Resolution Island, NWT

Historical Report
(January - March)
1955
920^th AC&W Squadron
N-30

Prepared for the Historical Office 64^th Air Division (Defense)

by 2^nd Lt. Dan P Hampshire
and S/Sgt. James W Ritter, Jr.

The administrative work of this squadron is greatly affected by the infrequent arrival and dispatch of mail. Numerous reports, peculiar to an AC&W Squadron, magnify the importance of mail service. It was hoped that during this report period a big improvement would have been made in our air service. This hope was based on the fact that there is a large frozen lake suitable for aircraft landing. However, freakish warm temperatures in the early part of January produced a great deal of fog which prevented aircraft from coming to this station. The transportation situation was further handicapped because the ski-equipped C-47 Aircraft from the support base was AOCP. Wheeled landings could not be made on the lake until the runway was cleared of snow during the latter part of January. February was the best month for air transportation. It is believed that this would be an ideal month to schedule rotations from this installation. March found the return of difficulties with only one plane arriving at this station the first half of the month.

Teletype messages have, on occasion, arrived by regular mail. This was caused by an overload on the communications circuits.

The Pole Vault facility has solved many of our administrative problems because it furnishes a ready means of communication with the support base. It is believed that this service will become more valuable upon final acceptance; and, in the end, should greatly reduce the correspondence workload.

Two Airmen of this organization were selected as Division Airman of the Month during this quarter. The basis for their recommendation was their display of initiative and attitude. Both are important to a newly re-established organization with the quality of personnel attitude seeming to be of prime importance in an isolated location. It is felt that both attitude and initiative should be stressed in Air Force Training Schools.

Section Operating Instructions are being compiled for each job description and for various procedures throughout the Squadron. Shortage of personnel, high turnover rate, and the receipt of replacements without previous briefings makes these SOI’s invaluable. This project is almost complete, with the exception of those positions included in the new Manning Document which are not presently occupied.

An increase in Administrative authorization in the new UMD will greatly aid the accomplishment of the unusual amount of administrative work as soon as the personnel for these positions are assigned.

This Squadron has been without a qualified Supply Officer since the 6^th of February. An Intercept Controller has been assigned the duty of Supply Officer as an additional duty. He has fulfilled the requirements of the position quite well. A Supply Officer is scheduled to arrive this station within the next report period.

Personnel shortages exist throughout the Squadron. Due to this shortage, the workload of assigned personnel has been increased which in turn has reduced planned progress of some sections. A large backlog of passengers at Goose Air Base caused a long delay in assigned personnel reaching this Squadron.

During this report period, a dentist on TDY came to this station. He had to accomplish a great deal of work even though the majority of the men had had needed work accomplished at McAndrew Air Force Base in September 1954. Most of his work seemed to be with new personnel whose ZI stations had not completed needed dental work prior to overseas assignment.

Morale leaves during this report period resulted in delayed return of personnel taking leaves. During the forthcoming "thaw" period, the transportation problem will probably preclude leaves until water landings can be made by amphibian aircraft. It would be ideal if a plane larger than the L-20 could land on our 1500 foot landing strip. Something of the assault transport size such as the C-123 would be desirable.

The Division Staff visit in late January and IG Inspection in late March were without incident. Personnel of the teams were fortunate in that they were able to depart this station without long delays because of bad weather.

During this report period, two diesel engines (#2 and #10) in the Power Plant were deadlined. Number two (2) engine was deadlined because of a burned out fuel discharge switch; number ten (10) was deadlined due to a broken rocker arm. The floor of the Power Plant was repainted, and additional "no smoking" signs were placed in conspicuous places.

Operations were temporarily hindered in this section because a transformer shorted out due to a leak in the water line. This necessitated using the transformer from the Receiver Site for a few days until repairs could be made.

The Heating Plant was also repainted during this report period. The loss of two key civilians, due to medical attention, during the month of February brought to a minimum the number of personnel needed for efficient operation.

The water pumping operation of the site experienced two difficulties. The pressure line on the number one (1) water pump, located on the lake below the site, broke and had to be replaced. The second problem arose when a short in the Rickwell Line occurred. Both of these incidents were minor and caused no real concern.

In the month of February two Weasels were received in very poor condition and were immediately placed on deadline. Using the parts from one Weasel it was possible to put the other into operation. This is the only type vehicle which is able to travel to the landing strip six miles from the site proper.

The Electrical Shop was kept busy during the reporting period with normal maintenance and repair. Several electric heating controls required repairing and defective heater fan controls were repaired in the Vehicle Storage Building. Three (3) automatic washers and one (1) dryer broke down during this period due to warm parts. These parts have been placed on order but as of this date have not been received from support base.

