IBM 473L Command and Control System

Last updated

The IBM 473L Command and Control System (473L System, 473L colloq.) was a USAF [1] Cold War "Big L" Support System with computer equipment at The Pentagon and, in Pennsylvania, the Alternate National Military Command Center nuclear bunker. Each 473L site included a Data Processing Subsystem (DPSS), Integrated Console Subsystem (ICSS), [2] Large Panel Display Subsystem, and Data Communications Subsystem [3] (Automatic Digital Network interface: [4] "AUTODIN Data Terminal Bay"). [5] The "System 473L" was an "on-line, real-time information processing system designed to facilitate effective management of USAF resources, particularly during emergency situations" [6] e.g., for: "situation monitoring, resource monitoring, plan evaluation, plan generation and modification, and operations monitoring". [7] In 1967, the 473L System was used during the "HIGH HEELS 67" exercise "to test the whole spectrum of command in a strategic crisis". [8] :430

Contents

Background

In early 1952, the Pentagon's USAF Command Post (AFCP) "arranged" to receive Air Defense Command (ADC) exercise data [9] such as for planned mock attacks into defense sectors by faker aircraft (e.g., in 1955 on Amarillo, Denver, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, San Antonio [10] and Phoenix. [11] ) An Experimental SAGE Subsector" [12] for testing a Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was created using a July 1955 prototype air defense computer [13] ADC's 1955 command post blockhouse was completed at Ent AFB, and "in September 1955, the Air Force…replace[d its] command post's outmoded telephone system with a modern switchboard with 100 long-distance lines and room for more, so that 20 people in various parts of the country could hold as many as four conferences at a time". [8] The Alternate Joint Communication Center in the Raven Rock nuclear bunker was equipped by the end of 1955, [9] and ADC broke ground in 1957 for deploying the Burroughs 416L SAGE Air Defense System [14] (the BMEWS 474L General Operational Requirement was specified in 1958.) After President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed concern about nuclear command and control, a "1958 reorganization in NCA relations with the joint commands" was implemented, [8] and the "AWCS 512L" system was deployed by June 1958. The GOR for a computerized 465L SAC Automated Command and Control System was issued in 1958 for Strategic Air Command's nuclear bunkers (1957 Offutt AFB bunker & 1958 at The Notch). A Joint War Room was activated at the Pentagon in 1960 and in December 1960, the AFCP reverted to a USAF-only mission when its "joint and national responsibilities" ended. [15] After a "Quick Fix" program completed in the fall of 1960 [9] and NORAD's Alert Network Number 1 was providing data from the Ent AFB command post in Colorado Springs, the AFCP had several rear projection screens, DEFCON status boards, and a display with colored regional blocks for the Bomb Alarm System [16] (work had started in May 1959 for transmitting BAS data to "six[ where? ] command centers".) [17] In January 1962, the Deep Underground Command Center was planned as a nuclear bunker beneath the Pentagon (the Raven Rock bunker would be phased out.)

The Air Force Command Post Systems Division was activated in 1960 for handling AFCP equipment issues (cf. AFSC's Electronic Systems Division which had the SPO) and in October 1962, DoD Directive S-5100.30 "designated 473L as the “Air Force service headquarters subsystem” of the Worldwide Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS) established the same month." [9]

OTC phase

The "Operational and Training Capability" (OTC) phase by IBM Federal Systems [16] was the first stage of development for the 473 program. [16] Each "Computer Communication Console" by TRW Space Technology Laboratories [7] for OTC was part of the "DC400B/DIB display and interrogation system" that had 2 "10-inch CRT displays together with a sophisticated keyboard" [16] This "temporary 473L system" [9] had an IBM 1401 computer and IBM 1405 Disk Storage Unit. [16] On January 1, 1963, ESD's 473L System Program Office was expanded (473L/492L SPO) with the added 492L responsibility for developing the United States Strike Command's Joint Airborne Communications Center/Command Post (SPOs were separated on June 15, 1965). [18]

OUR phase

As an upgrade before the IOC phase, an IBM 1410 was leased in February 1964, and the IBM 1401 computer was phased out by April—revision of OTC software for the 1410 computer was by Project OUR (OTC Update and Revision). [9]

