is expected to be 5,400,000 tons. The volume of new vessel completions in each of these years is expected to hold close to the 8,000,000-ton mark. More than 6,000,000 tons would be removed through layups and scrappings over the two-year period.
The increase in the world fleet between 1955 and the end of 1960, the study said, was
28.800.0 tons. Of this total, 15,000,000 tons were tankers. Dry cargo ships and passenger vessels at the end of 1960 accounted for 66 per cent, or 80,000,000 tons and tankers for 42,000,000 tons or 34 per cent.
A special section of the report dealing with dry cargo tramp vessels and tankers, said that, despite a depressed period of four years, the tramp fleet was now one quarter larger
than it had been at the end of 1956.
The tramp fleet’s growth during the four- year period from 1957 to 1960 has been uneven. By 1959, a decline was indicated because fewer new ships were being added and many tramp ships were being scrapped.
However, an upsurge of confidence in tramp shipping has reduced sales for scrap and has encouraged the ordering of new tonnage. (New York Times, 9 April 1961.)
Norse Cargo Ships Up: The Norwegian merchant fleet increased by 413,000 gross tons in 1960, to reach 11,209,000 tons, making it 40 per cent larger than the Swedish, Danish and Finnish fleets combined, according to News of Norway, a Norwegian Government publication.
Norway now has 2,798 merchant ships over 100 tons. Of these, 541 are tankers and total
6.133.0 gross tons.
As of Jan. 1, Norwegian ship-owners had contracted for delivery of 3,400,000 more gross tons over the next five years. Nearly 1,000,000 tons will be built at domestic shipyards.
Norway’s share of the world merchant fleet increased from 6.9 per cent in 1939, on the eve of World War II, to 8.6 per cent last year. In the same period, however, the Norwegian tanker fleet dropped from 18.5 per cent to 15.4 per cent of the world tanker total. (New York Times. 19 February 1961.)
Project Vanguard: Washington—(NAV-
NEWS)—The VANGUARD I satellite, placed in orbit three years ago, is still emitting radio signals and could possibly continue to transmit information for hundreds of years.
VANGUARD I had, as of March 17, orbited the earth 11,786 times, travelling
409.257.0 miles. By means of the satellite, scientists have made radio fixes which prove the earth is not round but slightly pearshaped.
VANGUARD I’s radio transmitter is powered by the sun, drawing energy through six square windows in the satellite which contain banks of solar batteries.
To date VANGUARD has been useful in determining variations of atmospheric density with respect to the rotation of the sun, demonstrating the effectiveness of solar cells
as sources of space power usable over long periods of time, demonstrating that the gravitational fields of the moon and sun modifying the orbits of earth satellites, demonstrating that the radiation pressure of the light from the sun modifies the movement of a satellite in its orbit, and demonstrating the effect of magnetic drag in slowing the rotational motion of metallic satellites.
Originally, VANGUARD was a project of the Office of Naval Research. Responsibility for the project was transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958. Most Naval Research Laboratory personnel who worked on VANGUARD were transferred to that agency.
Earth-Drill Ship: The first temperature measurements below the deep sea bottom were made April 17 by Mohole test ship Cuss I.
They gave natural scientists a start in determining the rate of the flow of heat from the earth’s interior.
When the third deep sea hole reached a depth of 490 feet below the ocean bottom, Dr. Richard von Herzen of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Jack McClellans of the Mohole scientific staff, lowered a needle-like probe into soft sediments 150 feet below the ocean floor.
They found the temperature 7°C., or about 45°F.
Measurements at the ocean floor in the same spot showed 1.6°C., or only slightly above freezing.
This data later will be compared with other ocean-floor readings to establish the rate of movement of heat from the terrestrial interior. Heat movement from the interior upward through the ocean has been a scientific puzzle. Although relatively low compared to landward heat flow, the rate still seems far higher than theory allows.
Precise measurements may illuminate facts of the earth’s formation and history.
A new method of measuring the deep ocean current, used by Robert Snyder, Mohole scientist, also showed current velocity and direction. At the 1,500-foot depth, velocity was two-tenths of a knot. This is believed to be the first time that deep-current ever was measured from a fixed position such as the Cuss maintains.
. The Icelandic Government has not dropped lts ultimate objective of a fishing limit exuding in places for about forty to fifty miles, ut it has agreed to give six months’ notice dore claiming any extension beyond twelve Utiles.
Britain Yields in Fish War: Britain and Iceland announced tonight they had agreed on terms to end their “little war’' over Iceland’s limits for fishing off her coast.
Destroyers, gunboats and fishing trawlers— "ath shots fired across bows—have been involved in the dispute, which has dragged on for nearly thirty months.
The controversy began with Iceland’s unilateral declaration in September, 1958, of a twelve-mile territorial sea limit and her exclusion of British trawlers from fishing within that twelve-mile zone.
Britain refused to recognize Iceland’s unilateral right to extend her territorial waters and sent warships to protect British fishermen who insisted on fishing within the disputed tvaters, which abound in fish. t( The agreed terms provide that Britain will uo longer object” to a twelve-mile fishing zone around Iceland. In return, Iceland, for a Tansitional period of three years, will permit British vessels in certain parts of a six-to- twelve-mile zone at certain times of the year.
However, the base-lines from which those units are measured have been redrawn in ccland’s favor. In four areas, particularly to Jhe southwest of Iceland, the lines run from headland to headland instead of following the mdentations of the coast.
The proposals still must be approved by 'he Althing (Parliament) in Reykjavik. Dispatches from the Icelandic capital said that the agreement, which concedes to Iceland hractically all she has demanded, was expected to be approved.
The agreement will come into operation as ^°n as notes are exchanged between the two
Governments.
In the event of any dispute about any such aim, it has agreed to accept the jurisdiction the International Court of Justice. (New 0rk Times, 28 February 1961.)
VVf
ar-Wrecks Survey: Another 23 wrecks, in addition to the 100 already known, have een found in the Dover-Dungeness area of the English Channel since the survey ship HMS Scott started working in this area in March 1960.
The increasing size of giant tankers made it necessary for the Royal Navy to take another look at the wrecks on the seabed of the English Channel of ships which were sunk in the two world wars. After the 1939-45 war, wrecks around the coasts were checked and depth-charged to give a clearance of at least 45 feet at low water, but in view of the increasing size of tankers it is thought that the clearance should now be 60 feet.
As a number of these wrecks now have a clearance of less than 45 feet, it is obvious that there has been some movement, but it is not at present definitely known what has caused it. Experts believe that it may be due to very strong tides in the vicinity and scouring currents which have lifted ships lying on their sides into upright positions.
HMS Scott has been fixing temporary beacons over the wrecks, and these beacons will eventually be replaced by permanent Trinity House buoys. (Merchant Navy Journal, October-December, 1960.)
ASW Research in Italy: Pennsylvania State University has been named to manage the antisubmarine warfare research center at La Spezia, Italy through Sirimar, the national Society for Marine Research.
The laboratory was organized in 1959 with nine NATO nations contributing scientists and technical data to help solve basic problems in the antisubmarine warfare field.
Policy direction for the research center is provided by the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in coordination with pertinent NATO agencies. Countries participating are Canada, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Italian government has provided laboratory buildings and other facilities.
Two major operating facilities have been acquired since the laboratory was formally commissioned: a 290-foot merchant ship, SS Aragonese, equipped as a seagoing research laboratory, and a large-scale digital computer. The center’s personnel on 1 December consisted of 25 scientists, 31 military representatives, and a supporting staff of 99.