http://www.texastower.com/news_soutjerseyi.htm

An Air Force platform in the Atlantic in 1961.

http://www.americanheritage.co.....4_32.shtml

That’s a great magazine by the way. One of my favorites.

I bet that’s how many would be needed for a base on the Moon!

Do you have information on the disaster at sea I mentioned?
I’m sure it was covered in one of the “Engineering Disaster” episodes on “The History Channel”.

Jayessell - this was before the widespread use of computers and before missiles. Most of the facilities weren’t linked by coax - how do you string a line of coax through 500 miles of completely barren muskeg or dense forest? Even if you could, the wire wouldn’t survive a month of wind, cold, and animals in the north. The facilities were first linked by radio, then by microwave transmissions, and finally by satellite.

How many men would they need? They’d need at least three men to keep the radar receiver and the radio or microwave antenna in condition, given the large size of many of the parts. They’d need at least three radio operators to operate the link between the facility and the central site 24/7. They’d need men to interpret the radar, since in 1950 it was likely difficult to transmit the radar returns directly. They’d need a weather observer (all facilities had one). They’d need security to prevent local hunters from using the site as a base (and to prevent espionage). They’d need a cook, a nurse, and cleaning staff.

The personnel could easily top 20 at even the smallest, most remote facility.

a) Shouldn’t that be underground rather than at the top of the dome?
b) Is there a name for the WACs or WAFs that move markers on a huge chart using long sticks? (Marker movers, I suppose.)
c) Hopefully nothing noteworthy will happen off the coast of South Carolina. That’s where the trap door is.
d) Are those 60″ monitors along the circular wall? Sweet!

And in the first illustration…

a) Troops exercise under the radar dish? While it’s on??? I’d run to keep under the counterweight!
b) If this “rock” is emitting thousands of watts of microwaves, is it really undetectable? Isn’t there a air to ground missile specificly designed to destroy radar antennas?
c) Are the radar signals piped by coaxial cable to Central Command? Who is it who HAVE to be at the radar site? Besides the guy who changes the tubes.

About the article:

a) Chinook helicopters are not quiet when landing. At least the pilots hope they aren’t.
b) Weren’t there actually some of these radar sites built at sea on oil rig-like platforms?
One failed during a storm and killed most of the crew.

To the webmaster:
How do you recreate the text of the article? Optical Character Recognition?
I ask because somehow “pre-cious” became “previous”.