[ARC5] ZB discussion!

[Bob Macklin]

I don't remember anyone saying the ZB could be used to navigate to an enemy 
target. In 1942 that was done with DEAD RECKONING! In that period of time 
DEAD RECKONING was the first thing we learned. I was in the USAF during and 
after the Korean war. Our fighters had ARN-6 radio compass systems. The 
major airfields had NDBs in proximity but not necessarily on the field.

The pilots often called the tower for a DF STEER.

Bob Macklin
K5MYJ
Seattle, Wa.
"Real Radios Glow In The Dark"
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Hanz" <aaf-radio-1 at aafradio.org>
To: "Discussion of AN/ARC-5 military radio equipment." 
<arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 10:09 AM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] ZB discussion!


> Gee, I dunno, Bob.  If you go to the link to the 29 March 1941 manual I
> gave earlier today, you'll see that the Navy called the ZB-3 by the term
> "Homing Adapter Equipment" and it was used on both carriers and
> (primarily for the USAAF) at fixed airfields.  No mention of navigation
> in the entire manual, that I can recall, but I'll check again just to be
> sure.  The "Evolution of Naval Radio-Electronics and Contributions of
> the Naval Research Laboratory" shows photos of the first ZB, and the
> caption reads, "The primary aircraft-to-carrier radio homing system used
> by all carriers and their aircraft during WWII.  The models YE-ZB."  If
> you want to consider a homing system as a subset of navigation, fine.
> To me, it's not worth debating the fine points of the taxonomy...too
> reminiscent of arguing the number of angels that can dance on the head
> of a pin.... :-)     I think it's clear to all that a homing system
> would be of little use for the original problem of navigating to a
> predetermined Japanese held island with a mission to find and intercept
> Yamamoto.
>
> 73,
>  - Mike
>
> On 5/24/2010 12:30 PM, Bob Macklin wrote:
>> In 1942 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean this was a NAVIGATION SYSTEM!. 
>> It
>> was the way the airplane found their carriers when they were returning 
>> from
>> their missions. Carriers are not link airfields. THEY MOVE! THEY MUST 
>> MOVE!
>>
>> What you may consider a navigation system today is much different from 
>> what
>> was available in 1942!
>>
>>
>
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