Resolution Island, NWT

Historical Report
(October - December)
1955

920^th AC&W Squadron
N-30

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

by Captain James T Ellett
and T/Sgt. Marvin C Dary

A shortage of orderly room personnel existed throughout the reporting period and resulted in abnormally high workloads being carried by assigned personnel.

In November, the arrival of a new Commanding Officer, and the return of the Radar Maintenance Officer from leave and TDY, temporarily relieved the officer workload. The subsequent loss of two officers, due to rotation, resulted in a re-distribution of duty assignments.

The Radar Maintenance Officer is presently performing additional duties as Adjutant and Communications Officer.

The gain of a Personnel Specialist in December has provided some relief, although, due to his recent arrival, full utilization of his capabilities has not been realized. We are still short one (1) Apprentice Personnel Specialist and one (1) Classification Specialist. In addition, one of the assigned clerks is in the ZI on Morale leave.

During the past three months, transportation of personnel and cargo to and from the site has been infrequent. Periods of time up to 23 days have been experienced with no mail service. Two officers and nine airmen were delayed up to two weeks after normal rotation dates, awaiting transportation. This situation would have been much more severe had not sea-going vessels been utilized in October to remove 22 men. These personnel otherwise would not have been able to depart this organization prior to the latter part of December.

In addition to the mail situation, morale is further detrimentally affected by the lack of movies. Old films are presently being repeated for the second or third time.

The arrival of Helicopters at Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, should eventually relieve the transportation situation although extreme weather conditions preclude a workable schedule to and from this site. At the present time there is a backlog of 30 personnel awaiting transportation to this organization in addition to approximately 8,000 pounds of cargo, including perishables, of which we are sadly lacking. Some of the personnel have been in traffic over two months.

A newly assigned Adjutant-Personnel Officer is due to arrive immediately upon completing his flying requirements at Goose Air Base, Labrador, as transportation will permit. Loss of utilization, of rated officers, is especially felt in an organization of this size and location, due to frequent periods when they are required to travel to the nearest Air Base to obtain mandatory minimum flying requirements in accordance with AFR 60-2. These periods of time are exaggerated and often excessive due to the lack of transportation and inadequate flying facilities.

During the first month of this reporting cycle (October), the primary search radar was off the air for a period of several days. This was not due to any equipment failure, but was necessitated in order to paint the radomes. The back-up search was utilized during this period, and practically normal operation was established. The weather was favorable for several days and the painting was soon completed.

The weather during this reporting cycle was generally very poor. The temperature was usually somewhat warmer than the surrounding area, and this seemed to cause a great deal of fog and poor visibility. This fact made flying in this locality practically impossible. There were several long periods when mail or personnel could neither get in or leave the station. The temperature ranged from a +38 to a -1 degrees during this three month period. Winds as high as 100 knots were recorded. High winds and heavy icing kept the radio maintenance personnel busy keeping the antennas intact.

Accurate screening angles for this station were received from the 6606^th Radar Evaluation Squadron at Goose Bay. This allowed the operations section to run quality control reports with a much higher degree of accuracy. Quality control is now utilized as much as possible.

The 15-J-1-C’s (Target Simulators) were moved into the Surveillance room. This made it much more advantageous to run practice intercepts. This permits closer coordination between the simulator operator and the Director running the interceptions.

During December, the Operations Officer was given the additional duty of Squadron Training Officer. In order to centralize technical material and study guides for the various AFSC’s, a training library has been set up in the former operation supply room. Shelves have been built and a complete set of reference material for each job specialty will soon be published and posted.

On the fifth of December 1955 the 920^th AC&W Squadron was alerted on "Operations Crackerjack". This organization had no active part in the Exercise, other than authenticating the various states of alert and keeping the various recorders and station logs in triplicate. No aircraft involved in the exercise were carried by this station.

On 1^st October circuit 829N was placed in operation giving this site two (2) direct contract with Establish.

On 5^th October a new vertical antenna was installed for ship to shore operation. During the month of October all communication equipment was fully operational with a zero percentage for equipment failure.

On 1^st November a radio transmitter and receiver, model BC 669A was installed in the weasel for communication with the site while performing duties at the lower camp.

On 13^th November the Crypto Account was changed to Captain Sam A Green vice Captain Arthur H Bruhn relieved.

On 18^th November both doublet antennas were broken due to high winds and icing conditions. The antennas were repaired and normal operation was resumed.

On 19^th November at 0500Z all communications with Saglek were discontinued due to their antenna failure. The stand-by CW net was utilized until normal voice procedure was established.

On 30^th November the Custodian of Registered Documents was changed to Captain James T Ellett vice Captain Arthur H Bruhn relieved. During the period 1^st through 20^th December normal conditions prevailed in all sections of Communications.

On 22^nd December one (1) Officer and five (5) Airmen rotated to the ZI and created a situation where communication repairmen and installer-cablemen had to be utilized on the switchboard working a (12) hour shift. Alleviation of this problem is expected when all in-traffic replacements arrive this site.

