"Coded" names to early RAF Avionic Systems
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"Coded" names to early RAF Avionic Systems
Prior to my career-change to RAF Aircrew (1970's) I was an L Fitt AR (Air Radar Fitter) Tradesman and that there were many "Coded" names to the multitude of Airborne Systems at that time. I recall "Green Satin" which was a Doppler Radar Nav System that measured drift and groundspeed. "Blue Shadow" provided a Radar picture of the scanned area. "Red Steer" was the rearward warning Radar for the Vulcan and the Victor.
I recall a Radar Altimeter system that was fitted to the Comet II (51 Sqn); which was an "O Type" display... I cannot now remember the "coded" name for that particular system.
Navigation & Bombing System (NBS) was the installed system for the Vulcan and Victor.
What other "coded" names were there for the many "Cold War" systems installed into RAF aircraft?
Lost memories!
TCF
I recall a Radar Altimeter system that was fitted to the Comet II (51 Sqn); which was an "O Type" display... I cannot now remember the "coded" name for that particular system.
Navigation & Bombing System (NBS) was the installed system for the Vulcan and Victor.
What other "coded" names were there for the many "Cold War" systems installed into RAF aircraft?
Lost memories!
TCF
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Wiki is your friend!
See: List of Rainbow Codes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NBS was also in the Valiant, and a few Hastings at Lindholme
By the way, what is/was an L Fitt AR?
I was simply an Air Radar Fitter (Bomber) when I was demobbed in 65.
See: List of Rainbow Codes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NBS was also in the Valiant, and a few Hastings at Lindholme
By the way, what is/was an L Fitt AR?
I was simply an Air Radar Fitter (Bomber) when I was demobbed in 65.
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TCF,
Although I trained as LFittNI (MCCTTS, 30 MU, a long time ago), I did work on elements of the Blue Silk and Green Satin. I also recall the name Green Hornet, but it does not appear in Ians Wiki link.
Lost memories indeed...
Although I trained as LFittNI (MCCTTS, 30 MU, a long time ago), I did work on elements of the Blue Silk and Green Satin. I also recall the name Green Hornet, but it does not appear in Ians Wiki link.
Lost memories indeed...
Buccaneer Radar - BLUE PARROT
The search and mapping radar in the Buccaneer was BLUE PARROT. IIRC the entire radar package could be swapped out in 2 hours. This was often the quickest way to fix an obscure snag if the aircraft was required urgently and a spare radar pack was available.
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Buccaneer also had Blue Jacket and Violet Picture. As well as the Blue Parrot radar as stated above. Pinkys could change one in under an hour when an early chop was on the cards !!
when an early chop was on the cards !!
In general terms, "Blue" indicated a primary radar or doppler (like Blue Orchid). Many remain in service. Blue Kestrel radar, for example, in Merlin. But, a Weather radar simply uses the manufacturer's designator e.g. EW190/290 in C130s, Jetstreams, Dominies, Nimrods etc. There are exceptions - Sea Spray radar (RN Lynx) never got a "Blue" designator, mainly because the company wanted to call it Blue Tit and MoD baulked.
You mention Blue Parrot in Buccs. As the Phantom radar was a US system, it used the US designator - AWG10/11/12. This applies to all US sourced kit which explains why there seems to be so few with such names.
In other words, it was a bit of an ad hoc system.
The "proper" means of identification is the Airborne Radio Installation number. Blue Parrot was ARI 5930. This number was carefully determined. If it began with a 5, it was generally sourced from an RRE/RSRE specification and indicated MoD owned much of the Intellectual Property Rights. That is, if it was sold to other customers by the manufacturer, we got Commercial Exploitation rates, depending on how much of the design we owned. In some cases, this was very significant income. It also explained why MoD would have a designated project manager for an equipment that the UK didn't actually use. For example, RN Sea Kings had ARI 5991 Sea Searcher radar, but the project manager also managed the Super Searcher and Super MAREC series, which were based on our UK design but had been upgraded by the Design Authority at their expense. It was the PM's job to determine what percentage of the design we still owned, to agree the CER. (Not sure MoD even know they have to do this now. This expertise and experience was ditched long ago, so we (UK-PLC) are probably dipping out.
