[ARC5] Testing battleship radios

[J. Forster]

There are standard shock tests pretty much like that. They are done on a
stand, composed of a platform on vertical steel rode with linear bearings,
like Thomson Ball Bushings.

The gear is bolted to the platform, the platform raised a few feet and
held by a magnet or fast-acting latch. The gear is often instrumented with
piezoelectric accelerometers.

The test is done by starting the recorders and relesing the platform. When
the platform hits a somewhat compliant pad underneath the platform, the
gear is subjected to a known, repeatable shock pulse.

It is very scary to see one of your instruments subject to this treatment,
but it is required for aero-space hardware.

Best,

-John

==================





> On 3 Nov 2012 at 8:28, Robert  Eleazer wrote:
>
>> One of my high school teachers, an early 1930's graduate of the Naval
>> Academy, described testing radios intended for use on WWII Navy ships.
>>
>> They tested the radio to ensure it was up to spec, then hung it from a
>> long rope, pulled it back, and let it slam into a steel wall.  Then
>> they took it down and tested it again.  It not only still had to work;
>> if it had shifted frequency by more than 1 KC it failed.
>
> Well, I dunno about that particular test, but I DO know that Grumman would
> drop-test their airplanes to test the strength of their landing gear.
>
> The Hellcat was finally hauled to the top of the factory ceiling, about 30
> feet
> as I recall it, and dropped. No damage occurred.
>
> I don't know if it had all its radio gear installed at the time.
>
> Ken W7EKB
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