St. Anthony, NF

Communications, one of the most important factors contributing to the problem of isolation, found itself in very good shape after April 12th when all our Pole Vault circuits went into operation.

Support from the 6615th A&S was somewhat inconsistent being both poor and good although at no time did more than two weeks elapse between aircraft. In the later part of April and first of May we passed through a period when the ice was too thin to support the landing of aircraft and yet the SA-16’s could not land because of the ice. A dilemma, to say the least, which was increased by the fact that helicopter pilots were very scarce items at this time. Poor weather also interrupted aircraft support, but during this quarter it was fog and poor visibility that held up flying, not the wind and snow so prevalent during previous months.

During the month of May the first ships of the season appeared in Saint Anthony harbor, after pushing their way through the jam ice. The first Air Force boat brought the Canadian Marconi overhaul team which worked on communication and radar equipment. With the overhaul team were the radome painters. Although the shipping season has started, as of the end of the quarter, we haven’t received appreciable quantities of supplies via water transportation.

The commander was absent from 27 April until 21 May for the purpose of attending a commanders conference at 64th Air Division (Defense), Pepperrell Air Force Base. He was replaced during this period by Captain Guydell Ward.

During the month of June a volunteer team of ten men was organized as a clean up detail. This detail soon acquired the name of "Goon Platoon". Despite such an unflattering title, they did an excellent job of cleaning up the outside plant. Their most outstanding accomplishment was the moving out of sight and neatly stacking several thousand old rusty fuel and gasoline barrels that had been carelessly strewn about the Contractors Camp in previous years. As a reward for their excellent job all members of the detail were given a three day pass at the end of June.

Living quarters were inadequate during most of the quarter due to the large numbers of TDY personnel, and the arrival of the radome painting team. Seventeen members of the painting team were housed in the general warehouse.

The roof leaks have not left us and have been extremely prevalent throughout the quarter. Temporary repairs were made on the roofs by AIO and those sections where the leaks were the worst. Throughout the quarter tin cans, wash tubs and waste paper baskets were scattered about in the hallways and buildings in an attempt to catch the water, protect the floors, and keep the men from swimming about.

The most outstanding event during this period has been the increase of our search capability due to the installation of the FPS-502 back-up search set. The Canadian Marconi installation team arrived on the site on April 4^th and immediately began the installation. Although the team worked long hours the installation was not ready for trial runs until April 30^th, and runs were not completed until May 12^th. The installation was accepted and the FPS-502 phased into the radar network on 12 May, subsequent operation has been acceptable.

To further our operational capability the remaining Pole Vault microwave circuits became operational during this period. Although we had had previous contact with N-25 (Gander, NF) and N-27 (Cartwright, Labrador), our first direct contact with N-23 (Stephenville, NF), our parent ADCC, was 1000Z on April 12^th. During the day of April 13^th all five of the programmed circuits to N-23 became operational. This concluded the installation of tactical circuits to us, and on April 20^th all tactical voice circuits and one teletype circuit were phased into the net.

Operation during the late May and all of June has been hectic because of annual overhaul and radome painting. Both the overhaul and painting teams arrived just a few days before the end of May and as of the end of June the painting team is still valiantly trying to complete their work. Both teams fell behind schedule, the radome team having most of their troubles because of inclement weather. As of the end of June they were about one full days work away from completion.

Throughout the squadron more emphasis has been placed on training of all kinds. Many OJT package programs have been ordered and some have been received. The OJT supervisors of every section have been asked to put more emphasis on their training programs.

General Military Training and Defense Training are progressing also, although the latter has suffered setbacks due to inclement weather. Construction of a firing range had to wait until the ground had dried out enough for a bulldozer to work. Even then the work progressed slowly due to weather. With the completion of the range in late June we immediately set out getting as many personnel out on the range in a short a time as possible. The last three days of June we were able to give familiarization firing to 75% of the assigned personnel and still conduct normal operations.

Several personnel changes have occurred during this period. 2^nd Lt. Homer M Simmons, a controller, rotated on 1 June and his replacement arrived the same day, a fortunate situation which is quite out of the ordinary. The new controller, 1^st Lt. John R McDougall is well qualified. He is a 1644 with a great deal of experience. Two 27370’s also arrived. They are M/Sgt. Howard H Hudgens, who is now performing duties as the NCOIC Operations, and S/Sgt. William G Harmon, who has bolstered the strength of the operations crews.

We have completed the OJT and upgrading of eight airmen to 27350 and have been able to place three NCO’s on OJT for 27370. All have taken the APT and are awaiting upgrading at this time. An additional eight are on OJT for 27350 and have taken the test. As is quite evident, the OJT program has upped our operational skill level a great deal.

During this quarter our controllers have been getting a great deal more experience in running practice intercepts than at any time in the past. This is a step in the right direction and the more practice the better.