The 4-digit "5-series" ran out in the mid-80s and the 5-digit commenced. For example, Blue Kestrel (above) is ARI 50001 (The ARI number was applied for by the RN in October 1985, which shows how far ahead of the airframe the avionics projects were!!).
If the ARI number commenced with a 2 for example, this meant the IPR rested mainly with the Design Authority. This aspect was important to procurers, because there was no faffing around with nugatory competition - you knew there could only be one supplier for most activities and lead times were relatively fixed.
This system fell into disuse in the early 90s following an AMSO edict that the Avionics List would no longer be maintained. The immediate effect, to both procurer and user, was a huge increase in "production lead time" as they insisted on competing every singe requirement. Many projects were simply frozen for years because a competition could not be run, as only one company could answer the ITT properly.
You mention Blue Parrot in Buccs. As the Phantom radar was a US system, it used the US designator - AWG10/11/12. This applies to all US sourced kit which explains why there seems to be so few with such names.
In other words, it was a bit of an ad hoc system.
The "proper" means of identification is the Airborne Radio Installation number. Blue Parrot was ARI 5930. This number was carefully determined. If it began with a 5, it was generally sourced from an RRE/RSRE specification and indicated MoD owned much of the Intellectual Property Rights. That is, if it was sold to other customers by the manufacturer, we got Commercial Exploitation rates, depending on how much of the design we owned. In some cases, this was very significant income. It also explained why MoD would have a designated project manager for an equipment that the UK didn't actually use. For example, RN Sea Kings had ARI 5991 Sea Searcher radar, but the project manager also managed the Super Searcher and Super MAREC series, which were based on our UK design but had been upgraded by the Design Authority at their expense. It was the PM's job to determine what percentage of the design we still owned, to agree the CER. (Not sure MoD even know they have to do this now. This expertise and experience was ditched long ago, so we (UK-PLC) are probably dipping out.
The 4-digit "5-series" ran out in the mid-80s and the 5-digit commenced. For example, Blue Kestrel (above) is ARI 50001 (The ARI number was applied for by the RN in October 1985, which shows how far ahead of the airframe the avionics projects were!!).
If the ARI number commenced with a 2 for example, this meant the IPR rested mainly with the Design Authority. This aspect was important to procurers, because there was no faffing around with nugatory competition - you knew there could only be one supplier for most activities and lead times were relatively fixed.
This system fell into disuse in the early 90s following an AMSO edict that the Avionics List would no longer be maintained. The immediate effect, to both procurer and user, was a huge increase in "production lead time" as they insisted on competing every singe requirement. Many projects were simply frozen for years because a competition could not be run, as only one company could answer the ITT properly.
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By the way, what is/was an L Fitt AR?
Blue Silk was the one that I couldn't remember. It did the same job as Green Satin and I often wondered why it carried a different designator. That being said, they were both a "bitch" to remove/fit from the under-floor area of the Comet; especially the TR Unit, a hulking great twin-dustbin type of arrangement that must have weighed-in at around 100+ Lbs.
TCF
H2S is hydrogen sulphide, which has a distinctly unpleasant smell. The story I heard is that early on in the design, a couple of the boffins were explaining the system to an RAF bod who didn't like some aspect of it.
"That stinks!" he declared
And so the system became known as H2S.
"That stinks!" he declared
And so the system became known as H2S.
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LJR.
H2S was not just fitted to Lancasters. It was carried by a number of other aircraft such as the largely unsung Halifax.
The origin of the designation is obscure. Some say it stood for 'Height to Ground' or Height to Slope'. Others say 'Home Sweet Home'.
Whatever, in wartime, code names for new bits of kit such as Oboe or Gee needed to be deliberately vague or misleading for obvious reasons.
LORAN does indeed stand for Long Range Navigation. It is still extant in the form of LORAN C coverage in some parts of the globe. It is a post war development of the original wartime GEE and GEE H.
H2S was not just fitted to Lancasters. It was carried by a number of other aircraft such as the largely unsung Halifax.
The origin of the designation is obscure. Some say it stood for 'Height to Ground' or Height to Slope'. Others say 'Home Sweet Home'.
Whatever, in wartime, code names for new bits of kit such as Oboe or Gee needed to be deliberately vague or misleading for obvious reasons.
