6
6
0
"In 1946 I was assigned to the office of the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. James Forrestal. The work involved any radio engineering tasks that might occur, and included portions of the Bikini Island atomic tests. One morning in late September Mr. Forrestal called me to his office and asked if I could install a radio broadcast studio in a navy aircraft. After learning some of the details I assured him it could be done. He told me to have it ready in two days.
Those were two pretty hectic days. I was assigned an aircraft, a pilot, and one technician, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. After a grueling 18 hours the technician and I had the makeshift studio completed and made a test flight over southern Maryland. When we reached altitude I contacted the RCA radio station in New Jersey where facilities were available to patch our transmissions into the NBC radio network in New York City. The test was perfect and I chatted with the RCA operator for about one-half hour".
Those were two pretty hectic days. I was assigned an aircraft, a pilot, and one technician, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. After a grueling 18 hours the technician and I had the makeshift studio completed and made a test flight over southern Maryland. When we reached altitude I contacted the RCA radio station in New Jersey where facilities were available to patch our transmissions into the NBC radio network in New York City. The test was perfect and I chatted with the RCA operator for about one-half hour".
The Truculent Turtle, By G.P. McGinnis
Posted from stationhypo.com
Cryptology
Radio
Nuclear
Flying
NAS Patuxent River
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 1
2
2
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"In late September 1946 a new milestone in aviation history was set, an
11,236-mile non-stop, non-refueled flight from Perth, Australia to Columbus, Ohio.
The plane, a US Navy Neptune patrol aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed and
nicknamed "Truculent Turtle," was specially fitted with extra gasoline tanks to test
its capacity for long-distance flight.
The crew of four made the trip in 55 hours and 17 minutes, at an average
speed of 204 mph. Their only passenger was a young kangaroo named Joey, a gift
from the Australian people to the National Zoo in Washington.
The Turtle's record held for nearly 15 years, though a New York Times editor
opined that the flight's significance had "no practicable application ... to commercial
transport of passengers" unless such a flight could ever be accomplished at much
higher speeds, with far less time spent in the air.
In the 1950s, the Turtle was put on display at the corner of Granby Street
and Taussig Boulevard, where it remained a landmark for many years, until the
construction of I-564 in 1967 necessitated its removal to the interior of the Naval
Air Station. In 1977, the little plane was transported to a new home at the National
Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida."
"In late September 1946 a new milestone in aviation history was set, an
11,236-mile non-stop, non-refueled flight from Perth, Australia to Columbus, Ohio.
The plane, a US Navy Neptune patrol aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed and
nicknamed "Truculent Turtle," was specially fitted with extra gasoline tanks to test
its capacity for long-distance flight.
The crew of four made the trip in 55 hours and 17 minutes, at an average
speed of 204 mph. Their only passenger was a young kangaroo named Joey, a gift
from the Australian people to the National Zoo in Washington.
The Turtle's record held for nearly 15 years, though a New York Times editor
opined that the flight's significance had "no practicable application ... to commercial
transport of passengers" unless such a flight could ever be accomplished at much
higher speeds, with far less time spent in the air.
In the 1950s, the Turtle was put on display at the corner of Granby Street
and Taussig Boulevard, where it remained a landmark for many years, until the
construction of I-564 in 1967 necessitated its removal to the interior of the Naval
Air Station. In 1977, the little plane was transported to a new home at the National
Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida."
(2)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google