During this quarter the work load for the electronics section was greatly increased by the addition of the AN/FPS-502 back up search radar. Fortunately for this section, along with the increased work load came the addition of several more men to handle the work. One Canadian Marconi resident engineer departed and was replaced by Mr. GDA Fiegehen some time later. The following airmen were assigned during this quarter and carried the specified AFSC’s: A/1C GW Day, 30352; A/2C AR Allen, 30332C; A/2C DE Brown, 30332; A/2C EG Schmidt, 30352; and A/2C KD Shyrock, 30332. Lt. FW Schlager, Assistant Electronics Officer returned from his leave just in time for the Electronics Officer Lt. Arvin L Olson to depart for Goose Air Base to acquire flying time.

With the increased test equipment, etc. from the installation of the Back Up Search it became necessary to relocate the electronics office in the former "break room" of the operations wing. The new location has proved very satisfactory. Other changes included the construction of a small room on the upper dais of the operations room for housing the 15-J-1C simulator and back up communications equipment along with the L5-10 monitoring speakers.

On 22 May the Canadian Marconi overhaul team arrived and later completed their repair and calibration of all test equipment. They also completed the 10,000 hour overhaul of the FPS-3. The overhaul team modified and repaired the 400 cycle motor-generator on the FPS-502 which later broke down and was sent back to the CMC Depot for repair. A spare unit was later received and installed.

The radome painting team arrived on 22 May also, but poor weather has slowed down their operation, and at the end of the quarter the painters still had at least one days work left. When completed, the radomes will have five coats of rubber paint, two black and three white, with white being the outer color. The layers of rubber paint will be topped with a coat of silicon wax.

On 17 June the Air Force calibration team arrived to check true and magnetic north’s and to gather data on lobe angles and signal returns. Their work proved quite satisfactory and our radar was within all limits.

The electronics section has established a training program which schedules each airman ten hours a week. The program should be of great value in increasing the skill level of the airmen which is generally low in this section.

The second quarter of 1955 saw a number of changes for the Communications Section as Project Pole Vault took over the entire point-to-point load. Pole Vault teletype was activated on 14 April and HF was used only as backup thereafter. Even in their backup condition the HF circuits continued to be a source of trouble. On 18 May a directive, (which referenced a previous directive never received by this unit) outlawing the use of continuous test tapes was received. From then on, test tapes were limited to 5 minutes each and a total of only 15 minutes out of each hour. Under these conditions it was extremely difficult to establish teletype contact on HF. On 24 May a directive was received calling for HF radio silence, and HF was not used for the remainder of the quarter.

The air-ground situation improved considerably with the arrival of the four LS-10 speakers mentioned in the last report. The speakers arrived on 27 April, and their installation greatly simplified the monitoring of UHF and VHF channels.

On 23 May, a team of Marconi overhaulers arrived, and the Transmitter site was a shambles for the next two weeks. A large number of parts were found faulty, and there were not always parts to replace them. Consequently two HF transmitters which were operating before the overhaul were partially out by the time the team left. However, in spite of the shortage of replacement parts, the team managed to give all of the air-ground equipment a thorough overhaul, and the team members were able to advise our own maintenance personnel on how to improve maintenance and trouble-shooting procedures on the sets in the future. The radio silence imposed an obstacle to the team that the HF transmitters and DDR-2 receiving banks could not be given a complete operational check. On 17 June, Captain Earl A Leger arrived to replace 1^st Lt. William R Hughes, who was due for rotation, as Communications Officer.

A blow to morale was the 64^th Air Division’s sudden reversal of the policy under which persons at isolated sites like this one could take a morale leave or an ordinary leave to the ZI. The change was explained in terms of conserving manpower which is logical especially considering the transportation problems involved at isolated areas. However, its incisive suddenness, canceling all leaves planned and approved but not yet begun as of that moment cannot be understood by the persons involved.

By far the best policy change of this period was the decision to allow this organization to use the International Grenfell Association Hospital in St. Anthony for non-emergency cases. This has already been of incalculable benefit to this organization.

After a three month delay, this squadron received the results of airmen proficiency testing from last December. When the channels for sending these tests and their results were coordinated with Goose Air Base, a fast record was achieved. Later tests were given in April and results came back in the unbelievably short time of two weeks.

This was a period of large-scale upgrading of AFSC’s. Of course this represented no drastic upsurge of skills but the formal recognition of a slow accomplishment. Part of the recognition, also, had had to wait longer than usual for the test results. True, effective manning did increase by the gain in skills and by assignment of seven level airmen to replace those who had rotated six months previously.

Gloomy forebodings have increases as assignment of replacements for June and May did not live up to forecasts. Nothing serious has happened yet, because our rotations for the summer were not due to commence until July. When they do start, if no replacements come in, the squadron will be in the downward path. Example: of four 7 level airmen forecast to arrive in June, one appeared. If this example is to typify our replacements, we will be very hard pressed to carry out our mission.

Officer assignments improved. A skilled interceptor controller was assigned to replace a second lieutenant, and a captain, communications officer was assigned six months ahead of schedule. If he stays here, (we qualify, for many good men have been snatched away from us) his presence will offset in part the absence of highly skilled airman technicians.

