Originally Posted by
meleagertoo
Could you please expand on that procedure?
Aircrew drawing pictures of clouds? What on earth for?
Here is a Form 2347, front and back, printed in 1961. Later versions were redesigned and had more space for completing and less blurb, but for our purposes this is perhaps more explanatory. What on earth for? You have to remember that parts of the world then, especially the oceans, might just have well been on the moon for all the data that they offered to scientists, forecasters, researchers, etc. In the absence of an OWS, and other means of observations, these Airmets helped build the model of the atmosphere along your particular track and at your height. The nav would have determined the W/V from his air plot having taken sextant fixes from the sun or the stars as appropriate. No GPS, no Doppler, no LORAN, no Radar, just Dead Reckoning and an API. Only when your neared your destination could you tune in an NDB to update the plot (no VOR or TACAN either!).
As an example, pairs of 48Sqn Hastings supplied logistical support to Christmas Island (by then reduced to a Care and Maintenance Role) in the 60s. One aircraft would fly north 1000nm to Hickam AFB, the other remaining at Christmas to provided SAR backup for it, and then swapping roles next time round. At Hickam we would hand over the Airep, answer any questions their forecaster might have, and repair to night stop at Fort Derussy (a US Army R&R centre) on Waikiki Beach. It was, of course, shear hell but it just had to be done! The next morning the nav would be given his own winds back at Met Briefing, it was all they had!
Incidentally, the Hawaiian ADIZ had Gates, defined as TACAN radials and distances, that had to be reported when inbound (monitored by their radar of course). On the first flight inbound we were told to report such and such a gate. "Negative TACAN", reported the Sig. OK report established on ...VOR radial 180. "Negative VOR". They sensibly then dropped the ball into our court and asked what aid we would be using. A quick search of the En-Route Doc produced the answer. "Tell him the Radio Range, Sig". And so for the rest of the detachment we homed in on the Diamond Head RR, drifting through A's, to steady, to N's and back again. Before we departed for the last time the captain was required to sign an FAA disclaimer that he would not require use of that facility again, having been the first notified user in years. It was scheduled for demolition and future detachments would have to make their own arrangements