Hi,
I worked on the AN-FPS 16 radars from 62 to 66 with the AWA crew,
ultimately as team leader. Two of our sons were born in Woomera.
Recently I've been writing up some notes on the radars, which will. in
due course, appear on Colin Mackellar's 'Honeysuckle Creek site
through its link to "Other Stations."
Working on all that ancient history led me to remember the Project
Dazzle radar located at Mt Eba. It was a special machine built by
Stanford Research Institute, using military surplus hardware. For
example the dish drive mechanism was the innards of a US Navy 5 inch
gun turret whilst some of the euipment was contained in an ex US Army
trailer, originally part of a missile control system. The trailer was
built of amagnesium alloy and was fitted with igniter pockets, so
that, if the enemy got too close you just burned the whole shebang..
I'd really like to find any information on the radar, I wonder if
there are any survivors from the period who would be willing to send
me anything they might have on the system. Two names that linger from
those days were Brian Sweeney and Knobby Stedman. I met Brian once at
Elizabeth in the late 60s but have not seen or heard anything of
Knobby since I left Woomera in early 66.
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