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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 2316.PDF
224 FLIGHT OCTOBER 2ND, 1941. PORTABLE AERODROME LIGHTING Boundary and Floodlighting for Emergency Fields COMPLETE sets of aerodromeboundary lights that can bemoved by air transport, and self-contained floodlight units mounted on motor trucks built for rough cross country travel, have been developed by the Materiel Division of the U.S. Army Air Corps at Wright Field, Ohio. This equipment is designed for temporary and semi-permanent light- ing of new landing fields acquired by the Air Corps in its programme of expanding facilities for national defence. Two of the portable light- ing sets are being supplied to each Aircraft squadron for illuminating normally unlighted fields for night take-offs and landings without reveal- ing location of the fields to possible enemy aircraft. Packed in lightweight trunks for air transport, a complete set of boundary lights weighs 1,800 lb. Cable for connect- ing the lamps is carried on a reel provided with wheels for quick and easy reeling and unreeling. Current is supplied A sturdy four-wheel drive cross-country truck carries the floodlight and its complete power plant. by a lightweight power plant that delivers 300 watts at no volts. The set includes two green lights for the approach end of a field, white lights for both sides and amber lights for the far end, all mounted on cones about i8in. high, and red obstacle-lights mounted on specially designed telescopic masts having a maximum height of 41ft. Connecting cable is merely laid on the ground in temporary installations, but for extended use is buried to afford protection from wheels and weather. The lamps can be arranged to outline a 400 by 5,200ft. landing strip or a general area, or as a string of lights up to io.oooft. long. To conceal location of the field from enemy observation from above, specially designed hoods are provided which restrict vertical light distribution to angles used in making landing approaches, and the power plant voltage can be reduced to one-tenth the normal out- put, sufficient for making night landings. Self-Contained and Adjustable The mobile floodlight units are transported on tour- wheel-drive ij-ton trucks fitted with special bodies for mounting both power plant and floodlight. The power plant consists of a petrol engine, 32-volt 9 kW. generator, fuel tank, electric ".tarter and battery, all contained in a weatherproof, ventilated steel case. The light unit has six lamps supported on a telescopic pedestal mounted on the truck platform at the rear of the power plant. The lamps are of 32-volt. 1,500-watt capacity and are contained in Fresnel lens housings ground and polished to illuminate a sector of 90 deg. suitable ror night landings. The telescopic pedestal and universally adjustable lamp mounting enable the lamps to be elevated and inclined as desired. The rugged trucks, specially designed for pulling through mud and climbing steep banks, are assigned to certain stations as regular equipment. When permanent lighting is installed at these new fields they will then be trans- ferred to emergency landing fields. Each floodlighting unit has six lamps with Fresnel lenses mounted on a telescopic pedestal. The mounting can beturned or inclined as desired. For Dropping Petrol A N unburstable container [or dropping petrol supplies •**• from low-flying aircraft is described in Indian Avia- tion. Developed by the Directorate of Scientific and Industrial Research in India, the container is made of canvas and plastic materials, and tanks in the two gallon size are reported to have withstood the impact of drops from heights of 75 and ioott. The Army is making further experiments. It is claimed for the tank that it is lighter and less liable to damage than the ordinary steel container.
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