This is a North American Navaho X-10. Some of the basic configuration was used in the Hound Dog. It had a Inertial Navigation System. ( See below)

AGM 28 Inertial Navigation Theory

  The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is the greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation.

  The Inertial Guidance System uses deviations to generate error signal commands which instruct the missile to move from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, arriving at a position where it wasn't, or now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position where it wasn't; thus, it follows logically that the position where it was is the position where it isn't.

  In the event that the position where the missile now is, is not the position where it wasn't, the Inertial Guidance System has acquired a variation. Variations are caused by external factors, the discussions of which are beyond the scope of this report.

  A variation is the difference between where the missile is and where the missile wasn't. If the variation is considered to be a factor of significant magnitude, a correction may be applied by the Flight Control System. However, use of this correction requires that the missile now knows where it was because the variation has modified some of the information which the missile has, so it is sure where it isn't.

  Nevertheless, the missile is sure where it isn't (within reason) and it knows where it was.It now subtracts where it should be from where it isn't, where it ought to be from where it wasn't (or vice versa) and intergrates the difference with the product of where it shouldn't be and where it was; thus obtaining the difference between its deviation and its variation, which is variable constant called "error".

  And if the missile believes everything it receives, guess what ? The LEVEL ALIGN Lite starts blinking.

This is a Lockheed X-7 RamJet. They were only 61 built and were manufactured during the 50's. Did North American copy this ?

Did You Know?

The digital computer system designated the "Versatile Digital Analyser (VERDAN)", was one of the first solid-state computer systems ever fitted to an aircraft,

    During the testing phase, the VERDAN computer had a "mean time between failure
(MTBF)" of 15 minutes! However, within a few years the computer's MTBF was up to a
reasonable 240 hours.

Aircraft That Had D9A Verdan Computers Installed

Very Interesting

By: Dave Stone

After my Air Force time I went to work for the Navy at Mare Island in California. I was working on the U.S.S. SEAWOLF when one of the sailors walked by with a gray box that looked strangely familiar. So I asked him what it was. He gave me numbers, I don't remember them now, but then I recognized them as what we used for the computer on the AGM 28B. He told me it was from the Ship's Internal Navigation System ( SINS ). The SEAWOLF is the submarine that found the Russian sub that Glomar
Explorer brought up pieces of. She spent most of her time doing things she shouldn't be doing in places she shouldn't be.

More Interesting Facts

Who remembers the Guidance check out tapes and their name and function ?

    Here is what Joe Searls had documented in his notes from 40 years ago.......

Bench Test Tapes

400    Computer Clear Tape
474    Voltage Monitor
476    Console Control Panel
477    C2-2A Check
478    System Performance
480    Power Supply
482    Platform Amplifier
483    Conversion and Control
484    Platform Check
485    Platform Orientation Transmission
486    Signal Data Pointing Converter
488    Astrotracker - KS-120
489    Astrotracker - KS-140
492    Missile Tie In Converter
494    Digital Amplifier
496    Control & Data Panels

Hanger Test Tapes

401    Computer & C2-2A Test
403    Power Supply & Platform Electronics
404    Servo Test & Gain Setting
405    Nominal Value Loading
406    Basic Subroutine Fill
407    Mirror Search & Encoder Reference Determination
415    Velocity Meter Biases, Gyro Sawtooth Biases, Z Gyro Biases & Scale Factor
          Determination
416    Velocity Meter Scale Factor & Gyro Mass Unbalance Determination
417    Y Gyro Torqueing Scale Factor & Reversing Bias Determination
420    X Gyro Torqueing Scale Factor & Reversing Bias Determination
425    Astrotracker
430    Gyrocompass $ Inertial Run
431    Calibration Constant & Mass Unbalance Punchout
470    Site Variable Computation

Believe It Or Not

Around 1968 a B52 was launched from the alert facility at KI Sawyer with the normal payload. I was ground crew. When it returned 1 Hound Dog was missing. I overheard the aircrew talking they had fired the missle at a UFO and it had been deflected and had'nt detonated. This happened in Canadian Air Space. The crew had to have permission of the president to fire. The entire crew accidently died in seperate unrelated accidents within 6 months. Draw your own conclusions.

Note: Isn't it amazing, after all my years in GAM I didn't know that the Hound Dog was a Air to Air Missile

 From the Editor
(Of the UFO Magazine)

    A Hound Dog missile is an old Nuclear armed cruse missile. The president would not have to have been in the loop if it wasn't nuclear. While the individual making the above report believes the entire crew died from unrelated accidents a even more frightening possibility is that they died from Gamma Flash from a nuclear detonation and that the deaths were cover stories. This person does not want his name revealed until after his death.. I have talked to this person and he seems credible.

