Radar Bomb Scoring is a combat aviation ground support operation used to evaluate

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 t ...

aircrews' effectiveness with simulated

unguided bomb An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional or nuclear aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic trajectory. This describe ...

drops near radar stations of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

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 ...

, and Army

Project Nike Project Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory") was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft mi ...

units. USAF RBS used various

ground radar Ground radar (cf. airborne radar system) is a radar positioned on the ground and used for air defense (e.g., ground-controlled interception), command guidance (e.g., ground-directed bombing), air traffic control (i.e., radar control), instrument la ...

, computers, and other electronic equipment such as jammers to disrupt operations of the bomber's radar navigator, AAA/ SAM simulators to require countermeasures from the bomber, and Radar Bomb Scoring Centrals for estimating accuracy of simulated bombings. Scores for accuracy and

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent ...

effectiveness were transmitted from radar sites such as those at Strategic Range Training Complexes (e.g., from Detachment 1 at the " La Junta Bomb Plot"). Most of the SAC sites were in the continental US with units (detachments) manned by technicians and operators of the Automatic Tracking Radar Specialist career field (AutoTrack). Radar Bomb Scoring and the Autotrack specialty were discontinued shortly after the end of the Cold War when increased munitions accuracy (e.g., GPS-guided JDAMs 1st used in 1993) reduced the need for scoring of simulated bomb runs, and GPS avionics allow onboard tracking for "no-drop bomb scoring" of unguided bombs.

History

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

included Army Air Forces Bombardier Schools' scoring of trainee's proficiency at the " West Texas Bombardier Triangle" and other USAAF ranges (e.g., observers on Range Towers), and

ground-directed bombing Ground-directed bombing (GDB) is a military tactic for airstrikes by ground-attack aircraft, strategic bombers, and other equipped air vehicles under command guidance from aviation ground support equipment and/or ground personnel (e.g., ground o ...

for combat guided by automatic tracking radars was used in the Mediterranean Theatre's

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. On 6 June 1945 "the 206th Army Air Force Base Unit (RBS) (206th AAFBU), was activated at

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, Colorado under the command of Colonel Robert W. Burns ithoperational control of the two SCR-584 radar detachments located at Kansas City and

Fort Worth Army Airfield A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(Det B), and dets were later "established at

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Chicago, Omaha, Albuquerque and at

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

." USAF RBS units were at

MacDill AFB MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assi ...

in 1947, in Phoenix in 1952, and Guam in 1954.

Strategic Air Command

RBS by Strategic Air Command began with the last of 888 simulated bomb runs against

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

scored in 1946 as well as 2,499 runs scored in 1947. The 1948 increase to 12,084 was the result of a "scathing" Lindbergh review of SAC in the Spring of 1948 ( SAC's commanding general was replaced 15 October, and January 1949 simulated raids by

Curtis LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air ...

's "entire command" on Wright-Patt AFB "were appalling"). On 21 July 1948, the 263rd AAFBU (RBS) had been renamed the 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron ( SAC), and early RBS detachments were designated by letters, e.g., Detachment D at Fort George Wright WA in 1950. Three detachments of the 3903rd RBS deployed for

ground directed bombing Ground-directed bombing (GDB) is a military tactic for airstrikes by ground-attack aircraft, strategic bombers, and other equipped air vehicles under command guidance from aviation ground support equipment and/or ground personnel (e.g., ground ...

in Korea at "Tactical Air Direction Posts" ( colloq. TADPOLE sites). (10 August 1954, the 3933rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron was redesignated the

11th Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

.) In 1955, RBS bomb runs for the SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition were on Amarillo, Denver, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, and San Antonio (Phoenix also had runs) and in 1957, SAC installed RBS sites for the competition (named "Operation Longshot") which had 3 targets:

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The " Goldwater congressional investigation" investigated working and travel conditions at the Lynchburg, Virginia, detachment, which was a mobile unit that had temporary radar stations at " Blackstone, Staunton and

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowi ...

before eingshut ... down". , Det 3 at Heston Aerodrome, England, moved to the

Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...

Plant at Langley.

Army & Navy RBS

By 1960, USAF RBS equipment had been incorporated in US Army Course Directing Centrals for

(i.e., receivers for telecommunicated tones to indicate the aircraft's bomb release on the Nike radar plotting boards). Nike RBS of SAC/ADCOM bombers used USAF personnel on temporary duty to calculate the simulated bomb run score from the track by a Nike missile crew/radar (e.g., at the

Chicago-Gary Defense Area The following is a list of Nike missile sites operated by the United States Army. This article lists sites in the United States, most responsible to Army Air Defense Command; however, the Army also deployed Nike missiles to Europe as part of the ...

