[Dave A]

In this post we look at one of the displays that was brought to the ETF for all of us to see the efforts of many years of searching and devotion to a single bit of television history.

In this post, we see the efforts of Maurice Schecter of Duart Film & Video in New York. He has assembled a complete and working demonstration of a WWII aerial television bomb guidance system. All the way from the camera to be mounted in the bomb ordinance or a drone plane loaded to the hilt with bombs to the antennas and to the receiving equipment installed in a chase plane where the image could be viewed by a bombardier to aim the ordinance or drone to the target. It was a treat to hear the sound of a dynamotor in 2007.

This is all known as the Block system. It had three variations during the war with this display being the last of the systems known as Block 3. It became available in surplus around 1955 with some hams grabbing up the equipment for their use…slow-scan I suppose. The Thermite destruction devices were removed before surplus sale.

Maurice was also the source for the restored NBC peacocks on display on the CT-100.

8-This is the camera end of the chain which would be in the ordinance or plane. Next to it is the monitor. There is the dynamotor, antenna and power supplies that I did not show. The picture is looking out the garage door of ETF. Not a distinctive view nor a target either.

9-This is the green-screen monitor on the receiving end of the signal. It was in the chase plane. This also had the same dynamotor supply.

10-This is the view that the bombardier had via a feed from the prime monitor and was used to control the ordinance or drone plane.