St. Anthony, NF

921^st AC&W Squadron
APO 862, New York, New York

John H Fuss, Major

AN/FPS-3(C), 1; AN/FPS-14, 1 (Gap Filler); AN/TPS-502, 1; AN/FPS-502, 1; AN/UPA-35, 1; AN/GPS-T2, 1.

1 April 1959 to 39 June 1959

Operations Section:

During this reporting period, Operations Personnel participated in Desk Top II, a NORAD wide STP Exercise. All positions, including Battle Staff were manned and the operation proceeded smoothly.

Operations section is still working on a three (3) crew schedule. This is due to only 80% of authorized personnel being present for duty. The remaining 20% are in pipeline status. As a result, temporary schedules and shifting of personnel to meet operational requirements continue. Efforts have been made to effect an increase in authorized strength and it is expected that a forthcoming Unit Manning Document will reflect same.

The florescent lighting kits for the wing boards have been installed and are operating satisfactorily.

Communications Maintenance and Operations:

This section began final installation of UHF/VHF Transmitters and Receivers from temporary location on 2^nd floor of tower #3 to 1^st floor of tower #3. A wooden platform five inches high was fabricated to mount the equipment racks. A cable trough was built into this platform as a safety precaution for personnel working on the equipment inasmuch as the tower floor is concrete. Completion of this installation should be on or about 10 July 1959.

Wire Maintenance – A 26 pair cable was installed between frame room and tower 3 to provide backage to existing cable terminal and radio station. No unusual maintenance difficulty was encountered.

Teletype Maintenance – No unusual maintenance problems encountered. All equipment is operating normally, requiring only normal Preventative Maintenance.

Radar Maintenance:

During the past quarter, the have been no particularly unusual maintenance problems encountered on the FPS-3 at this station. It was, however, necessary to change one magnetron which had over 9,200 hours of continuous operation. The other magnetron presently has been operating over 9,200 hours, and is still operating satisfactorily. Maintenance difficulty has been encountered on the prime height radar, and depot maintenance assistance has been requested and granted. During this quarter the Quality Control program has been intensified and is now functioning very satisfactorily.

Personnel manning is now improved with 3 NCOs and 3 Airmen presently assigned plus 1 Captain, 3044B and 3 airmen scheduled to arrive within the next 15 days.

Installation Activities:

The Power Plant is in fine shape. It has been recently painted to conform with the new color code. Engines number 3 and 7 are due to have a top overhaul and it is expected it will be accomplished in the near future.

The two boilers in the Heating Plant have just been cleaned. They were found to be in very good condition. The Heating Plant will undergo a face lifting in the near future by site personnel.

The damaged section in the Ric-Wil line casing was discovered. Two new sections are being sent in. Repairs will be made and the line clearly marked to prevent future damage. Site personnel will overhaul the Ric-Wil stations before cold weather sets in.

New drain valves have been installed in tanks number two and three. At present oil is being pumped from number one tank into number three tank. It is expected that number three tank will be filled in plenty of time to receive our annual resupply. The drain valve will be replaced in number one tank prior to the arrival of the tank. The oil level in number three tank is nearly over the damaged section. The indentation is coming out very nicely and only a few minor dents are left. It is expected these will also come out by the time the tank is full. No leaks were encountered and none are anticipated.

The following contracts were completed during this report period but final acceptance has not been made.

(se matrix at end of report)

All vehicles are in operating condition now with the exception of the snowmobiles. One of these is still VDP. It is expected the parts will be received soon. All the snowmobiles will be gone over and put in good condition for next winter.

Supply Activities:

The conversion of Class 16PT to RCAF stock numbers was cancelled in June.

The SUNEC annual supplies started arriving in May and no difficulty has been experienced in this operation as of this time.

Radio Relay Activities:

We have discovered that we still have to mop the diesel building as much as before. The heat exchanged leaks excessively. Action is being taken to have this difficulty repaired as soon as possible.

We had to flush the south Klystron this month, aside from this the over all picture of operation was good.

Personnel Services Activities:

The effectiveness of the Information and Education program was greatly enhanced with the arrival in April, of Captain W McCauley. He has initiated two group study classes, physics and algebra. Further progress has been made in the number of enrolments through USAFI, ECI, College Correspondence courses, etc. Eight percent of the squadron are presently engaged in some type of education program. We hope to have at least 95% participation in the near future.

Community Relations – St. Anthony:

Community relations between personnel of this squadron and St. Anthony have been very cordial. The squadron baseball team and the St. Anthony baseball team have been working together on a baseball field for the past two months. It is being built beside the town Ice Skating Rink, which was also a joint achievement of St. Anthony and this squadron during the winter months.

La Scie:

No organization problems have been reported from our detachment located at La Scie, Newfoundland. Community relations between this detachment and personnel of the village are reported as excellent. Captain Consolate J Calabro has been replaced by Captain Herbert H Pollinger as Commander since the last reporting period.

John H Fuss, Major, USAF