We still lack a First Sergeant. The former occupant of this job, whose mysterious malady resulted in reassignment from this site, has been discharged from the hospital at Pepperrell Air Force Base and now has duty in special services there. We have been informed that there will not be a First Sergeant for this Squadron until September. Airman promotions were fairly good during this quarter. Among others we promoted four to S/Sgt. and one to T/Sgt.

The adjutant was absent on morale leave from 30 May until the end of the quarter. At the end of the quarter he had been at Goose a week waiting return transportation. WO Shumacker was replaced by Captain Ward during this period.

Chaplain (Major) Roman J Schaeffer, Catholic, and Chaplain (1^st Lt.) James H Dean, Protestant, visited here during May and June respectively. These visitations have increased wonderfully since the low point of last fall, and undoubtedly their comfort brings a genuine enhancement of morale.

Aside from the policy change on utilization of the St. Anthony hospital, nothing important has arisen. Personnel of this squadron gave 14 pints of blood for use of patients at the hospital. Five were treated there in out-patient status and two were hospitalized. One airman was reassigned for medical reasons – he suffered from grand mal form of epilepsy. Since his epilepsy grew progressively worse, we had to send him out.

At long last, we were successful in having this squadron represented in a 64^th AD (D) athletic tournament. In all previous cases luck was not with us and previous squadron teams and contestants were not able to participate because of poor weather resulting in lack of transportation. This quarter was different, and we are proud to announce that our volleyball team took second place in the Division tournament, a fine accomplishment for such a small organization.

We were happy to hear, near the end of the quarter, that our special grant to purchase a piano was approved and at the present time steps are being taken to purchase a piano through the PX at Goose Air Base.

Movies are shown five times a week and our supply of film has been satisfactory. Our film shipments have come in regularly due to better transportation.

Many members of the squadron have been participating in the usual spring sports, volleyball, fishing and softball.

Three airmen passed their PRT test and completed OJT during this period. Two airmen were awarded AFSC 64151 and one airman 64150. Two airmen who had the AFSC of 64151 and who arrived during the last quarter have given the supply section a big boost, but on the less desirable side, supply still has personnel that are lazy and no good. A considerable amount of time has been wasted by supervisory personnel in an attempt to keep them busy and doing something worth while. One supply airman worked on the base cleanup team for ten days and was released by the team for being lazy and a nuisance. The individual concerned rotates in July. Throughout the year supply has had a predominance of this type personnel, but the situation is expected to improve with new replacements.

A semi-annual clothing inspection was made in April with the results being very favorable. One blanket from each airman and officer was turned into supply and was sent to Goose Air Base for cleaning and return. Parkas were also turned in and sent out for cleaning and/or repair.

Regular supply paper work activities continued such as correspondence, requisitions, reports, routine counter issuance, and posting of recaps and shipping documents. There seemed to be an increase in reports and paper work during this period such as completing UAL change requests, requisitioning and bringing all UAL items authorized up to date. In addition to this, more than 1120 cards were received, completed and posted. The 84B cards have been completed and visual index markers attached to all cards. In addition to the above, aircraft had to be met, cargo loaded and unloaded, manifests prepared, boxes had to be crated, movies shipped and many other routine functions.

The roof continues to be a terrible problem in supply, but canvas has been placed over the bins where it leaks the most. Word has been received that a roofing team will arrive in July to repair all the roofs on the site.

Leaking roofs and a shortage of personnel seem to be the big headaches for the Food Service section. (Typical throughout the squadron) During a great portion of the quarter there were two cooks on each of the two shifts per day.

With the addition of the Marconi overhaul team and several TDY personnel the dining hall had several more hungry mouths to feed. This proved an additional burden to our already short supply of food. The winter is ending and a resupply of food is expected shortly, but in the meantime variety in the meals is limited. Due to the efforts of the cooks, the quality of meals served has remained the same, but hamburger, etc. appear on the menu a little more often than usual.

During the past quarter we received the Hi-Lo operator for our deadlined steam generator which was immediately put into operating condition, thereby allowing us to perform overdue maintenance on No. 1 boiler. POL pumping operations have proved unsatisfactory because of recurrent leaks at the dockside pumphouse. When pumping is under way the increased pressure and vibration causes threaded joints to leak. These joints have been tightened but the leaks continue to recur. Also, when the installation was built, no isolating valves were installed in the POL line to the site proper making repairs on the line itself difficult and wasteful.

The 40 foot boat used for servicing SA-16 and L-20 type aircraft was repaired with new planking in three places, recaulked, sanded and painted. The boat engine has been overhauled and the boat is giving invaluable service.

A road repair team arrived at the end of the quarter and immediately started the repair of all roads on the site and the construction of a new road leading to the firing range. Normal installation work continued with a great deal of time being spent on leaking roofs.

Our fire prevention program is constantly being stressed, and the results of the program have been very rewarding to this squadron.