TRIP REPORT TO WATERTOWN STRIP DURING USCM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP57-00011A001000190067-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2010
• Sequence Number: 67
• Publication Date: July 27, 1956
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/08: CIA-RDP57-00011A001000190067-3
27 Ju1- 1956
M1OhORAJM FOR: DRWO OF OP'hh>tATIONS
5U5J10! : Trip Report to Watertow Strip Wrift W=
1. visit to Nfoan*
and I visited the fuon plant to introduce
the people rrow Qhrcon and the photographic equipment. Mr.
::=conducted me through the plant showing and
describing the various ,ysts s. Later we had an informal conference
to discuss .gulp sat psrformsnce and r'hUsbili'~? The subject of
their recommendation of the use of "B" cawsra me discussed and Wro
a 55% reliability faster at present, would obtain acre coverage and
of better quality than the 4-Z q stwn ruaaing 1". It was based an
this point that he recommended using the "B" camera opera fob h,
now. After our discussion o~ the present Pall a,T
of this camera, he agreed that there ehaa34 be further teesstingat
Watertown Strip before sending it overseas. A sop?
ember of flights smug the "a' .wssra up to and including the
18 July 56 is attacked (*V), Ibis reaard iadicatea that the major
causes or malibncties have been the shatter. This shutter, a type
of "Rapidgne", apparently has an endurance factor of &W 27
1800 cycles briers it reaahee a point of metal fatigue. The blades
prlaarily break dove: and knit. into each other. Notmvrer, there have
been other types of malfunction such as abetter springs, drive shafts,
and bearing failaer which base been carerested. Us now abutter
design mal-be a salutis to the shutter problem but could have some
buds to work out before it would be somaid red acceptable. The rate
of progress to aaseptabla reliability of the "B" era Imw is been
ne-
.xssptiWeoaliy deed iy so"parisen to a saran]. pregra . it
worthy that the last two filghts of the {>OCM ware acceptable. I
belle" that the fallthore"WLY acy of's~stre mendatim to sand the "BW
eod and it is agreed that
caueaar et "W"" is
.xhaaaetivre testing to correct the malftions and raise the
do~pendabiuty level of the oa : a to an acceptable degree should be
&ccg plashed.
A discussion concerning the camera malfunctions regarding
the operational use of A-2 configuration was conducted and it
determined that these would be thors&(nl,T Investigated
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corrective action takes. They admit that some of these are inex-
cusable and promise to take the necessary steps through their
Technical Representatives overseas to prevent recurrences.
Ioon had just returned from Eastman and
reported that at Eastman needed .T0 mn tracker film to
process for training purposes. Eastman has a considerable amount
of unprocessed film from the "B" camera configuration exposed
during PTP*s .
The senior Rroon Tech Rep for "B" Flight
will visit Project Headquarters 9 - 10 August.
The MO
Generally, from my observation of the Unit Undated
Combat Missions conducted by Plight "B", there was cs -onstrated a
high degree of combat readiness. The briefings, debriefings and
critiques were conducted in a business Like marm r consuming a
minimum amownt of time and effectively accomplishing their objective.
Maintenance and logistic support was performed adequately
with few exceptions. These exceptions were:
a. Abort due to flaasout caused by improper throttle
management after rough engine operation iwsdiateiy after take off
required Pilot to oaks landing with gross load*
shorte
be Oq"gen malfunction causing the Pilot to cut his mission
c. Oil pressure gage probably would have delayed take off
if mission had not been cancelledo
d. The Auto-Pilot gave most of the pilots considerable
trouble and in some cases it was turned off completely with the pilot
flying the entire missions normally. This practically negated the
use of the drift sight for most pilots found insufficient time to
monitor the drift sight controls properly and keep the auto pilot
under control simsltaneonsly. As a result most of the pilots we
receiving too little experience in the use of the drift sight and
should the "C" camera be phased into the program in the now future,
it is doubtful if they would hwe the desired proficiency in use of
this squiprsat.
The difficulties encountered by the U-2 pilots with regard
to the use of the drift sight was a lack of a satisfactorily etched
card to assist with t targets quickly in the sights. Its use is
furthe#+~ lie t d - '!' fact that there are mermen light and dark
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shadow lens in the drift sight presentation which are aggravated by
the intensely bright light at altitude. The argument that this drift
sight is not really a drift sight but just a viewer to be used with
the C equipment is not really correct. It must be operative as a
drift eight in order for the pilot to be able to make the correct
drift and track mark settings which in turn are used by the C computer.