IOC phase

The Librascope AN/FYQ-11 Data Processor Set [5] was "a configuration of the L-3055" computer that Librascope manufactured at Glendale [19] procured for the Initial Operational Capability phase with limited FYQ-11 equipment (e.g., without OA-6041 Control-Indicator Console). [3] and only "4 integrated consoles". [2] FYQ-11 had been accepted by the USAF Electronic Systems Division in late March 1965 [9] :39 to replace the IBM 1410 (each FYQ-11 was "234 cu ft [and required] 500 sq ft" area). [20] The FYQ-11 had been proposed on February 19, 1962, for the Complete Operational Capability [4] (dual AN/FYQ-11 sets with only a single OA-6041.) [3] COC programs planned for the L-3055 included the "Deployment Monitor", "ACE-Tactical", and "ACE-Transport" [21] (Computer Based Training on the FYQ-11 was also planned.) [22] After FYQ-11 problems, the USAF Chief of Staff in 1966 cancelled the AN/FYQ-11 and the Comptroller was directed to dispose of "the L-3055 system's equipment" [9] (1977 lawsuit claims by the 1968 Librascope parent--The Singer Company—were denied.)

Complete operational capability

A second IBM 1410 computer was installed by December 15, 1966, [9] :47 and the entire 473L System included:

AN/FYA-2 Integrated Data Transfer Console
The AN/FYA-2 [5] ("473L Integrated Console" [23] with Logic Keyboard Display (LKB) provided the fully equipped 473L operator environment—cf. AN/FYA-3 [24] didn't have a Hard Copy Device (HC) for the Multicolored Display (MC), nor a Console Printer (CP); while the AN/FYA-4 only had an Electronic Typewriter/Display (RT) and CP. [2] The console was run by a Monitor Program in the DPSS, [21] and "operational capabilities [were] exercised via operational capability overlays; that is, via plastic masks fitting over the logic keyboard portion of the operator console." [6] The original COC plan was for DPSS output for 11 MCs and 15 CPs (i.e., 4 of the simplest AN/FYA-4 consoles for printing reports). [3]
Query Language (473L Query)
[25] Query Language was "very similar to the COLINGO query language [7] and was "a constrained English language…for man-machine communication in System 473L. …to retrieve data from any file in the system or to perform certain other functions." [21] For example, the code for airfields both within Brazil and within a 2000-mile great-circle distance of Brazilia is: [7]
Retrieve airfields with country > Brazil, GCD (Brazilia » 2000)
Large Panel Display Subsystem [3]
IT&T was awarded the May 1965 contract for the large 473L display which was to present information in both black and white and in color. [9] In 1971 an Iconorama was still being used by "NORAD at[ where? ] the Air Force System 473L". [26]
External image
Searchtool.svg block diagram
Searchtool.svg AN/FYQ-11 CPU Subsystem (p. 12)
Mass Memory Subsystem (p. 4)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-Automatic Ground Environment</span> Historic US military computer network

The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. SAGE directed and controlled the NORAD response to a possible Soviet air attack, operating in this role from the late 1950s into the 1980s. Its enormous computers and huge displays remain a part of cold war lore, and after decommissioning were common props in movies such as Dr. Strangelove and Colossus, and on science fiction TV series such as The Time Tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NORAD</span> Combined organization of the US and Canada providing air defence for North America

North American Aerospace Defense Command, known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada department, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyenne Mountain Complex</span> Space Force installation

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a United States Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities of several tenant units. Also located in Colorado Springs is Peterson Space Force Base, where the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters are located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central</span> A computerized command and control system for Cold War ground-controlled interception

The AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central, referred to as the Q7 for short, was a computerized air defence command and control system. It was used by the United States Air Force for ground-controlled interception as part of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment network during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Military Command Center</span> Main war rooms for the President and Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon

