IBM 473L Command and Control System: Difference between revisions

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The '''IBM 473L Command and Control System''' ('''473L System''', '''473L''' [[colloquialism|colloq.]]) was a USAF{{r|SIedu}} [[Cold War]] "[[Support System|Big L]]" [[Support System]] with computer equipment at [[The Pentagon]] and, in Pennsylvania, the [[Raven Rock Mountain Complex|Alternate National Military Command Center nuclear bunker]]. Each 473L site included a Data Processing Subsystem (DPSS), Integrated Console Subsystem (ICSS),{{r|Brown}} Large Panel Display Subsystem, and Data Communications Subsystem{{r|PRM}} ([[Automatic Digital Network]] interface:<ref name=Singer>{{Cite court |date=December 14, 1977 |litigants=SINGER CO., LIBRASCOPE DIVISION v. UNITED STATES |vol=568 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=695 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLGRAAAAIAAJ&dq=IT%26T+473L&pg=PA699 |quote=On October 16, 1962, the System Program Director forwarded to Librascope a draft of the interface specification that had been generated by the SIDG meetings. The accompanying transmittal document requested the 473-L [DPSS] contractor and subcontractors to review the draft specification … L-119 [[Data buffer|buffer processor]]}}</ref> "AUTODIN Data Terminal Bay").{{r|Figure1-2}} The "System 473L" was an "on-line, real-time information processing system designed to facilitate effective management of USAF resources, particularly during emergency situations"{{r|AppendixA}} e.g., for: "situation monitoring, resource monitoring, plan evaluation, plan generation and modification, and operations monitoring".<ref name=TR65-171>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/bitsavers_mitreESDTe65171AdvancedProgrammingDevelopmentsASur_5291796/ESD-TR-65-171_Advanced_Programming_Developments_A_Survey_Feb65_djvu.txt |title=Full text of "mitre :: ESD Technical Reports :: ESD-TR-65-171 Advanced Programming Developments A Survey Feb65"|access-date=2015-03-08|date=February 1965}}</ref> In 1967, the 473L System was used during the "HIGH HEELS 67" exercise "to test the whole spectrum of command in a strategic crisis".{{r|Wainstein}}{{rp|430}}

==Background==

In early 1952, the Pentagon's [[Joint War Room|USAF Command Post]] (AFCP) "arranged" to receive [[Air Defense Command]] (ADC) exercise data{{r|Sturm1967}} such as for planned mock attacks into defense sectors by faker aircraft (e.g., in 1955 [[Fairchild Trophy|on Amarillo, Denver, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, San Antonio]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.7bwb-36assn.org/b36genhistpg4.html|title=7th WING OPERATIONS HISTORY, 1955-1958|website=7th BOMB WING B-36 ASSOCIATION Inc. 1981 - 2010|access-date=2013-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006083920/http://www.7bwb-36assn.org/b36genhistpg4.html|archive-date=2012-10-06}}</ref> and Phoenix.<ref name="google">{{cite newspapernews|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19550502&id=XPpXAAAAIBAJ&pg=4206,164978|title=Fairchild Wing To Get Trophy In Bomb Tests|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=May 2, 1955|access-date=2015-03-08}}</ref>) An [[Experimental SAGE Subsector]]"<ref name="dtic">{{cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0419183.pdf |title=Data Reliability of Three Bell A1 Magnetic Tape Recording Systems |first=H.L. |last=Preble |date=September 1963 |id=ESD-TDR-63-172 |publisher=[[Mitre Corporation]] |access-date=2022-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726205931/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/419183.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=July 26, 2018}}</ref> for testing a [[Semi Automatic Ground Environment]] (SAGE) was created using a July 1955 [[IBM AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central#Development|prototype air defense computer]]<ref>{{Cite report |format=minutes |publisher=[[Lincoln Laboratory]] Division 6 |title=Biweekly Report for 29 July 1955 |url=http://dome.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.3/45992/MC665_r14_6M-3797.pdf?sequence=1 |number=Memorandum 6M-3797 |access-date=2014-04-06 |quote=All [[IBM AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central#Development|XD-1]] frames have now been delivered. The LRI and output frames arrived 29 July.}}</ref> ADC's 1955 command post blockhouse was completed at Ent AFB, and "in September 1955, the Air Force…replace[d its] command post's outmoded telephone system with a modern switchboard with 100 long-distance lines and room for more, so that 20 people in various parts of the country could hold as many as four conferences at a time".{{r|Wainstein}} The [[Alternate Joint Communication Center]] in [[Raven Rock Mountain Complex|the Raven Rock nuclear bunker]] was equipped by the end of 1955,{{r|Sturm1967}} and ADC broke ground in 1957 for deploying the [[Burroughs 416L SAGE Air Defense System]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/sage.htm |work=Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org |access-date=2013-03-04}}</ref> (the [[BMEWS]] 474L [[General Operational Requirement]] was specified in 1958.) After President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] expressed concern about nuclear command and control, a "1958 reorganization in [[National Command Authority (United States)|NCA]] relations with the joint commands" was implemented,{{r|Wainstein}} and the "[[General Electric AN/GPA-73 Air Weapons Control System|AWCS 512L" system]] was deployed by June 1958. The GOR for a computerized 465L [[SAC Automated Command and Control System]] was issued in 1958 for [[Strategic Air Command]]'s nuclear bunkers (1957 [[Offutt AFB]] bunker & 1958 at [[Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley|The Notch]]). A [[Joint War Room]] was activated at the Pentagon in 1960<!--Moriary p. 225, {{r|Ponturo}}{{rp|282}}--> and in December 1960, the AFCP reverted to a USAF-only mission when its "joint and national responsibilities" ended.<ref>{{Cite report |last=Sturm |first=Thomas A. | date=Summer 1969 |title=Emergence of the Air Force Command and Control System |journal=[[Aerospace Commentary]] |volume=1:3 |page=42 }} (cited by Wainstein ''Study S-467'' p. 119)</ref> After a "Quick Fix" program completed in the fall of 1960{{r|Sturm1967}} and [[NORAD]]'s [[Alert Network Number 1]] was providing data from the [[Ent AFB]] command post in Colorado Springs, the AFCP had several rear projection screens, DEFCON status boards, and a display with colored regional blocks for the [[Bomb Alarm System]]{{r|ANTACCS}} (work had started in May 1959 for transmitting BAS data to "six{{Where|date=April 2014}} command centers".)<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 7, 1960 |title=Nuclear Attack to Trigger Automatic AF Alarm System |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/60598553/ |newspaper=Bridgeport Post |access-date=2014-04-02 |quote=Brig.- Gen. J. B. Bestic, deputy for Air Force communications and electronics, disclosed details of the [[AN/GSQ-44 Atomic Strike Recording Set|[AN/GSQ-44] “atomic strike recording system]]” in testimony to a House Military Appropriations subcommittee}}</ref> In January 1962, the [[Deep Underground Command Center]] was planned as a nuclear bunker beneath the Pentagon (the Raven Rock bunker would be phased out.)