). In 1961, Nike units "scored 1,890 practice bomb runs" and in 1962 the NIKE site at Maitland/Lake Park in Milwaukee was RBSing. Four Navy Radar Bomb Scoring Units during the Cold War included those near

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, and at the Pachino Radar Bomb Scoring Range near Naples, Italy. After the 10th Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron's

RBS Express RBS Express railroad trains were 3 mobile United States Air Force radar stations for 1CEVG Radar Bomb Scoring (RBS) of Strategic Air Command bomber crews beginning in March 1961. Electronic equipment included the "MSQ-39, TLQ-11, MPS-9, and th ...

train had been used in 1961 near the

Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant Hawthorne Army Depot (HWAD) is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command ammunition storage depot located near the town of Hawthorne in western Nevada in the United States. It is directly south of Walker Lake. The depot covers or 226 sq. mi. and h ...

, SAC's Hawthorne Bomb Plot in nearby

Babbitt Babbitt may refer to: Fiction * ''Babbitt'' (novel), a 1922 novel by Sinclair Lewis ** ''Babbitt'' (1924 film), a 1924 silent film based on the novel ** ''Babbitt'' (1934 film), a 1934 film based on the novel *Babbit, the family name of the titl ...

also scored bomb runs of US Navy aircraft (e.g., out of

Naval Air Station Fallon Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. Na ...

). On 1 August 1961, SAC's 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group at Carswell AFB merged with the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group to form the

1st Combat Evaluation Group The 1st Combat Evaluation Group (initially "1CEG", later "1CEVG") was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) unit. It was formed on 1 August 1961 to merge the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group for SAC aircrew evaluation with the 1st Radar Bomb Sco ...

Barksdale AFB Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...

. Manual RBS "bomb scoring projector" computation of "the bomb problem" with scale, protractor,

E6B The E6B flight computer is a form of circular slide rule used in aviation and one of the very few analog calculating devices in widespread use in the 21st century. They are mostly used in flight training, because these flight computers have ...

computer, and bombing tables" was replaced with computerized bomb trajectory integration by the 1965

Reeves AN/MSQ-77 Bomb Directing Central The Reeves AN/MSQ-77 Bomb Directing Central, Radar (nickname "Miscue 77") was a USAF automatic tracking radar/computer system for command guidance of military aircraft during Vietnam War bomb runs at nighttime and during bad weather. Developed ...

developed for Vietnam War

Combat Skyspot Combat Skyspot was the ground-directed bombing (GDB) operation of the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force using Bomb Directing Centrals and by the United States Marine Corps using Course Directing Centrals (" MSQ-77 and TPQ-10 ground ra ...

bombing. The Bayshore Bomb Plot in Michigan (formerly located in Ironwood, Michigan) was destroyed by a television fire on 26 December 1967, and in 1969, the Combat Skyspot Trophy was first "awarded annually to the most outstanding BSdetachment in the 1st Combat Evaluation Group". At least 1 of the SAC RBS sites was operating until mid-1994 when Wilder Radar Bomb Scoring Site closed after the 1993

Base Realignment and Closure Commission Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

. In 2005, USAF RBS records were designated for destruction "10 years after inactivation of site".

Post-Cold War bomb scoring

The Northrop T-38C was upgraded to have no-drop bomb scoring capability in 2007 by estimating the impact from the onboard GPS-calculated position of release, and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

had no-drop bomb scoring at

Yuma Proving Ground Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation ...

in 2010. At least 1 Strategic Air Command RBS site continues as an electronic warfare range—the Belle Fourche Electronic Scoring Site in Powder River Military Operations Area with Infrared Enhance Targets and Unmanned Threat Emitters (the site's

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...

remains "Belle Fourche Bomb Plot").

USAF Equipment

*Bomb Scoring Centrals: SCR-584+RC294, AN/MSQ-1 (AN/MPS-9+OA-132), AN/MSQ-1A (ANMPS-19+OA-626), AN/MSQ-2 (−
OA-215)
AN/MSQ-35, AN/MSQ-39, AN/MSQ-77, AN/TPS-43, AN/TSQ-35, AN/TSQ-81, AN/TSQ-96 *Simulators: AN/MPQ-T3 (AAA), AN/MPS-T1, AN/MST-T1, AN/VPQ-1 (TRTG) *Jammers: AN/MLQ-T4, AN/TLQ-11

References

{{Reflist , refs= {{Cite report , author=author

tbd To be announced (TBA), to be confirmed (TBC), to be determined or decided or declared (TBD), and other variations, are placeholder terms used very broadly in event planning to indicate that although something is scheduled or expected to happen, a ...