The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is a Pentagon command and communications center for the National Command Authority. Maintained by the Department of the Air Force as the "DoD Executive Agent" for NMCC logistical, budgetary, facility, and systems support; the NMCC operators are in the Joint Staff's J-3 (Operations) Directorate. "The NMCC is responsible for generating Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) to missile launch control centers, nuclear submarines, recon aircraft, and battlefield commanders".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raven Rock Mountain Complex</span> US continuity of government bunker in Pennsylavania

The Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC), also known as Site R, is a U.S. military installation with an underground nuclear bunker near Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, at Raven Rock Mountain that has been called an "underground Pentagon". The bunker has emergency operations centers for the United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Along with Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center in Virginia and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado, it formed the core bunker complexes for the US continuity of government plan during the Cold War to survive a nuclear attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Librascope</span> American technology company

Librascope was a Glendale, California, division of General Precision, Inc. (GPI). It was founded in 1937 by Lewis W. Imm to build and operate theater equipment, and acquired by General Precision in 1941. During World War II it worked on improving aircraft load balancing.

The IBM AN/FSQ-31 SAC Data Processing System was a USAF command, control, and coordination system for the Cold War Strategic Air Command (SAC). IBM's Federal Systems Division was the prime contractor for the AN/FSQ-31s, which were part of the TBD 465L SAC Automated Command and Control System (SACCS), a "Big L" system of systems which had numerous sites throughout the Continental United States: "all SAC command posts and missile Launch Control Centers", a communication network, etc.; and the several FSQ-31 sites including:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/FSQ-32</span> Command, control, and coordination system in California, United States

The AN/FSQ-32 SAGE Solid State Computer was a planned military computer of the United States Air Force. It was central for deployment to Super Combat Centers in nuclear bunkers and to some above-ground military installations. In 1958, Air Defense Command planned to acquire 13 Q-32 centrals for several Air Divisions/Sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Defense Center</span> Former space operation center

The Space Defense Center (SDC) was a space operation center of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. It was successively housed at two Colorado locations, Ent Air Force Base, followed by Cheyenne Mountain's Group III Space Defense Center The 1st Aerospace Control Squadron manned the SDC at both locations, which used the Electronic Systems Division's 496L System for processing and displaying data combined from the U.S. "Air Force's Space Track and the Navy's Spasur" (NAVSPASUR).

Backup Interceptor Control was the Electronic Systems Division 416M System to backup the SAGE 416L System in the United States and Canada. BUIC deployed Cold War command, control, and coordination systems to SAGE radar stations to create dispersed NORAD Control Centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Heath radar station</span> Radar station

The Fort Heath radar station was a USAF radar site and US Army Missile Master installation of the joint-use site system (JUSS) for North American Air Defense at a former coastal defense site. The Cold War radar station had 2 USAF AN/FPS-6B height finding radars, 2 Army AN/FPS-6A height finders, an FAA ARSR-1 radar emplaced 1958-9, and an Army nuclear bunker. Arctic Towers were the pedestals for the FPS antennas and radomes, while the Air Route Surveillance Radar was on a 50-foot extension temperate tower adjacent to the Federal Aviation Administration building.

The GE AN/GPA-73 Radar Course Directing Group was an air defense command, control, and coordination system of the United States Air Force. It was developed for the Electronic Systems Division 412L Air Weapons Control System for weapons direction. The AN/GPA-73 was used to create a "Base Air Defense Ground Environment", for which Air Defense Command had recommended the system as "SAGE back-up control of BOMARC" in June 1958. When the GPA-73 was emplaced with the AN/FSA-21 Weapons Control Group computer for GCI, the system created a "miniature SAGE" military installation. The GPA-73 could also direct Project Nike surface-to-air missile fire from Nike Integrated Fire Control sites equipped with the "412 Target Designation System" in the Battery Control Van in a space allocated by February 1957 "behind the Acquition Operator [sic]". and the AN/GPA-73.

