Iconorama was a

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

electronic projection system for graphic presentation ("stylized display using an etched plate to produce symbols") developed by the firm Fenske, Fedrick and Miller. The Iconorama was ordered by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in 1959. The mechanism used a

rear projection Rear projection (background projection, process photography, etc.) is one of many in-camera effects cinematic techniques in film production for combining foreground performances with pre-filmed backgrounds. It was widely used for many years in d ...

display, showing both a map overlay from a fixed

lantern slide The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a sin ...

and dynamically updated data from a mechanical plotter. The mechanism for etching the slide is somewhat similar to an

Etch A Sketch Etch A Sketch is a mechanical drawing toy invented by André Cassagnes of France and subsequently manufactured by the Ohio Art Company. It is now owned by Spin Master of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An Etch A Sketch has a thick, flat gray scree ...

. The display can draw lines and characters, but cannot erase them individually. The unit was used in the

IBM 473L Command and Control System The IBM 473L Command and Control System (473L System, 473L colloquialism, colloq.) was a USAF Cold War "Support System, Big L" Support System with computer equipment at The Pentagon and, in Pennsylvania, the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, Alternate Na ...

's Large Panel Display Subsystem (e.g., at the National Military Command Center and the Alternate Military Command Center). Advertised in 1961 by Temco Aircraft Corp. (already a subsidiary of Ling-Temco Electronics, Inc.),''Missiles and Rockets''
April 10, 1961, p.39. the system used "a coated slide...one inch square" that was scribed "by a moving stylus" to make traces (e.g., for paths of attacking bombers). The unit was used by the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

, in the Marine Technical Data System and at the

Air Force Command Post The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center The Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is a government command facility in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia, used as the center of operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Also known as the High Point Special Facili ...

, Pacific Missile Range,

Point Mugu Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term ...

Calif.; the

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

in New Mexico; the

Atlantic Missile Range The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range ha ...

Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

, Fla., and the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

. NORAD's Combined Operations Center at the

Chidlaw Building The Chidlaw Building is a former United States Air Force facility located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The building was close to, but not within, the Ent Air Force Base complex, and was leased by the military for ...

and

BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, "474L System", Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve ra ...

Ent AFB Ent Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A tent city, established in 1943 during construction of the base, was initially commanded by Major General Uzal Girar ...

used Iconorama,NORAD Historical Summary 1964 (Jul–Dec) "NORAD SPADAT center ... for an interim BMEWS central computer and display facility at NORAD Headquarters in October 1959. ... It included Fenske, Fedeick and Miller Company Iconorama display equipment" and in 1971 an Iconorama was still being used by

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

for BMEWS. Iconorama5a

References

External links

* - A Canadian perspective on the Iconorama (includes simulation of Iconorama at The Diefenbunker Museum in

Carp, Ontario Carp is a compact rural community in West Carleton-March Ward in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located in the northwestern portion of the municipality on the Carp River. It is about from downtown Ottawa. Prior to amalgamation in 2001, ...

)
Iconorama advertisements
from July 1959 issue of '' Air Force and Space Digest'' magazine (scroll down) – via Google Books Display devices Equipment of the United States Air Force {{US-mil-hist-stub