LORAN does indeed stand for Long Range Navigation. It is still extant in the form of LORAN C coverage in some parts of the globe. It is a post war development of the original wartime GEE and GEE H.
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Oboe was so called because the tone heard by the receiving aircraft was similar to the musical instrument.
The lines on a Gee chart resembled a grid, so the first letter of that word was taken to name Gee.
The lines on a Gee chart resembled a grid, so the first letter of that word was taken to name Gee.
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I joined up as an Air Radar Mechanic & was trained on H2SMK4A (Navigation & Bombing System) as there were still a few Lincolns flying about. As they were scrapped, I then went on to service Loran, GEE II & GEE-H on Canberras.
After a year long Fitters Course at Yatesbury, I was responsible for GEE III, Rad Alt, Orange Putter (Valiants), Red Steer (Victors), Green Satin, Blue Silk, IFF & SIF & TACAN (AtoA).
There is a very interesting document called "United Kingdom Aerospace & Weapons Projects. The Colour (or Rainbow) Codename".
Just Google "rainbow Codes" & go into the Skomer website, under colour codes.
After a year long Fitters Course at Yatesbury, I was responsible for GEE III, Rad Alt, Orange Putter (Valiants), Red Steer (Victors), Green Satin, Blue Silk, IFF & SIF & TACAN (AtoA).
There is a very interesting document called "United Kingdom Aerospace & Weapons Projects. The Colour (or Rainbow) Codename".
Just Google "rainbow Codes" & go into the Skomer website, under colour codes.
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Vulcan ECM systems had a whole range of different colour designations the names of which have long since evaporated from my memory cells. Orange Putter rings a bell somewhere but don't think it was ECM.
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Some interesting stuff below. Some errors .... 'within the fuselage extension were four ECM jamming systems that required a transmitter and power unit each'. Not quite. The B2's three Red Shrimps were separate transmitter and power unit but the Blue Diver (X2) and Green Palm VHF Comm jammer were self contained. Then along came X Band.
Avro Vulcan - Google Books
Newark Air Museum.
Avro Vulcan - Google Books
Newark Air Museum.
Last edited by forget; 1st Apr 2011 at 09:52.
Originally Posted by tucumseh
There are exceptions - Sea Spray radar (RN Lynx) never got a "Blue" designator, mainly because the company wanted to call it Blue Tit and MoD baulked.
Sometimes - say, on April the First - I'm less convinced.
Although the Rainbow Codes started off with some semblence of order it soon became mangled. The first one I remember was Blue Saga, not a radar but the original warning receiver on the V-Force.
Like most others I liked to think that the Hydrogen Sulphide reference to H2S was true. I eventually found out that it meant Height 2 Surface, quite innocent really.
Green Satin was a heavy thing to change but there were several differences to Blue Silk. They had different antennas and were packaged differently. Green Satin was the unpopular Tri-set and had a fixed Ground Speed range. Blue silk had a dome shaped transmitter and the other assemblies were half cheese shaped. This had originally been to allow Blue Silk to be fitted in a pod with the domed Tx. pointing forward, the cheeses hung on the side and the smaller antenna underneath. Blue Silk also had 2 different Ground Speed ranges selected by shorting links. The operating speed of the Aircraft dictated the speed setting of links fitted. Due to the antenna differences, Blue Silk was supposed to have a better "smooth sea" performance than "Green Grot".
Like most others I liked to think that the Hydrogen Sulphide reference to H2S was true. I eventually found out that it meant Height 2 Surface, quite innocent really.
Green Satin was a heavy thing to change but there were several differences to Blue Silk. They had different antennas and were packaged differently. Green Satin was the unpopular Tri-set and had a fixed Ground Speed range. Blue silk had a dome shaped transmitter and the other assemblies were half cheese shaped. This had originally been to allow Blue Silk to be fitted in a pod with the domed Tx. pointing forward, the cheeses hung on the side and the smaller antenna underneath. Blue Silk also had 2 different Ground Speed ranges selected by shorting links. The operating speed of the Aircraft dictated the speed setting of links fitted. Due to the antenna differences, Blue Silk was supposed to have a better "smooth sea" performance than "Green Grot".