, date=9 November 1983 , title=Historical Summary: Radar Bomb Scoring, 1945–1983 , url=http://www.mobileradar.org/Documents/hist_sum_rad_bom_scrg.pdf , format=MobileRadar.org transcription , publisher=Office of History,

, access-date=2012-05-21 , archive-date=21 September 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055433/http://www.mobileradar.org/Documents/hist_sum_rad_bom_scrg.pdf , url-status=live {{cite AV media , title=The RBS Express SFP1324 , url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr6JAkt1jmI , publisher=1365th Photo Sq , access-date=2012-05-17 , quote=idea ... born in 1960 ... USAX 35764 ^5:50 ... USAX 35704^6:10 ... rain silo near sidingsup>6:57 {{cite news , title=Combat Evaluation Group – A place for CEVG'ers and Range Rats to Meet *{{cite web , last=McAfee , first=Emerson R , date=20 December 2002 , title=Re: ombat Evaluation GroupRe: RBS Express , url=https://groups.yahoo.com/group/combatevaluationgroup/message/4249 , quote=from Montreal to Lynchburg in 1962. Then on to Richmond in 1963 when we moved. He was in charge in Lynchburg when we had the Goldwater congressional investigation when the wives wrote their congressmen about the deplorable conditions we were forced to endure for about 6 months. ... Col Urban arrived one morning and fired the commander on the spot and sent Hill on a 30-day leave. Capt (at the time) Seitzberg was called in from Laurel to be the new commander and straighten out the problems. hich were:We arrived and (I'm talking about the single guys) found a rooming house where we could temporarily find a place to sleep. I guess the married folks used motels and started looking for houses to rent or buy. Mother Hill had us riding the old Blue Goose military buses from {{sic, Lychburg to Blackstone ( Camp Pickett) in our dress blues and carrying our fatigues to work in. This was a trip of 85 miles one way. It took close to 2 hours each way and we only had two shifts, 8 to 8 and vice-versa. That was 7 days a week. If you add that up it came out to 12 hours work and 4 hours travel which only leaves 8 hours. Plus you had to drive from the restaurant where we met to catch the bus, to where you lived. Pretty hard to get 8 hours sleep if you wanted to eat a meal. Plus we had those wonderful trenches for doing our business at the site. That was until they brought in the porta-pottys with the electric incinerators in them. You had to be careful not to turn the switch on while you were still sitting. And of course you can imagine what the smell was like when you hit the switch. ... After Goldwater we went to contracted A/C buses with crappers in the rear, 4 crews, never more than 8-hour duty days, a different crapper at work, and the whole situation got much improved with the change in command. , access-date=15 January 2017 , archive-date=4 December 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204091937/https://www.yahoo.com/ , url-status=live *{{cite news , author=johnd584 , date=22 January 2002 , title=Message 3202 , quote=I joined Det. B, 263rd AAFBU (RBS) in Sept '47 which was located at Ft. Worth AAfld. *{{cite web , last=MacDonald , first=Ray , date=4 December 2004 , title=Sites Not Found , url=https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22A+new+Site+Aerial+Photo+File+uploaded.%22 , format=newsgroup posting , publisher=Yahoo 1CEVG group , access-date=2012-07-16 , quote=A new Site Aerial Photo File uploaded. , archive-date=5 July 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705052427/https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22A+new+Site+Aerial+Photo+File+uploaded.%22 , url-status=live *{{cite news , last=McAfee , first=Emerson R , title=tbd , quote=train. ... Several of us ... volunteered to go to Lake City in 1964 ... And we had all kinds of volunteers for Mayfield, KY *{{cite news , last=Withers , first=Daniel A , date=17 February 2005 , title=Message 13073 , quote=Closing Deeth (literally), we relocated to the New Mexico garden spot of Vaughn. *{{cite news , last=McAfee , first=Emerson R , date=6 August 2005 , title=Re: ombat Evaluation GroupGreetings! , quote=I was at Det. 8 Richmond from Jun 63 – Apr 72. I also made trips to Browns IL but we were the ones who moved it from Mauk GA to Browns so I was only at Browns for about a week Cold War military history of the United States Electronic warfare Strategic Air Command

History

Strategic Air Command

Army & Navy RBS

Post-Cold War bomb scoring

USAF Equipment

See also

References