The [[Air Force Command Post Systems Division]] was activated in 1960 for handling AFCP equipment issues (cf. [[Air Force Systems Command|AFSC's]] [[Electronic Systems Division]] which had the SPO) and in October 1962, [[United States Department of Defense|DoD]] Directive S-5100.30 "designated 473L as the “Air Force service headquarters subsystem” of the [[Worldwide Military Command and Control System]] (WWMCCS) established the same month."{{r|Sturm1967}}

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==IOC phase==

The [[Librascope AN/FYQ-11 Data Processor Set]]{{r|Figure1-2}} was "a configuration of the L-3055" computer that [[Librascope]] manufactured at [[Glendale, California|Glendale]]<ref name="librascopememories">{{cite web |url=http://www.librascopememories.com/Librascope_Memories/History_files/Climate%20for%20Ingenuity%20-%201965.pdf |title=Climate for Ingenuity |date=August 1965 |website=Librascope Memories |access-date=2015-03-08 |archive-date=2014-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144522/http://www.librascopememories.com/Librascope_Memories/History_files/Climate%20for%20Ingenuity%20-%201965.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> procured for the Initial Operational Capability phase with limited FYQ-11 equipment (e.g., without OA-6041 Control-Indicator Console).<ref name=PRM>{{Cite manual |title=Programmer's Reference Manual For An L-3055 Data Processing System Used As The AN/FYQ-11 Data Processor Set |url=http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/generalPrecision/L-3055/L-3055_Programmers_Reference_Manual_Sep63.pdf |date=15 September 1963 |access-date=2014-04-08 |quote=Central Processor, Control Console, and Core Memory … Buffer Processors …Magnetic Tape Consoles, Card Reader/Punch, and Line Printer…Disc Memory}} ({{webarchive|archive-date=2014-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413124456/http://www.marksmath.com/files/librascope/prm-01.html|date=April 13, 2014|titleurl-status=webpagedead transcription at MarksMath.com}}()</ref> and only "4 integrated consoles".{{r|Brown}} FYQ-11 had been accepted by the USAF [[Electronic Systems Division]] in late March 1965{{r|Sturm1967}}{{rp|39}} to replace the IBM 1410 (each FYQ-11 was "234&nbsp;cu ft [and required] 500&nbsp;sq ft" area).<ref name="googleusercontent">{{cite web |url=http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL64-l.html#LIBRASCOPE-L3055 |work=A Fourth Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems |id=BRL Report No. 1227 |title=LIBRASCOPE L3055 |date=January 1964 |access-date=2015-03-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916184557/http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL64-l.html#LIBRASCOPE-L3055 |archive-date=2015-09-16}}</ref> The FYQ-11 had been proposed on February 19, 1962, for the Complete Operational Capability{{r|Singer}} (dual AN/FYQ-11 sets with only a single OA-6041.){{r|PRM}} COC programs planned for the L-3055 included the "Deployment Monitor", "ACE-Tactical", and "ACE-Transport"{{r|TR66-261}}<!--Appendix B--> ([[Computer Based Training]] on the FYQ-11 was also planned.)<ref>{{Citation |format=letter |last=O'Brien |first=John T. |date=7 October 1968 |title=Review of Technical Document [ESD-TR-66-261] |publisher=ESD Public Information Division |___location=letter is last page of PDF |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0483236.pdf |work=Computer Directed Training: System 473L Query Language |id=ESD-TR-66-261 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413141220/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/483236.pdf |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> After FYQ-11 problems, [[John P. McConnell (general)|the USAF Chief of Staff]] in 1966 cancelled the AN/FYQ-11 and the [[Comptroller General of the United States|Comptroller]] was directed to dispose of "the L-3055 system's equipment"{{r|Sturm1967}} (1977 lawsuit claims by the 1968 Librascope parent--[[The Singer Company]]—were denied.)