Obtaining spare parts is of primary importance. A great deal of difficulty was experienced in receiving the necessary parts.

Several important discrepancies have been noted in the field of general maintenance. Many doors leading outside have become warped. This condition allows a certain amount of snow to seep through the cracks. The melting of this snow has resulted in water accumulating on the floor tile which has resulted in the loosening of the tile. The doors edges have been taped, but this has not been completed satisfactorily. In the same vein, the snow melting on the roof showed numerous leaks in the roof. This water, of course, has the same effect on the tile flooring as does that which comes in through the doors. This condition requires replacing of the tiles which in turn is costing the United States Air Force money and man-hours.

During the last three months the Surveillance Section of the 920^th AC&W Squadron has settled into smooth, normal operation. The work that was necessary to setting up operations in this new location was completed for the most part during the previous report period.

Pole Vault was put into operation, unofficially on 21 January 1955, with circuits connecting the 920^th, 924^th, 926^th and 641^st AC&W Squadrons. Our Pole Vault circuits have proven very valuable. One important use of this reliable system, in our particular case, is the early receipt of flight plans for flights due our station. This enables us to meet the aircraft on time. Thirty to ninety minutes are required for travel to available landing areas. The time lag for plot-telling between our station and the ADCC has been greatly reduced.

The operation of the 15-J-1C has not been up to standard because of the shortage of personnel and because of mechanical failures. Whenever the personnel are available and the machine is working properly, the 15-J-!C is operated a minimum of one (1) hour each shift.

Due to the shortage of personnel, we have tried shifts of 12 hours on and 24 hours off. This proved very tiring for the men and therefore an inefficient schedule. We are presently on 8 hour shifts: 8 hours on and 16 hours off. These 8 hour shifts seem to be ideal whenever a shortage of personnel necessitates long hours for each individual.

We have received, indirectly, several commendations on the accuracy of our position reports and headings given to aircraft. We feel that our operation system and moral have contributed greatly to this end. Therefore, we will continue with our present policies unless obvious shortcomings are pointed out to us by higher Headquarters.

Throughout this reporting period, continued difficulties were encountered with the engineering of the High Frequency teletype net. Many of the difficulties are the result of extremely bad weather conditions.

In the early part of January heaving icing conditions caused arcing in the down lead of a doublet antenna resulting in radar interference. This situation was rectified by frequent cleaning of the antennas during those periods. Icing conditions caused damage to one HF antenna which was repaired by the Marconi Company.

The Low Frequency facilities has not as yet been accepted by this Unit. On 13 January the LF antennas separated from the towers and fell to the ground because of heavy ice. No further attempt has been made by contractor to replace these antennas and won’t be until May 1955.

On 17 January, also because of heavy icing conditions, the HF receiving antennas came down. Reconstruction of these antennas has not been attempted inasmuch as primary receiving equipment is located on the main site. These antennas will be replaced as soon as weather permits.

On 24 January, Captain Arthur H Bruhn arrived and took command of the communications section. Also on this day a conference was held between the section chiefs and Major Kepler of the C&E section of 64^th AD (D). Pertinent items and problems were discussed at this time.

In the latter part of January our first Pole Vault circuit was made available to this unit. This circuit was common to all radar sites north of Goose Bay. Primary use at this time was for telling purposes.

On 5 February our two remaining Radio Maintenance personnel were transferred to the 6631^st Radio Relay Squadron. Shortly there after, three Radio Maintenance personnel arrived from the ZI on 140 day TDY Basis. This temporarily alleviated a critical maintenance problem.

The remainder of the month of February conditions remained relatively static. Through studies, the propagation for the month of February was unusually bad with the efficiency of the Administrative C-W Net dropping 25% over the previous period.

The month of March saw the completion of the Pole Vault circuits with Goose, Frobisher and Saglek. These circuits have not been officially accepted by the Air Force, but are available on a courtesy basis from Bell Telephone Company. At present eleven (11) active circuits are available - one (1) teletype and ten (10) voice.

On 12 March, transmission on 9400 Kcs. Commenced between this Unit and the 641^st AC&W Squadron. No trouble was experienced in setting up this frequency, notwithstanding troubles previously reported by other AC&W sites.

During the last week of January, the adapter kit for the 15-J-1C simulator was received and installed. Target simulator information is now available at all five scopes.

Blower motor number one (1) on the Sheldon Pressurizing System RW 105 appeared unusually noisy. Upon examination, it was found that the front and rear bearings were running hot. On 25 January the motor was dismantled and the front and rear bearings were replaced. The old bearings had accumulated an excessive amount of foreign matter. This was believed to have been in the motor from the time of its assembly. New silicone rubber seals in the blower housing were also installed at this time.

