NTDS (Naval Tactical Data System) 30-bit Roots
"The P-3 was intended to be a fighting aircraft and was fitted with an internal bomb bay as well as wing hardpoints to carry depth charges, anti sub torpedoes, guided missiles and bombs. Avionics equipment included an airborne radar with antenna in the plane’s nose, a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) mounted in a fiberglass housing projecting from the tail, air dropped acoustic sonobuoys and on-board receiver, infra red detectors and an inertial navigation system. The plane was crewed by three pilots, a tactical coordinator flight officer, a navigator/communicator flight officer, two enlisted flight engineers, three enlisted sensor operators, and an enlisted aviation ordnanceman. Target plotting was done by hand, and coordination with other ASW airplanes and ships was by voice radio. First deliveries to Navy squadrons was in August 1962. [Lockheed P-3 Orion, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]
Orions were the first USN submarine hunting airplanes to have a digital computerized submarine detection and classification system, and could also communicate on the NTDS tactical data link. US Defense Visual Information Center photo. As early as 1960 the Navy’s airborne antisubmarine warfare community had been watching the progress of NTDS and ATDS with interest. They questioned, could not the technologies that the two programs were developing also be applied to the P-3 project? The office of the Chief of Naval Operations asked the Bureau of Naval Weapons to study the possibilities, and BUWEPS, in turn, tasked the Naval Air Development Center at Johnsville, PA, to undertake the project. In particular they wanted to know if the P-3s could be equipped to participate on the NTDS tactical data link. This would greatly improve coordination among surface and air ASW units, as compared to the present use of voice radio; and ASW had to be a highly coordinated game. BUWEPS named the project A-NEW, standing for ASW new.
The Orion’s mission was wide ocean area surveillance, submarine detection, and submarine destruction. The primary functions of its operators and equipment were; accurate navigation over water, viewing and processing data from its sensor systems, determining submarine location as accurately as possible, and helping the pilot steer the airplane to submarine location. The envisioned automated system would normally use the NTDS A-Link only for exchanging sub location and track information with surface ASW ships and other ASW airplanes. [Applied Physics Laboratory, pp. 3-1 - 3-5]
OPNAV also wanted a way to digitize all submarine contact data from the P-3 sensor systems (MAD, acoustic, radar, infra red, ECM intercepts, and visual) and send it to a digital processor that would correlate all inputs. This would improve probability of submarine detection, and tracking accuracy. NADC began with a laboratory mockup of the P-3 systems and devised ways to manually enter readings from the sensor systems into a borrowed NTDS CP-642B unit computer. Once the data was in the unit computer, it would not be difficult to participate on the A-Link with a suitable modem and radio - and BUWEPS was already developing these for ATDS. They got encouraging results in the lab and in early 1963 BUWEPS asked Univac if they could build an airborne computer that would fit in a P-3 maritime patrol airplane.
Univac proposed a modified Titan II missile inertial guidance module called the ADD 1020, and later given the Navy designation CP-754/A, for the first flying test system and in mid 1963 Univac delivered the machine to the Naval Air Development Center. It turned out that programming the CP-754/A was difficult and, after flight testing NADC asked Univac if a more suitable computer could be devised. This time Univac proposed using the 30-bit architecture of the NTDS CP-642-B unit computer reworked into airborne packaging.
Components of the Univac 1830, CP-823/U airborne computer used in the engineering prototype computing system of the P-3 maritime patrol ASW aircraft system automation project called A-New. The machine used the NTDS CP-642 unit computer 30-bit architecture but was brought down in size and weight with first generation integrated circuit technology. From left, four airborne input/output units, ground input/output unit, memory unit, processor unit, airborne power supply, and control console. This is the prototype Univac 1830, CP-823U computer at its end state. After years of development with the cooperation of Univac and navy civilian and military personnel, four hundred ninety-nine production units, designated CP-901 were delivered to the Navy. Photo courtesy Mr. Todd J. Thomas of P3OrionTopSecret.com. Note: Mr. Thomas has stored and preserved this machine for the past 40 years. A production AN/ASQ-114/CP-901 computer control console installed in a Lockheed P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft. Image from Lockheed-California Company technical manual “P-3C ORION WEAPON SYSTEM DESCRIPTION UPDATE II” The resultant CP-823/U computer was condensed considerably in size from the unit computer dimensions through use of first generation microelectronics technology. NADC installed the engineering prototype CP-823/U and input devices in a laboratory system where it was found much more suitable than the previous computer. Following lab testing, the new computer was installed in a P-3 aircraft for further flight testing that showed encouraging results. After this round of flight testing NADC was ready to write production specifications for the equipment. The production CP-901 avionics computer was given 131 thousand 30-bit words of magnetic core memory, had a volume of only 7.4 cubic feet and weighed 306 pounds. Production computer deliveries began in 1967. [Applied Physics Laboratory, p. 3-1 - 3-4] [Lockheed P-3 Orion, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia] [Thomas, Todd, Web Site p3oriontopsecret.com/project-a-new] ".