==Complete operational capability==

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{{External media

|image1=[http://www.marksmath.com/files/librascope/prm-fig-01-2.html block diagram]

|image3=[http://ftp.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/generalPrecision/L-3055/L-3055_Brochure_1964.pdf AN/FYQ-11 CPU Subsystem (p. 12)<br /> Mass Memory Subsystem (p. 4)]

}}

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<ref name=Brown>{{Cite report |last=Brown |first=C.B. |date=4 December 1962 |title=473L DPSS/ICSS Interface Description |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0297312.pdf |format=Technical Memorandum |number=TM-3511 |publisher=[[MITRE Corporation]] |access-date=2022-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024225843/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/297312.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=October 24, 2014}}</ref>

<ref name=Figure1-2>{{Citation |title=Programmer's Reference Manual For An L-3055 Data Processing System Used As The AN/FYQ-11 Data Processor Set |pages=1-3, 1-4 |chapter=Figure 1-2. AN/FYQ-11 Data Flow and Switching Control Diagram |chapter-url=http://www.marksmath.com/files/librascope/prm-fig-01-2.html |access-date=2014-04-06 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221125/http://www.marksmath.com/files/librascope/prm-fig-01-2.html |accessurl-datestatus=2014-04-06bot: unknown }}</ref>

<ref name=SIedu>{{Cite journal |journal=Electronics |date=July 30, 1964 |title=473L System's AN/FYQ-11 |url=http://scienceservice.si.edu/pages/052125.htm |format=article transcript at scienceservice.si.edu |access-date=2014-04-02 |quote=[[Air Force Command Post Systems Division]] under the USAF Deputy Chief… Built around two large computers and 25 other electronic units, the data-processing equipment will become the nerve center of USAF's 473L command-and-control system already at work in the Air Force Command Post at the Pentagon. … The 473L complex}}</ref>

<ref name=Sturm1967>{{Cite report |last=Sturm |first=Thomas A. |date=August 1967 |title=The Air Force Command and Control System: 1950-1966 |url=http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110429-030.pdf |publisher=USAF Historical Division Liaison Office |access-date=2014-04-02 |quote=the Army maintained that the Air Force command and control network was insufficiently reliable to permit proper control of Army weapons [e.g., [[Nike missile]]s] in a crisis, and as a result the two services were, from a practical standpoint, poles apart on the issue of single control of weapons. |archive-date=2013-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216195235/http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110429-030.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name=TR66-261>{{Cite report |number=ESD-TR-66-261 |title=Computer Directed Training: System 473L Query Language |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0483236.pdf |first1=J.D. |last1=Schiff |first2=M.L. |last2=Chenevert |first3=W.F. |last3=Bennett |publisher=ESD Decision Science Laboratory |date=April 1966 |access-date=2022-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413141220/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/483236.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

<ref name=Wainstein>{{Cite report |last1=Wainstein |first1=L. (Project Leader) |date=June 1975|number=Study S-467 |publisher=[[Institute for Defense Analyses]] |title=The Evolution of U.S. Strategic Command and Control and Warning, 1945-1972 }}</ref>

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[[Category:Cold War military computerComputer systems of the United States Air Force]]

[[Category:Equipment of the United States Air Force]]

[[Category:United States nuclear command and control]]