If the pilot is not able to set these knobs quickly such as is the case
in the present equipment, then this equipment is useless with the C
equipment. We have run six flight tests to date for the purpose of
gathering data for checking the drift sight operation which still shows
(1) that the drift knob is hardly ever set correctly in front. In fact,
on straight and level runs there will be several settings of the drift
knob appearing for both left and right drift. This is corroborated by
the observations of the training people and other pilots. Further,
several times it appears that two Lines are ride at LSO? to each other
where both have left or right drift as much as 5?. On one test made
with the drift knob purposely held at 0 the tracking knob was apparently
able to be set quite accurately. (2) The tracking function of the drift
sight is very Jarupy. This erratic tracking appears to be caused by slot
in the gearing and seeme to follow about a 4-second period. In other
wards, if the tracking knob was set correctly the drift sight will track
the ground for about four seconds and then lose track for about a
second and let the terrain pass under in one spot and pick up tracking
again for about four seconds axe and then repeat. (3) An old problem
with the drift eight that has never been corrected is the fairly blunt
corners on the etched card which cause lines and yellow and blue
shadows to appear on the drift eight presentation, These were noticed
in early drift eight operations but were assumed to disappear at
altitude because of the infinite focus required by the pilot to see
the grounds, but the opposite is true. These lines and shadows become
more aggravated at altitude because of the non-intensity of light and
thus, air one of these Lines or shadows will fill up his whole pupil
and contuse the ground view mach mare readily than is apparent in
testing the drift sight in a darkened room. As a result of the above,
the following steps want be taken to make the drift sight operational:
(1) A means of obtaining accurate drift measurements mast be incorpor-
ated. To do this a piece of plexi-glass with vertical lines inscribed
on it will be installed in a drift sight head. This plezi-glass will
be moveable by the pilots so he can line up the lines with the terrain
moving underneath him. There would be markings so that when he had
this lined up he can read his true accurate drift. This is done with
the drift sight looked in the vertical detent. This will permit accurate
drift reading to be obtained which is then not into the drift knob by
the pilot. Thereafter, he has only to work the tracking knob in order
to stop the ground presentation since the main drift has been accurately
set into the control. This drift can also be rechecked at any time with
the drift sight control handles again in the vertical detent. Sets of
tlg~ ~!azdrift cards and associated retainers are being made to
uii t~ Ym6 ";the tests in Detachment B aircraft. The prisms which
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are causing the lives and shadows in the presentation must be replaced
with prisms with sharp corners, and arq other optical fixes to correct
the situation must be incorporated. It is obvious that it is possible
to practically eliminate this condition because a few of the drift
sights are not as aggravating as others. One of the reasons that the
tracking needle is Jumping is because of the friction in the flexible
control tables and their :and attachments. The and attachment problem
is such that it depends upon the individual mechanic as to how tight
he makes the connection between the gearing and the flexible table.
The above items not be incorporated immediately bpr Perkin Elmer through
the kit system or by factory overhaul. A flight test program with the
drift cards in place will continue to be conducted by Lockheed and the
training people which should result in four flights aweek. This data
will be used to determine the operational suitability of the drift
sight for use as a navigational device and for the future use of the
C equipment. In conjunction with this flight test program an intensive
pilot training and maintenance program with regard to correct drift
sight operations meat be conducted by the drift sight manufacturer.
This means that Perkin Elmer personnel qualified to make area operational
decisions must be available to the ranch until all the problems are
licked. Whenever such people had appeared at the ranch, they were kept
comfortably busy but they were always forced to leave before tying up
the loose ends. The above program should result in operational drift
sights. If sufficient improvement cannot be made to make the sight
operational, then it must be regarded simply as a 45-lb. viewfinder
whose future capability with C equipment is questionable. As a further
sidelight on this operation, it is noted that the drift sight is being
redesigned for the follow-on articles. The basic redesign involved
here is the use of the 400 cycle service system in place of the
mechanical and flexible table drag now used. It should be noticed
that the only problem of the above that this 411 solve is the one
involving the sporadic tracking function. There will still be the same
difficulties encountered by the pilots in trying to set in both drift
and track with the knobs closely as expected to be at present. No
matter how smooth the tracking function is made, the pilots will still
have to go through--and process of setting the track line--then the
drift line--than the track line-then the drift knob, etc., constantly
minimizing his error until it is eliminated. The drift card installation
will still be necessary in the servo driven system.
Lt. Colonel,USAF
Attachment:
Box Score "B" Config.
~t ~t C' P w
PBD:aoQ
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