An Air Defense Direction Center (ADDC) was a type of United States command post for assessing Cold War radar tracks, assigning height requests to available height-finder radars, and for "Weapons Direction": coordinating command guidance of aircraft from more than 1 site for ground-controlled interception. As with the World War II Aircraft Warning Service CONUS defense network, a "manual air defense system" was used through the 1950s Along with 182 radar stations at "the end of 1957, ADC operated … 17 control centers", and the Ground Observation Corps was TBD on TBD. With the formation of NORAD, several types of ADDCs were planned by Air Defense Command:

The Experimental Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Sector was a prototype Cold War Air Defense Sector for developing the Semi Automatic Ground Environment. The Lincoln Laboratory control center in a new building was at Lexington, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITT 465L Strategic Air Command Control System</span>

The ITT 465L Strategic Air Command Control System was a Cold War "Big L" network of computer and communication systems for command and control of Strategic Air Command "combat aircraft, refueling tankers, [and] ballistic missiles". International Telephone and Telegraph was the prime contractor for Project 465, and SACCS had "Cross Tell Links" between command posts at Offutt AFB, March AFB, & Barksdale AFB (SACCS also communicated with the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and Air Force command posts. The 465L System included IBM AN/FSQ-31 SAC Data Processing Systems, Remote and Simplex Remote Communication Systems, SAC Network Control Office, "4-wire, Schedule 4, Type 4B alternate voice-data operation", and one-way communication with "ICBM launch control centers" In addition to IBM for the "Super SAGE type computers", another of the 6 direct subcontractors was AT&T,

The National Military Command System (NMCS) was the federal government of the United States' Cold War command and control system that consisted of the National Military Command Center (NMCC) at The Pentagon, the Alternate National Military Command Center (NMCC) at Pennsylvania Raven Rock Mountain, 3 National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) aircraft on 24-hour ground alert, 2 National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA) ships, "and interconnecting communications".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iconorama</span> Cold War rear projection display used by U.S. & Canadian military

Iconorama was a Cold War electronic projection system for graphic presentation developed by the firm Fenske, Fedrick and Miller. The Iconorama was ordered by the United States Air Force in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missile Warning Center</span> Military unit

The Missile Warning Center (MWC) is a center that provides missile warning and defense for United States Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command, incorporating both space-based and terrestrial sensors. The MWC is located at Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station.

FYQ-93 was a computer system used from 1983 to 2006, and built for the Joint Surveillance System (JSS) by the Hughes Aircraft Company. The system consisted of a fault tolerant central computer complex using a two string concept that interfaced with many display consoles and interfaced with external radars to provide a region-sector display of air traffic.