Update: 2-20-03 - An individual sent me a email recently who was stationed at K.I. about the time referenced above (1968) and I quote; " I was one of many that witnessed a UFO (radar and eyeball) at K.I. Sawyer. It went north to south from near the north pole, turned around near Indianapolis and went north along it's earlier track. KI radar said it was 10,000 ft and going 8,000 mph Afterward everyone agreed that "nobody saw nothing" for the good of everyone's career. Is there more to this story ?

Could This Be True?

Do UFO's and ET's Really Exist?

"I live in a real life X-Files," said George Green (http://www.nohoax.com), a former investment banker. Indeed, his tale included access to a diabolical elite circle that seeks to carry out "Plan 2000," whereby the Earth's population will be reduced to a scant 200 million. Additionally Green receives telepathic information from ET's hailing from the Pleiades, who get his  attention by creating a telephone-like ring that he hears. "I'm basically their publisher," said Green who has compiled their messages into three handbooks.

And yet not all aliens are of the benevolent stripe that sends him messages. "There's a group of ET's who consider Earth a virtual reality  game and hope we destroy ourselves," he warned. Another species are "chlorophyll-based" humanoids who make their home in South America, Green asserted. Our planet was seeded by different groups of aliens, the ancestors to various human races, who were originally shipped to Earth because it was considered a "prison planet," he explained.

Crop circles each represent a different frequency and serve to stabilize the energy of the planet, said Green who added that the Earth will experience a major geophysical change. He offered a prayer people can send to more evolved forms. "I am a human being becoming. Help me become."

Did You Know?

Trivia, Trivia and More Trivia

In the early 1960's a missile very similar in design to the Hound Dog was being developed using a Nuclear Powered ramjet engine. Which would have given it unlimited range capability.

     The only problem was they had no way to flight test it safely. It produced a high amount of radioactivity while it was running and no one could guarantee that it would not cause major problems during a low level flight. So in July 1964 it was cancelled.

SAC Song
From the Gathering of Eagles Movie

Here at S.A.C. we're filled with pride.
There's just one thing we can't decide:
Which we'd rather get clobbered by,
An enemy attack or an O.R.I.
Our wing commander's got a racket,
Though sometimes it's hard to hack it.
Whenever he gets his wife alone,
Ding-a-ling-a-ling goes the little red phone.
Oh, we love the seven-day alert.
For a week we will not see a skirt.
But we know it's part of S.A.C.'s main goal:
To test our positive control.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Whatever became of the wild blue yonder?
How we wish the good ol' days were back In S.A.C.!

This was the 509 SAW patch that was used in the movie The Gathering of Eagles

.

(They flew G Models out of Carmody AFB)

Arden Elliott knew where the movie "A Gathering of Eagles" was filmed?

Beale AFB - there used to be a plaque in the ground outside the credit union announcing this fact - right near the barracks, bowling alley, exchange area.  About 4 miles from the flight line and 8 miles from base housing.  Wonder if it's still there.

We Get No Respect

An excerpt from ECI Course 31553
Air Launch Missile Analyst

A gyro and stable platform have the same principles of operation whether they are used in a submarine, missile, or space vehicle. An electronic circuit is about the same whether it is used in a Hound Dog, Quail, or Firebee.
    A test set creates a signal, sends it through a component, and measures the responses whether the test set is operated manually or automatically. The skill in circuit tracing, data flow, or circuit analysis is about the same whether you are trying to determine why a vacuum cleaner or electric toaster won't work.

Note: Todd Laydon said he never knew the Maytag Repairman was a Missile Systems Analyst.

Would You Believe This?

From A Hot Dog to a Spare Tire...

This is the front and back of a card that came in a
Marhoefer's Weiner Package in the early 1960's.

As Rodney Dangerfield used to say "We get no respect"

Does anyone remember what BF Goodrich manufactured for our Hound Dog ?
    The text on this magazine ad from 1959 is unreadable

John Keylon Remembers

    They made the anti-icing heaters for the engine spike nose, similar to the deicers they have made for aircraft for about 50 yrs. They also possibly made the heater blanket that was wrapped around the Absolute Pressure Regulator that was laced onto it with about a mile of twisted safety wire.

     I remember this because Mike Creager lost an eye replacing one of them at Turner when the wire broke and the tails sticking out the back of the pliers poked him. What was really bad about the whole mess was that Mike was a pretty good wingshot and he had to learn to shoot left-handed.

History Revisited

This is Page # 152 from the
Feb 1960
Popular Mechanics magazine

Are You a Gamer?

AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile Successful Test Firing
March 9 2003

    The 101st Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) Squadron test launched the AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile Hound Dog missile recently.  The test included High Altitude and High AOA launches.  The missile currently has no guidance system, planned completion date is unknown.

A 3D Flight Simulator game called Strike Fighters-Project 1.  This is a add on for the game. It hasn't been completed yet so is not available.

Did You Know?

The below are called GAM Launch Covers. They were imprinted on letters to denote the Missile Launch's that occurred that day. Many Missile Launch Covers either have no Missile picture, a generic picture or the wrong picture because they were often made with little notice. The Cover makers called the bases daily ask what missile did you launch or what are you going to launch and often did not get the data till late in the day and had to rush the covers to the Post Office to get the days post mark.

      There are many collectors of these Covers. Tom Hildreth and Jim Noll are just two of them and were gracious enough to provide these for viewing.

Eglin AFB Feb 10, 1961

Port Canaveral Feb 25, 1960

WSMR Apr 25, 1973

Eglin AFB Dec 21, 1960

Cape Canaveral Dec 21, 1960

Eglin AFB May 15, 1961

Eglin AFB Feb 9, 1961

Ltd Edition Cover WSMR Apr 25, 1973

Remember This?

Help! Help! Help!
The Martians have landed.....

Did You Know?

Nuclear Events

 

  Events connected with nuclear weapons.:

1. ”Broken Arrow” meant an accident involving the weapons had occurred.
2. ”Bent Spear” meant an incident had occurred. 
3. ”Dull Sword” meant there was a potential hazard.

 These events could be with the weapons themselves, or their delivery vehicles (e.g.an EWO loaded aircraft), towing or loading equipment, check-lists and procedures,or maintenance functions.

Broken What?

The picture of the missile on the trailer with the nose cone is a picture taken of an accident at Columbus AFB, whereas a Bomber started to taxi and the hydraulics had been disabled with a jumper cable, there was no steering or brakes, so the B-52 went across the parking ramp into a KC-135 parked just across the ramp from the B-52, the AGM-28 Hound Dog MissileB went into the fuselage of the KC-135.(Date of accident: 31 Jan 1964)

Did You Know AMMS Had Some Young TC's at Combined Systems?

Did You Know?

Who Knew ? I Didn't

Courtesy of: Foster Beall

Does anyone recognize the Autonetics Verdan DA Coder or even know how to use it ?

You Want Trivia ? You Got Trivia...
I Bet You Didn't Know Who The Base's Were Named After.

Altus AFB - Named after the City of Altus OK

Barksdale AFB - Barksdale Air Force Base was named after Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale, a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot who lost his life August 11, 1926, while flight testing an observation type airplane near McCook Field at Dayton, Ohio.

Beale AFB - Unlike most Air Force bases, which since the birth of the Air Force in September 1947 have carried the name of famous aviators, Beale was named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale (1822-1893), the nineteenth century pioneer. Beale graduated from the Naval Academy, served in the California State Militia, led the experiment to replace Army mules with camels, and who was one of California's largest landholders

Bergstrom AFB - The name of the base was changed to Bergstrom Army Air Field on March 3, 1943 [some sources report November 11, 1943], in honor of Capt. John A. E. Bergstrom, who was killed at Clark Field, Philippine Islands, on December 8, 1941. He was the first native of Austin killed in World War II. Lyndon B. Johnson, then a US representative from Texas, petitioned Congress to rename the installation for Capt. Bergstrom.

Blytheville AFB - Named after the City of Blytheville AR

Clinton Sherman AFB - The City of Clinton and Sherman Iron Works provided the name of Clinton-Sherman Airport and later Clinton Sherman AFB

Columbus AFB - Named after the City of Columbus MS

Davis-Monthan AFB -The base was named in honor of Lieutenants Samuel H. Davis and Oscar Monthan, two Tucsonans and World War I era pilots who died in separate military aircraft accidents. Davis, who died in a Florida aircraft accident in 1921, attended the University of Arizona prior to enlisting in the Army in 1917. Monthan enlisted in the Army as a private in 1917, was commissioned as a ground officer in 1918 and later became a pilot. He was killed in a crash of a Martin bomber in Hawaii in 1924.

Dow AFB - Named after 2nd Lieutenant James Frederick Dow of Oakfield, Maine who was killed in a training flight in 1940

Eglin AFB - On 4 August 1937, the base was redesignated Eglin Field in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick I. Eglin, U.S. Air Corps, killed on 1 January 1937 in an aircraft crash.