On 17 January, the ATR cavities of both the upper and lower beams were taken out, cleaned and interchanged. Both cavities were badly pitted and tarnished. The cavity in the LB was in the worse condition. On 1 February the ATR cavity of the UB would not tune. This was attributed to the condition of the cavity. On 31 March, the Upper Beam ATR, for no apparent reason, resumed its normal tuning characteristics. During this two month period the UB was operating below par of approximately 103 dbm.

From 25 February to 26 March, the UB was inoperative due to the lack of a hydrogen thyratron tube, No. 5949/1907. This tube was emergency requisitioned from Goose Air Base on 26 February and was received on 25 March.

During this report period we were confronted with the problem of freezing rain and snow loading the moving elements on the anemometer. At times rotation was stopped completely. A UR had been submitted through channels in November 1954. As a solution to the problem we were sent a heat tape by the 64^th Air Division (Defense). The installation of this heat tape was completed on 10 March. On 19 March, we had our first icing conditions after the installation. The tape did a very good job of keeping the rotating joint free, but failed to removed the ice from the rotating cups. This had a loading effect on the bearings of the generator and also altered the contour of the cups. With these conditions, an inaccurate reading of the wind velocity was experienced.

On 11 March, the mechanism on the set-point recorder of the Meta-meter Slide-Wire Receiver - Wind Velocity - was replaced. There was a broken shaft in the differential gear cage assembly. On 22 March, the brake on this mechanism had to be adjusted.

Listed below are the power failures experienced during this report period:

Listed below are the dates and time off the air due to high winds experienced during this report period:

One officer and six airmen were assigned to the Radar Maintenance Section at the beginning of the reporting period, but subsequent attrition has reduced the manning to two (2) 30332 airmen and one (1) 3041 officer. An accelerated training program is in effect to qualify these personnel.

Since the last report, the Office of Information Services cut the radio station’s broadcasting time from 77 hours per week to 40 hours per week. The cut was a result of shortage of interested personnel. All but one of the original men working on the radio have left for ZI assignments, and new personnel have been slow to enter into this activity. However, indications of the month of March show a trend of interest which should improve the station’s operation in the next several months.

The AFR and TV Recordings have been received with regularity, considering transportation conditions, through approved channels. These recordings have given the station "new life" and has allowed a better schedule of programming.

The gathering and dissemination of world news has presented a problem. On occasions, the teletype service has provided the desired news. However, this was in-operational the last part of the reporting period. The radio station has done its best to "pipe" AFRS into the Site’s radio system, but had found too much interference to make this practical. Therefore, gathering the news has been dependent on atmospheric propagation.

The Office of Information Services has prepared and forwarded to 64^th AD (D) a brochure pertaining to the 920^th AC&Q Squadron and Resolution Island.

During the last three months the Special Services Section of the 920^th AC&W Squadron has greatly improved its service to the Squadron.

Construction of the Library was completed. Support of the Library has been excellent. The Library is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1900 hours to 2100 hours. Fifteen (15) magazine subscriptions have been purchased through the Unit Fund Account to supplement the issues coming in from support base. Current copies of magazines and papers are always available in the Library. As copies become outdated they are redistributed to the Squadron’s Day Rooms.

Bingo is held every Friday night in the Dining Hall. Participation at this activity is very good. Movies are not shown on Fridays therefore do not conflict with Bingo.

Film support has greatly improved in the last two months. The films seem to be in much better condition and more current than the ones received in the previous report period. The projectors, however, are sub-par. Two rebuilt projectors were received about the last week in March. These are not in good condition and are a constant source of trouble. Efforts to obtain better projectors have proven ineffective.

A change in the storage system for the 16PT Class items was initiated during this report period. Instead of the manner in which the supplies are now stored (by major assemblies) they will be separated with like items being together. On the AF Form 84B will be placed all the assemblies on which the item is used. It is believed that this new system will serve several purposes. It will conserve warehouse and filing space; it will present a more realistic consumption level; and will diminish some of the clerical work. The project is well advanced and should be completed in the near future.

An inventory of all recoverable property has been taken and Custody Receipts are being prepared for the accountable officers signatures. Due to the condition of the shipping documents and the type of some of the property, it is impossible, at this time, to determine what electronic equipment came as components of major assemblies or as spare parts. It is also impossible at this time to inventory the items at the Lower Camp because of prevailing weather conditions.

In the month of March, the majority of spare parts and expendable files were changed from the mimeographed form that was in use, to the AF Form 84B. The mimeographed forms had been in use because of non-availability of the 84B’s.

All of the errors and discrepancies found by the IG Inspectors from 64^th AD (D) are being corrected as quickly as possible.

The Supply Section is now adequately staffed. This should result in a great many improvements in the next report period.