FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0016.PDF
14 FLIGHT, 6 January 1961 be essential to conduct an all-stages-empty investigation. As atpresent conceived 450 Minutemen will be put into silos and 150 will be carried round the US railway system in special trains.Train-borne missiles will be protected within petal covers, opene i for firing. One model train has five missiles, seen elevated inFig 6 behind the locomotive and communications car of a second train. Fixed-base missiles will be held at almost instant readiness inlonely silos, guarded by a wire fence but devoid of human life. Launch crews (two officers) will live in underground steel capsulesmany miles away, inspecting the silos in their charge by helicopter from time to time (or when the alarm system warns of unauthor-ized entry to the site). Safe from nuclear attack for prolonged periods, the crew will know the status of each Minuteman fronithe master control panel. Picture 7 shows a mock-up, identical to Ml N UTEMAN (6) Model of Minuteman train. (7) Command control-console mock-up. (8) Communications car of train. (9) Mock-up silo at Seattle nozzles are made by many firms, those in the picture coming fromAllison. In the second illustration one can see the smoke halo whichalways shoots out of the silo ahead of the main first-stage exhaust. As the picture dramatically shows, the fierce first-stage flame fillsthe silo and streams out of the opening before the missile leaves. It was feared that it would severely damage the missile, andBoeing conducted 5,200 sub-scale tests to explore cold and hot flow before starting to build the first full-scale rig. Various typesof W and U silo, with ad hoc ducts for the rocket gas, were explored before it was decided simply to dig a hole, put in amissile and fire it. At Edwards AFB on September 15, 1959, the first full-scale silo shot took place (picture 3), and theprogramme with this silo was so successful that the final ten of the programmed 18 shots were eliminated. Even relatively simpletests of this nature need plenty of instrumentation (picture 4). Structural testing of the airframe was cw. w Boeing's respon-sibility, and recent illustrations depict the dynamic-test Minute- man suspended for a test in the Minuteman Developmental Center(picture 5), Seven flight conditions were simulated: launch; lst- stage engine part-filled, 2nd and 3rd full; lst-stage empty, 2ndand 3rd full; lst-stage disconnected, 2nd and 3rd full; 2nd-stage empty, 3rd full; 2nd-stage disconnected, 3rd full; 3rd-stage burn-out. This work is virtually complete, but if it becomes necessary to treat structural dynamics separately from fuel dynamics it may production panels except for variations in the number of missileshandled (20 in the mock-up). Seated at the panel is the command- ing general of SAC, Thomas S. Power, and talking to him is T. A.Wilson, Boeing's Minuteman programme manager. The concept of an ICBM fired from a train is not new, but inthe Minuteman programme has reached its zenith. Ten trains will form one squadron, and each will have three to five missiles;a typical train will consist of a launch car for each missile, one or two power cars, a launch-control car, a communications carand several Pullmans for the crews. The heart of the train will be the communications car (picture 8), equipped with very powerfulSSB radio and special aerial systems. It has not yet been deter- mined whether the USAF should keep a permanently crewed loco-motive on each train or whether the trains should thumb rides on the back of passing freights (a cheaper, but less controllable,method). Autonetics have developed a gyrocompass system for precise position-fixing, and missiles could be launched from anylocation, although for best accuracy the train would come to rest in a predesignated siding. A major hurdle surmounted by the Minuteman system was therecent successful completion of the development engineering inspection at Seattle. In the ninth illustration Cols James H.Foster (AMC Ballistic Missile Center) and Samuel Phillips (Minuteman programme director for AFBMD) are poised withT. A. Wilson on the brink of the mock-up silo. SINGAPORE'S NINE-DAY AIR SHOW A NINE-DAY international air show is being held at SingaporeAirport, Paya Lebar, from April 8 to 16 this year. It has been planned in conjunction with the opening of a new operationsblock at the airport, and as part of the "Visit the Orient Year" being organized for 1961. On three of the days, April 8, 12 and 16,there will be flying displays. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Toh Chin Chye, hasextended an invitation to aircraft operators and manufacturers to attend, and among countries which have already expressedinterest are Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Holland, Japan and the Soviet Union. The SBAC is not beingofficially represented, but the main groups in the British aircraft industry have intimated their intention to exhibit, as have Rolls-Royce, Handley Page and Scottish Aviation. The US industry is being represented by Lockheed, Sikorsky and Bell; the Russiansare sending a Tu-104; West Germany is showing radar, airfield lighting and electronic telecommunications equipment; Japan'sexhibit will consist mainly of radio electronics. BOAC are show- ing a Comet and Boeing 707, and the RAF and CommonwealthAir Forces are participating. All enquiries should be addressed to the Singapore InternationalAir Show, c/o Masters (1959) Ltd, 16c Cecil Street, Singapore. US CLAIM RECORDS A CLAIM for a long-distance closed-circuit flight record hasbeen made by die USAF for a B-52G which landed at Edwards AFB, Cal, recently after flying 10,000 miles non-stop withoutrefuelling. It had taken off from Edwards at a gross weight of 480,0001b, with a crew of seven commanded by Lt Col R. Grissom,and was airborne for 19hr 45min. Previous record was 8,854 miles by a B-29 in August 1947. The US Navy has also claimed a world record for another flightmade recently from Edwards, by a North American A3J Vigilante which climbed to a height of 91,450ft (over 17 miles) with a pay-load of 1,000kg. Pilot and navigator were Cdr L. A. Heath and Lt H. L. Monroe. The existing record height for this load, 67,096ft,was set up by a Russian aircraft last year.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
