Tuesday, January 4, 2011

AN/SPG-53

The AN/SPG-53 was a ship-based fire control radar developed in the 1960s by Western Electric for the US Navy and manufactured by AT&T. It was designed for controlling the Mark 42 5"/54 caliber gun on the Belknap class cruisers, Mitscher class destroyers, and the Knox class frigates. The AN/SPG-53 operates in the frequency range between 8.5 and 10 GHz with a constant performance of 35 kW and is used in combination with the Mark 68 gun fire-control system. The AN/SPG-53F variant can track targets, sending this data to the Gun Computer System which calculates the firing solution for the Mk 42 Mod 10 Gunmounts.



Monday, January 3, 2011

AN/MPN-1

The AN/MPN-1 was a mobile ground-controlled approach radar first used during the Second World War. This radar was employed to assist the process of directing aircraft over a predetermined glide path for safe approach to an airdrome runway under conditions approaching zero visibility. The AN/MPN-1 provided range and azimuth information on aircraft within a radius of 30 miles (48 km) with an operational ceiling of 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Communications were provided by the SCR-274 transmitter, and BC-342 receivers. A V-8 truck contained the system's two PE-127 power units (rated output of each 7.5-KW), one air conditioner unit, and equipment spare parts. The V-2 trailer contained the system's radar and communications sets.