The CP-823/U, Univac 1830, was the first digital airborne 30-bit computing system. It was engineered, built and tested as the A-NEW MOD3 prototype computer for the

Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

. This would be Univac’s first computer to use flatpack

monolithic integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...

s, using a diode-transistor logic (DTL)

silicon chip An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

. This technology was simultaneously being developed for use in the Univac 1824 for the

missile guidance Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...

program. It was also their first computer to lay the electronics flat, on a

printed circuit A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich struct ...

card, instead of on-end like the cordwood block electronics modules, ( Burndy packs). The CP-823/U Computing System, Serial A1, (Univac 1830), A-NEW MOD3 was delivered to the Naval Air Development Center, Johnsville, Pa in 1965. It consisted of a Control Console (Maintenance Panel), combined Airborne Power Supply, Central Processor, 32,000 30-bit Memory unit, four Airborne I/O units, Ground I/O unit and cables. The Univac 1830, Navy designated CP-823/U, was a digital electronic computing machine which received problems and data and processed answers in numerical form. It used parallel

binary arithmetic A binary number is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system, a method of mathematical expression which uses only two symbols: typically "0" (zero) and "1" (one). The base-2 numeral system is a positional notation ...

and

logic operation In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas in e ...

word length In computing, a word is the natural unit of data used by a particular processor design. A word is a fixed-sized datum handled as a unit by the instruction set or the hardware of the processor. The number of bits or digits in a word (the ''word s ...

was 30 bits. All of the

Central Processor A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, ...

(C.P.) logic and I/O logic control was microelectronic circuitry, constructed of integrated, monolithic semiconductor elements ( resistors, diodes and

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...

s contained within a single chip of

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ta ...

). Logic cards that were not

microelectronic Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-sc ...

are the

Master Clock Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

cards in the C.P and the Input amplifier and output data driver cards in the I/O units. In the A-NEW integrated system, the CP-823/U airborne digital computer performed many functions aboard the Lockheed P-3 Orion test aircraft. It continuously computed the aircraft’s

latitude and longitude The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...

, calculated optimum deployment of

sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic rese ...

s, kept tabs on their location with respect to the moving aircraft and determined estimated target positions from data supplied by all aircraft sensors. The computer used statistical techniques to derive several possible courses of action, displaying these and the computed probability of success, for final selection by the aircraft commander. Other tasks which were performed by the integrated Anti-Submarine Warfare Prototype CP-823/U computer included: Search and Correlation, Automatic and Extended Tracking, Enemy Submarine Identification, Attack and Post Flight Evaluation. The extensive testing (1965–1968) of the CP-823/U (Univac 1830) prototype Computing System integrated with the rest of the A-NEW MOD3 sensor and display system in and out of the P3 Orion test aircraft, eventually resulted in the

U.S. 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 o ...

, Bureau of Weapons approval. On June 24, 1966 UNIVAC received a contract for design, development, testing and delivery of the computer. Production deliveries began in 1967. The resulting general purpose computer was the CP-901 / ASQ-114 (Univac 1830A), used in the Lockheed P-3C Orion ASW aircraft.

References

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