References

  1. "473L System's AN/FYQ-11" (article transcript at scienceservice.si.edu). Electronics. July 30, 1964. Retrieved 2014-04-02. Air Force Command Post Systems Division under the USAF Deputy Chief… Built around two large computers and 25 other electronic units, the data-processing equipment will become the nerve center of USAF's 473L command-and-control system already at work in the Air Force Command Post at the Pentagon. … The 473L complex
  2. 1 2 3 Brown, C.B. (4 December 1962). 473L DPSS/ICSS Interface Description (Technical Memorandum) (Report). MITRE Corporation. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Programmer's Reference Manual For An L-3055 Data Processing System Used As The AN/FYQ-11 Data Processor Set. 15 September 1963. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-08. Central Processor, Control Console, and Core Memory … Buffer Processors …Magnetic Tape Consoles, Card Reader/Punch, and Line Printer…Disc Memory()
  4. 1 2 SINGER CO., LIBRASCOPE DIVISION v. UNITED STATES, 568F.2d695 (December 14, 1977)("On October 16, 1962, the System Program Director forwarded to Librascope a draft of the interface specification that had been generated by the SIDG meetings. The accompanying transmittal document requested the 473-L [DPSS] contractor and subcontractors to review the draft specification … L-119 buffer processor ").
  5. 1 2 3 "Figure 1-2. AN/FYQ-11 Data Flow and Switching Control Diagram", Programmer's Reference Manual For An L-3055 Data Processing System Used As The AN/FYQ-11 Data Processor Set, pp. 1–3, 1–4, archived from the original on 2016-03-03, retrieved 2014-04-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. 1 2 Appendix A of TR-66-261
  7. 1 2 3 4 Full text of "mitre :: ESD Technical Reports :: ESD-TR-65-171 Advanced Programming Developments A Survey Feb65". February 1965. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  8. 1 2 3 Wainstein, L. (Project Leader) (June 1975). The Evolution of U.S. Strategic Command and Control and Warning, 1945-1972 (Report). Institute for Defense Analyses.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sturm, Thomas A. (August 1967). The Air Force Command and Control System: 1950-1966 (PDF) (Report). USAF Historical Division Liaison Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2014-04-02. the Army maintained that the Air Force command and control network was insufficiently reliable to permit proper control of Army weapons [e.g., Nike missiles] in a crisis, and as a result the two services were, from a practical standpoint, poles apart on the issue of single control of weapons.
  10. "7th WING OPERATIONS HISTORY, 1955-1958". 7th BOMB WING B-36 ASSOCIATION Inc. 1981 - 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  11. "Fairchild Wing To Get Trophy In Bomb Tests". Spokane Daily Chronicle. May 2, 1955. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  12. Preble, H.L. (September 1963). Data Reliability of Three Bell A1 Magnetic Tape Recording Systems (PDF) (Report). Mitre Corporation. ESD-TDR-63-172. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  13. Biweekly Report for 29 July 1955 (minutes) (Report). Lincoln Laboratory Division 6. Retrieved 2014-04-06. All XD-1 frames have now been delivered. The LRI and output frames arrived 29 July.
  14. "Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE)". Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  15. Sturm, Thomas A. (Summer 1969). Emergence of the Air Force Command and Control System. Aerospace Commentary (Report). Vol. 1:3. p. 42. (cited by Wainstein Study S-467 p. 119)
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Antaccs Project (Midway Report) (Report). July 1964. Retrieved 2014-04-02. the first stage of the 473L program called the Operational and Training Capability (OTC) phase. This was implemented by IBM Federal Systems Division by the Introduction of the IBM 1401/1405 (disc) systems together with the DC400B/DIB display and interrogation system of Thompson Ramo Wooldridge. … System 473L uses configuration c) with two consoles and the IBM-140l computer. (text-only copy available at archive.org.)
  17. "Nuclear Attack to Trigger Automatic AF Alarm System". Bridgeport Post. March 7, 1960. Retrieved 2014-04-02. Brig.- Gen. J. B. Bestic, deputy for Air Force communications and electronics, disclosed details of the [AN/GSQ-44] "atomic strike recording system" in testimony to a House Military Appropriations subcommittee
  18. Del Papa, Dr. E. Michael; Warner, Mary P (October 1987). A Historical Chronology of the Electronic Systems Division 1947–1986 (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  19. "Climate for Ingenuity" (PDF). Librascope Memories. August 1965. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  20. "LIBRASCOPE L3055". A Fourth Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems. January 1964. BRL Report No. 1227. Archived from the original on 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  21. 1 2 3 Schiff, J.D.; Chenevert, M.L.; Bennett, W.F. (April 1966). Computer Directed Training: System 473L Query Language (PDF) (Report). ESD Decision Science Laboratory. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  22. O'Brien, John T. (7 October 1968), "Review of Technical Document [ESD-TR-66-261]" (letter), Computer Directed Training: System 473L Query Language, letter is last page of PDF: ESD Public Information Division, ESD-TR-66-261, archived (PDF) from the original on April 13, 2014
  23. Final Report of the First Phase of the Advanced Naval Tactical Command and Control Study (PDF). Vol. V–Technology. Informatics Inc. pp. V-3-9-V-3-10. Consoles tied to a core memory buffer which is connected to an IBM 1401 or 1410 at the Air Force Command Post (OTC of 473L). … Data Display Central 465L … LTV 7000 High Speed Display System
  24. "Console, Data Transfer, Integrated an-FYA-2, an-FYA-3 and an-FYA-4". Document Center, Inc. MIL-C-27114. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  25. Kinnersley, Bill. "The Language List Version 1.8 - Part 1 of 9". Newsgroup:  comp.lang.misc. 473L Query - English-like query language for Air Force 473L system. Sammet 1969, p.665.)
  26. Kent, A.; Lancour, H. (1971). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 5 - Circulation to Coordinate Indexing. Taylor & Francis. p. 398. ISBN   9780824720056 . Retrieved 2015-03-08.