79

OverviewVersionsHelp

Here you can see all page revisions and compare the changes have been made in each revision. Left column shows the page title and transcription in the selected revision, right column shows what have been changed. Unchanged text is highlighted in white, deleted text is highlighted in red, and inserted text is highlighted in green color.

2 revisions
Wjhoward at Apr 10, 2017 12:15 AM

79

(f) Arrange for the establishment of an appropriate system whereby all users of RADAR beacons are promptly notified of outages or defects.

(g) Prepare and disseminate operating instructions for RADAR beacons.

(h) Obtain and analyze operational reports from users and from field activities in the interest of bettering the service rendered to navigators using RADAR beacons.

(i) Advise the Communications Officer as to communication facilities required.

An Assistant Aids to Navigation Officer, especially trained in electronic aids, was assigned to the District to work particularly in this field.

When the transfer of RACONS from Navy to Coast Guard was pending, the Commanding Officer of the Blimp Squadron 33 at Tillamook, Oregon, fearing the coastal RACONS might be discontinued, set forth the importance of the RACON to his command as follows: "The airship, a slow moving aircraft designed to operate in conditions of reduced visibility at a low altitude, has, when such weather conditions exist, become dependent upon the coastal RACON Stations located clear of all interference of land masses as a primary method of making a landfall...... It is often difficult to identify portions of the coast in the P. P. I. (position plot indicator) scope due to the similarity of the received images of the bays and capes of this coastline. The airships position is immediately and positively verified upon timing in the RACON signals". This gave evidence that the earlier stigma of "inefficient operation and improper maintenance" of the RACONS was being eliminated. In five months of operation, under the Coast Guard supervision, nine failures occurred but only one RACON lost actual operating time (2 hours 15 minutes) as the standby units were switched on in all other instances. The following table shows the usage of the 13th Naval District existing RACONS during the June, July and August months of 1945:

-59-

79