Ellsworth AFB - On June 13, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower made a personal visit to dedicate the base in memory of Brig. Gen. Richard E. Ellsworth, commander of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, who lost his life in a B-36 accident. The base has been especially honored to bear the commander's name ever since.

Fairchild AFB - The base took its current name in November 1950, in memory of the late Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General Muir S. Fairchild, a native of Bellingham, Wash. The general entered service as a sergeant with the Washington National Guard in June 1916 and died while on duty in the Pentagon in March 1950. The formal dedication ceremony was held on July 20, 1951 to coincide with the arrival of the wing's first B-36.

Grand Forks AFB - Named after the City of Grand Forks ND

Griffiss AFB - Named in September 1948 in honor of Lt. Col. Townsend E. Griffiss of Buffalo, N.Y., an Army Air Corps pilot who died in an aircraft accident in England in 1942 -- the first US airman to lose his life in the European Theater during World War II. 

KI Sawyer AFB - The base was named for Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer, a county road commissioner who formed the plan for the county airport

Kincheloe AFB - In September, 1959, Kinross AFB was officially renamed Kincheloe AFB in honor of the late Capt. Ivan C. Kincheloe Jr., a native of Cassopoplis, MI. On 07 September 1956, Capt. Iven C. Kincheloe became the first pilot to climb above 100,000 ft as he rocketed to a peak altitude of 126,200 ft in the Bell X-2 rocket-powered research airplane. . For this spectacular flight, he was awarded the Mackay Trophy and nicknamed "America's No. 1 Spaceman". Kincheloe was killed in the crash of an F-104 on July 26, 1958.

Loring AFB - The base was named Loring AFB in October 1954 to honor a Maine Korean War hero, Major Charles J. Loring Jr., killed on November 22, 1952 while leading a flight of F-80s over North Korea and awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor.

Mather AFB - Mather Field was established as an airfield and pilot training school in 1918. Mather Air Force  Base was named for Carl Mather, a World War I test pilot and World War I Ace.

McCoy AFB - On May 7, 1958 this central Florida base was renamed McCoy Air Force Base in memory of the late Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy. Formal dedication ceremonies were held on 21 May 1958 in conjunction with a mammoth open house, during which an estimated 30,000 Floridians attended.

Minot AFB - Named after the City of Minot ND

Ramey AFB - It was named Ramey Air Force Base in honor of Brigadier General Howard K. Ramey (1896-1943), who was killed in the South Pacific on a reconnaissance mission during World War II.

Robins AFB - The town, Warner Robins was named in honor of Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins, father of modern Air Force logistics from which Robins AFB arose

Seymour Johnson AFB - The base is named in honor of U.S. Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a native of Goldsboro. Johnson, a test pilot, was killed in an aircraft crash near Norbeck, Md., March 5, 1941.

Travis AFB - Travis AFB is named in honor of Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, who was killed in a B-29 crash at the installation on 5 August 1950. At the time of his death, the general was commander of the 9th Heavy Bombardment Wing and was the base's commanding general. Formal dedication ceremonies were held on 21 April 1951.

Turner AFB - The installation was officially designated as Turner Field in honor of 2nd Lt. Sullivan Preston Turner, a native of Georgia who was killed in an airplane accident at Langley Field, Virginia on 23 May 1940. (In January 1948, this designation was changed to Turner Air Force Base)

Walker AFB - In January 1948, Roswell Army Air Field, was designated Walker Air Force Base after Brigadier General Kenneth Newton Walker. On Jan. 5, 1943, Brig. Gen. Walker was reported missing in action after a B-17 Flying Fortress mission over the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul, New Britain, Papua, New Guinea. Though intercepted by enemy fighters, his group scored direct hits on nine Japanese ships. General Walker was last seen leaving the target area with one engine on fire and several fighters on his tail. General Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Wright Patterson AFB - In 1924, Wright Field was established on land donated by the community. Wilbur Wright Field and the depot area became Patterson Field on July 6, 1931, in honor of Lt. Frank Patterson, who was killed in 1918 in a flight line crash of a DH-4 while flight testing the synchronization of machine gun and propeller. In 1948, Wright and Patterson fields were merged and created Wright-Patterson AFB.

Wurtsmith AFB - In 1953 the name Wurtsmith was officially recognized. The name, honoring the life of a Michigan native, General Paul B. Wurtsmith, killed when his plane, a B-25, crashed into a North Carolina mountain.

Signs of the Times

Magazine Articles From The 1960's

From the 1960’s to Today

Courtesy of: Robert Mills

An article published in the August 2004 issue of the Air Force Magazine
"We are Gone But Not Forgotten"

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