Fort Rucker Army Aviation Museum photos

[RNRobert]

Last week I was in Alabama, and while there I visited the Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker. This museum has WW1 aircraft (mostly reproductions), liaison aircraft used by the Army in WW2, and a large assortment of helicopters that were used from the tail end of WW2, through Korea and Vietnam. up to the present day, as well as a number of other aircraft and artifacts related to Army aviation.

I thought I'd share them with the folks on this forum- you can see the pictures here.

BTW, they had this radar on display, but unlike most of the other displays, had no sign. Any help in identifying it would be appreciated.

[oldpop2000]

Jan 26, 2015 18:39:01 GMT -6 RNRobert said:

Last week I was in Alabama, and while there I visited the Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker. This museum has WW1 aircraft (mostly reproductions), liaison aircraft used by the Army in WW2, and a large assortment of helicopters that were used from the tail end of WW2, through Korea and Vietnam. up to the present day, as well as a number of other aircraft and artifacts related to Army aviation.

I thought I'd share them with the folks on this forum- you can see the pictures here.

BTW, they had this radar on display, but unlike most of the other displays, had no sign. Any help in identifying it would be appreciated.

That is a TPN-18. A helicopter-transportable radar set used at forward airstrips and heliports for ATC, ASR and GCA landing. Frequency is 9000 to 9600 MHZ, power output is 200KW, PRR is 1200 PPS, range of 40 NM, weighs 3012 lbs and has a 360 degree search pattern with a -1 to 35 degree vertical pattern. Manufactured by ITT Gilfillan. Here is one at Bien Hoa Airbase, Vietnam of the 125th ATC Battalion.  

[RNRobert]

Jan 26, 2015 21:56:47 GMT -6 oldpop2000 said:

Jan 26, 2015 18:39:01 GMT -6 RNRobert said:

Last week I was in Alabama, and while there I visited the Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker. This museum has WW1 aircraft (mostly reproductions), liaison aircraft used by the Army in WW2, and a large assortment of helicopters that were used from the tail end of WW2, through Korea and Vietnam. up to the present day, as well as a number of other aircraft and artifacts related to Army aviation.

I thought I'd share them with the folks on this forum- you can see the pictures here.

BTW, they had this radar on display, but unlike most of the other displays, had no sign. Any help in identifying it would be appreciated.

That is a TPN-18. A helicopter-transportable radar set used at forward airstrips and heliports for ATC, ASR and GCA landing. Frequency is 9000 to 9600 MHZ, power output is 200KW, PRR is 1200 PPS, range of 40 NM, weighs 3012 lbs and has a 360 degree search pattern with a -1 to 35 degree vertical pattern. Manufactured by ITT Gilfillan. Here is one at Bien Hoa Airbase, Vietnam of the 125th ATC Battalion.  

Thanks! I figured you'd know.

[oldpop2000]

Just a note: to figure out the designation for this piece of equipment, isn't really hard.

1. It's mounted on a tripod and not a truck and so it is an air transportable device or a "T" in the Joint AN designation system for installation.
2. Its a radar so it is a "P".
3. The radar antennas are very small so they are very high frequency and short ranged, gigahertz frequency. This means that it is most likely a navigation or airfield type system with PPI scopes of 1960's vintage. The giveaway was the height finder coupled with the search antenna. The height finder is the orange peel style antenna, the beam is narrow in the vertical but wide in the horizontal, the opposite of the other. The other is more of flashlight beam.

Hence, TPN and now the game is to research the various TPN designated systems for the Army.

[RNRobert]

Jan 27, 2015 8:50:34 GMT -6 oldpop2000 said:

Just a note: to figure out the designation for this piece of equipment, isn't really hard.

1. It's mounted on a tripod and not a truck and so it is an air transportable device or a "T" in the Joint AN designation system for installation.
2. Its a radar so it is a "P".
3. The radar antennas are very small so they are very high frequency and short ranged, gigahertz frequency. This means that it is most likely a navigation or airfield type system with PPI scopes of 1960's vintage. The giveaway was the height finder coupled with the search antenna. The height finder is the orange peel style antenna, the beam is narrow in the vertical but wide in the horizontal, the opposite of the other. The other is more of flashlight beam.

Hence, TPN and now the game is to research the various TPN designated systems for the Army.

I am somewhat familiar with the AN designation system, but mostly just the Navy stuff- for example, the BPS-15 radar used by the submarines I served on. When it comes to Army/Air Force gear, I'm pretty much in the dark, particularly with radar.

[oldpop2000]

Jan 27, 2015 9:25:13 GMT -6 RNRobert said:

Jan 27, 2015 8:50:34 GMT -6 oldpop2000 said:

Just a note: to figure out the designation for this piece of equipment, isn't really hard.

1. It's mounted on a tripod and not a truck and so it is an air transportable device or a "T" in the Joint AN designation system for installation.
2. Its a radar so it is a "P".
3. The radar antennas are very small so they are very high frequency and short ranged, gigahertz frequency. This means that it is most likely a navigation or airfield type system with PPI scopes of 1960's vintage. The giveaway was the height finder coupled with the search antenna. The height finder is the orange peel style antenna, the beam is narrow in the vertical but wide in the horizontal, the opposite of the other. The other is more of flashlight beam.

Hence, TPN and now the game is to research the various TPN designated systems for the Army.

I am somewhat familiar with the AN designation system, but mostly just the Navy stuff- for example, the BPS-15 radar used by the submarines I served on. When it comes to Army/Air Force gear, I'm pretty much in the dark, particularly with radar.

Excellent, then you have the basic understanding, just start on the left and work to the right. Radar isn't that difficult. The problem nowadays is phased array in which height and search are combined into one usually square or rectangular antenna. It gets all the necessary information of height, range, and azimuth in one beam. It can also track using computers and determine closing rates of an object in the air. That's just about it. In fact, if you see that kind of antenna, the radar is usually a newer set. I will always try to explain how I arrived at the answer because I don't know all the equipment that was produced. This will help you when you go to a museum so that you can ask the right questions and get good answer.