[ARC5] Video discussing the loss of the Lady Be Good

[Tim]

I would assume that aviation navigators were pretty well trained before
they deployed.  But there is a big difference between being trained - and
being experienced.  And a further difference in using that knowledge while
on a combat mission "on your own" once you get disoriented, at night...

Sure, ded (dead) reckoning from point A to point B with course, speed,
winds and distance to landfall is a textbook no-brainer.  No electronic
aids necessary...How hard is it to hit the African coast?  A quick sextant
sight of the North Star would tell you if you were over the Med or over
Africa....But then again - if it was easy, everyone would be doing
it....LOL    These situations provide lots of opportunities to make
mistakes....  Huge responsibilities....Glad I'm just an armchair navigator!

On following reciprocal bearings:  Sounds like the 5 TBM Avengers in the
Bermuda Triangle....probably a similar loss of situational awareness, then
panic...  Or the 7 destroyers in formation that ran aground near Vandenberg
AFB in the 1920's....

"There but for the grace of God go I......"

Tim
N6CC

On Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 10:44 AM, Kenneth G. Gordon <
kgordon2006 at frontier.com> wrote:

> On 30 Dec 2014 at 8:27, Mike Hanz wrote:
>
> > On 12/29/2014 11:53 PM, kgordon2006 at frontier.com wrote:
> > > As I remember it, the Lady Be Good had no ADF, which is Automatic
> Direction
> > > Finder. It had a "Football" loop and a receiver (like the BC-453) with
> a loop
> > > connection which could be used to easily determine a bearing to a known
> > > transmitter, like an NDB. None of these systems had a way to resolve
> the 180
> > > degree ambiguity on a single bearing to an unknown station: there had
> to be at
> > > least two bearings to known stations in order to triangulate a
> position.
> >
> > I'm a little puzzled, Ken.
>
> Don't be: as I said, "As I remember it...". Obviously my memory is faulty.
> I
> also will sometimes bring up things like this in order to be "corrected" by
> those, like you, who know far more than I.
>
> >  These were new B-24D aircraft, the year was
> > 1943, and the standard issue for the aircraft at the time was the
> > SCR-269-C automatic direction finder, which definitely has both the
> > "football" loop and vertical whip sense antennas that work together to
> > eliminate ambiguity.  Of course, the navigator needs to remember to
> > place the control box function control in the "compass" position rather
> > than the "loop" position in order to obtain the unambiguous result of
> > both antennas.  After passing the radio station, the radio compass would
> > have automatically swung around and pointed backwards to the station
> > again.  The arrow point of an I-82-A compass is *unmistakable* unless
> > one is blind.  Perhaps that pointing backwards was what caused the
> > "navigator" to report that his ADF was broken?
>
> Well, after reading that short note that Wayne (?) posted concerning the
> navigator who although royally screwing up the mission to Norway, still
> came
> out smelling like a rose, IMHO, the navigator on the LBG was the main
> problem, although there were other, less important issues, with the ground
> stations.
>
> Again, IMHO, the navigator is at least as important as the pilot on
> missions
> such as the LBG's first, and, sadly, only, one.
>
> Too bad so many navigators were, obviously, so poorly trained...
>
> I had also wondered about the effects of AGC on weak signals with ADF. I'm
> glad someone (W6MAB?) brought that up.
>
> Lastly, how effective was the SCR-269? Was it easy to use, work well, etc?
>
> I've always wanted a really good, effective, working ADF system....
>
> At one time, many years ago, I was given a brand-new MN-26, but with no
> accessories. What a beautifully-made piece of equipment! I always wished I
> had been able to get it completed. It is long gone now.
>
> Ken W7EKB
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