The amateur station continues to function smoothly and numerous contacts were established for both officers and airmen with their immediate families. This is of prime importance as a morale factor at this isolated site.

The painting team was back in the month of October and painted the inside of the radomes. This was the first site the team had been assigned for the purpose of painting the inside and a bit of difficulty was experienced in setting up the equipment. However an excellent job was accomplished in a minimum amount of time.

Also in the month of October, one of the motor generator sets for the height finder was returned to the depot for new bearings. Inadequate tools and material at this station made local repair impossible.

During the month of November a group of 17 modifications were distributed by the Northern Electric Company.

In the past it has been necessary to change blower motor bearings in the RW-105 system for the main tower about every two or three months. The system had excessive vibration and the motor was over heating. Research into the problem revealed a badly balanced impeller. A new one was procured from supply and installed. It was of the cast aluminum type, unlike the steel one formally used. It was much lighter in weight and well balanced. Installation of this impeller stopped the excessive vibration and heating. Periodic checks have shown no wearing of the bearings to this date.

The 15-J-1C target simulator was moved from the maintenance room to surveillance, providing more space for maintenance and better access for the operators. At the same time the Mark V attachment was incorporated. In order that it may be utilized to better advantage on the available search and height finder equipment, it was modified.

Normally it can be used either on PPI or RHI but not simultaneously because of differing triggers. We have constructed, from spare cards, a second sawtooth generator which is synchronized to the RHI trigger. This sawtooth is fed to targets No. 1, 2 and 3 in place of the sawtooth from the PPI trigger. The slant range information from targets No. 4, 5 and 6 is fed to targets No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Thus each pair of targets generate two target pips of identical range but synchronized to the RHI trigger and fed to the RHI. It works quite successfully but with the disadvantage of having only three targets available. This is outweighed by simultaneous presentation on both PPI and RHI scopes.

On an inspection it was noticed that the scopes in surveillance plus the monitor and control equipment in the maintenance room had no provisions for switching from Tech power to Base power for emergency. Action has been initiated to correct this situation. Recabling from the power plant may be necessary.

An adjacent site was off the air during the past six weeks for major repairs and resulted in our having no scheduled maintenance periods. One requested period was taken during this time. The equipment has given excellent results and no breakdowns have been experienced with the exception of 15 minutes due to diesel power failure. By keeping the set peaked, maximum efficiency has been maintained. This is attributed to preventative maintenance being properly and thoroughly accomplished in the past.

A complete and accurate inventory of the electronics spare parts has been underway during the months of November and December. Particular emphasis has been placed on the proper identification and bin location of these items. When completed, this action will make unnecessary many of the ROCP and RNFP requisitions which have been submitted in the past.

Due to the inaccessibility of this section and the inherent transportation difficulties, logistic support has dropped to a level which, if continued, may result in a decrease in mission capability. In some instances, items which were awaiting transportation to this site at the beginning of the reporting period have not yet been delivered. Unless the transportation situation improves in the near future, serious supply shortages may result.

Considerable difficulty has been encountered in implementing the procedures of NEAC Manual 69-1, Property Accounting at N-Sites, in reference to accounting for Fixed Communication Equipment. During the installation phases of this equipment, adequate records were not maintained nor were the associated test equipment, tools, and accessories marked. Since many identical items of Air Force stock were shipped to this organization during the installation phases of the Fixed Communication Facilities, these items have become co-mingled and it is almost impossible to determine the procurement agency. This has caused uncertainty in accounting for these items. It has been determined those items which were carried on the bill of materials for a particular phase of a Communications facility would be counted as part of that facility. Continuous effort was expended in inventorying and accounting for Unit Authorization List Property. Many items which were located and found on the station were picked up on accountable records and UAL change requests prepared to have these items included on the Units Authorization List.

Icing conditions at this site have caused numerous break-downs of the power distribution system. Ice formations, as thick as 12 inches, create electrical grounds at any uncovered connection resulting in arcing. This causes fuses to blow, and in some instances the installation on the line will burn as much as four feet. Through periodical inspections and taping of all connections these break-downs have been reduced considerably.

The heated drain line in the cold storage room malfunctioned during the reporting period. The wiring had a plastic insulation and, due to changes in temperature, had cracked, causing the wire to short against the pipe. Due to the pipe installation being of a cardboard material it burst into flame. No damage occurred as it was discovered immediately. All insulation has been removed from the line and as no suitable wiring is available, the line has been disconnected under each unit and is defrosting into barrels.

The power plant has two banks of engines, one with six and the other five. The cooling system was designed to service each bank, using a tee to each engine. It was necessary to shut down all engines in any one bank if the flow of water was disrupted. By installing two valves and a by-pass line at each engine it is now possible to work on any one engine without shutting down the entire bank.

Snow removal has begun, using two Caterpillar D-8 tractors. These tractors maintain the two and a half mile road between the site proper and the water pump house.