Written by: David Boslaugh for the www.ieeeghn.org , Global History Network , NTDS project.
Davis Boslaugh is the author of the book "When Computers Went to Sea", a history of the Naval Tactical Data System.
Orions were the first USN submarine hunting airplanes to have a digital computerized submarine detection and classification system, and could also communicate on the NTDS tactical data link. US Defense Visual Information Center photo. As early as 1960 the Navy’s airborne antisubmarine warfare community had been watching the progress of NTDS and ATDS with interest. They questioned, could not the technologies that the two programs were developing also be applied to the P-3 project? The office of the Chief of Naval Operations asked the Bureau of Naval Weapons to study the possibilities, and BUWEPS, in turn, tasked the Naval Air Development Center at Johnsville, PA, to undertake the project. In particular they wanted to know if the P-3s could be equipped to participate on the NTDS tactical data link. This would greatly improve coordination among surface and air ASW units, as compared to the present use of voice radio; and ASW had to be a highly coordinated game. BUWEPS named the project A-NEW, standing for ASW new.
The Orion’s mission was wide ocean area surveillance, submarine detection, and submarine destruction. The primary functions of its operators and equipment were; accurate navigation over water, viewing and processing data from its sensor systems, determining submarine location as accurately as possible, and helping the pilot steer the airplane to submarine location. The envisioned automated system would normally use the NTDS A-Link only for exchanging sub location and track information with surface ASW ships and other ASW airplanes. [Applied Physics Laboratory, pp. 3-1 - 3-5]
OPNAV also wanted a way to digitize all submarine contact data from the P-3 sensor systems (MAD, acoustic, radar, infra red, ECM intercepts, and visual) and send it to a digital processor that would correlate all inputs. This would improve probability of submarine detection, and tracking accuracy. NADC began with a laboratory mockup of the P-3 systems and devised ways to manually enter readings from the sensor systems into a borrowed NTDS CP-642B unit computer. Once the data was in the unit computer, it would not be difficult to participate on the A-Link with a suitable modem and radio - and BUWEPS was already developing these for ATDS. They got encouraging results in the lab and in early 1963 BUWEPS asked Univac if they could build an airborne computer that would fit in a P-3 maritime patrol airplane.
Univac proposed a modified Titan II missile inertial guidance module called the ADD 1020, and later given the Navy designation CP-754/A, for the first flying test system and in mid 1963 Univac delivered the machine to the Naval Air Development Center. It turned out that programming the CP-754/A was difficult and, after flight testing NADC asked Univac if a more suitable computer could be devised. This time Univac proposed using the 30-bit architecture of the NTDS CP-642-B unit computer reworked into airborne packaging.
Components of the Univac 1830, CP-823/U airborne computer used in the engineering prototype computing system of the P-3 maritime patrol ASW aircraft system automation project called A-New. The machine used the NTDS CP-642 unit computer 30-bit architecture but was brought down in size and weight with first generation integrated circuit technology. From left, four airborne input/output units, ground input/output unit, memory unit, processor unit, airborne power supply, and control console. This is the prototype Univac 1830, CP-823U computer at its end state. After years of development with the cooperation of Univac and navy civilian and military personnel, four hundred ninety-nine production units, designated CP-901 were delivered to the Navy. Photo courtesy Mr. Todd J. Thomas of P3OrionTopSecret.com. Note: Mr. Thomas has stored and preserved this machine for the past 40 years. A production AN/ASQ-114/CP-901 computer control console installed in a Lockheed P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft. Image from Lockheed-California Company technical manual “P-3C ORION WEAPON SYSTEM DESCRIPTION UPDATE II” The resultant CP-823/U computer was condensed considerably in size from the unit computer dimensions through use of first generation microelectronics technology. NADC installed the engineering prototype CP-823/U and input devices in a laboratory system where it was found much more suitable than the previous computer. Following lab testing, the new computer was installed in a P-3 aircraft for further flight testing that showed encouraging results. After this round of flight testing NADC was ready to write production specifications for the equipment. The production CP-901 avionics computer was given 131 thousand 30-bit words of magnetic core memory, had a volume of only 7.4 cubic feet and weighed 306 pounds. Production computer deliveries began in 1967. [Applied Physics Laboratory, p. 3-1 - 3-4] [Lockheed P-3 Orion, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia] [Thomas, Todd, Web Site p3oriontopsecret.com/project-a-new] ".
Written by: David Boslaugh for the www.ieeeghn.org , Global History Network , NTDS project.
Davis Boslaugh is the author of the book "When Computers Went to Sea", a history of the Naval Tactical Data System.
