psychological research on radar observer training.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
TRAINING
(g[L lÄ^?OKl©[n](o)yS[l
F O R E D E R A L S C I E N T I F I C A N D E C H N I C A L N F O R M A T I O N
U S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL B U R E A U OF STANDARDS / NSTITUTE OR APPLIED T E C H N O L O G Y
UNCLASSIFIED
This ocument s eing istributed y he learinghouse or ederal
Scientific nd echnical nformation, epartment f ommerce, s
result f ecent greement etween he epartment f Defense DUD)
an d he Department of Commerce (DOC) .
The learinghouse s istributing nclassi f ied , nlimited ocuments
which re r av e een nnounced n he echnical bstract ulletin
(TAB) of the Defense Documenta t ion Center.
.
j
I P s y c E l i Q c i D l l d D g n e a i f l
IE®§©SIII
(n)Ibs©ii
Edited by
New York, N. Y.
Operations of he Psychological esearch roject Radar) o re
carried out by a coordinated research group. rom the point of view
of recognizing individual contributions to this report, this fact has a
number of mplications. t s mpossible, for example, to assign n-
dividual responsibility for critical stages of research planning which,
for the most p^rt, invo lved group consideration and decision. ven
in project development, which was carried out by esearch teams, s-
sential contributions o f a critical nature must go unidentified.
With hese qualifications, an effort has een made o ootnote he
n a m e s of those persons w ho carried central responsibility or various
areas of the project's work . n addition, the writers of each chapter
have been named, although, here again, critical contributions from the
group notably altered original outlines and drafts.
Beyond this it did not seem wise to attempt in the ext individual
recognition for what w as so effectively a cooperative and coordinated
operation. n he other hand, brief note should be taken of certain
individual ervices hich ere undamental o he rganization's
work and o he preparation of he report. or example, Capt. H.
Richard Van Saun and Sgt. Albert H. Hastorf did nvaluable work
in esearch coordination. taff Sgt. Bernard C. Sullivan organized
an extensive sys tem of research records and upervised he Project's
early statistical work . taff Sgt. Roland E. Johnston carried hese
same esponsibilities during ater period w h e n extensive BM n -
alysis w as being carried ou t . or a short but critical period the proj-
ec t profited from the statistical services of Lt. So l M . Rcshal and Capt.
William F. Long.
Basic to all the research analysis carried out by the project was its
research ecord ys t em . rimarily nstrumental n ts development
and maintenance were Cpl . lyman Sofer, Sgt. Samuel D . Morford
and Cpl . Arlene Babcock .
Graphic materials e m p l o y e d by the project in its research and used
in this report were the work of Sgt. Alfred S. Arnott.
All development f physical measurement nstruments and main-
tenance of testing apparatus w as the primary responsibility of Techni-
cal Sgt. George M . Bellinger.
Principal credit for e f f ec t ive administration of the project's affairs
during the major period of its work goes to Sgt. Harold I. Roth, Staff
Sgt. Lester 1. Foster, and Cpl. John D . Hennessy. During the e m o -
III
T"
ionally trying stages of iniil editing, mimeographing, proofreading,
and assembling his eport, entire esponsibility or administration
w as turned over to Capt. Gabriel D . Ofie.sh, oordination and admin-
istration of the project's field operations were carried out by Lt. Stuart
Lottier and Lt. Lewis G . Carpenter, Jr.
In addition o he aid lready entioned he editor eceived n-
valuable assistance at other points n he preparation of he eport.
Lt. Stuart Lottier read all chapters from the point of view of improve-
ment in style. parallel review w as made by Cpl . Harold H. Kelley
from the point of view of technical content. he exacting task of re -
viewing the report for adherence to certain ormal conventions estab-
lished or he aviation sychology esearch eries s hole, w as
carried out jointly by Sgt. Ted P. Kisciras, Sgt. Harold . Roth, and
('apt. Gabriel D . Ofiesh .
Loyal and edlcient secretarial service during the period of the proj-
ect's esearch ctivities w as endered y Miss Mary ingrea, Mrs.
Laura Winter, Mrs. Rose Singer, Mrs. Virginia Van Saun, and Mrs.
Mildred Flanagan. rs. Margaret Gage w as invaluable in her role as
research librarian. uring the preparation of the mimeographed re -
port the diflicult clerical load w as carried by Miss Nora Jenkins, Miss
Phyllis Ashburn, and Mrs. Christino Glynn.
In addition o he ull-time project personnel, Maj. B . on Haller
Gilmer gave constant assistance to the research program in his super-
visory capacity at Headquarters, AAF Training Command. apt.
Iko H. Harrison served as a valuable consultant o n navigational and
bombing problems.
Finally, attention should bo called to the significant contribution of
Col . William M . Garland. uch success as had been achieved in psy-
chological esearch n he radar raining program is due in no small
measure o is ision nd o is ontinued issistance nd
encouragement.
'ö
v
1. COPE F HE EPORT
2. HE ADAR HERVER N HE R M Y IR ORCES
Development o f Radar
Training o f Radar Observers in the United States
Summary
NS-146
Selection o f Radar Observers 3
Psychological Research Project (Radar) 4
Activation o f the Project 4
Research Objectives and Priorities
Personnel 8
Summary 9
General Considerations 1
Methods o f Describing a Job 1
Basis o f Present Definition o f Radar Observer's Job.. 4
Job Description n nd Analysis o f Radar Observer Students
in Training. 6
Set Operation: Job Description...
Navigation: ob Description.. 6
4. ob Doscriplion of he Kadar Observer in Combat 7
Sources o f nformation 7
European Theater 7
Set Operation
The Job f he Radar Observer in the Future 3
Trends in Equipment Development 3
Indicated Changes in he Radar Observer's Job 4
Summary. 4
Introduction 7
Training 8
Preliminary Drafts
ficiency Tests 5
Training Program _ 6
Radar Bombing Intermediato Test
Final Test I
Checks
The Bench Set and he Student's Task 9
Bench Check Construction
Types o f Bench Check Items 02
Bench Check Administration _ _ 0 2
Bench Check Revisions 03
Standardized Supersonic Trainer Performance Checks 6
The Supersonic Trainer and he Student's Task 06
Supersonic Check Construction 07
Types o f Supersonic Check Items._ 03
Supersonic Check Administration 11
Supersonic Check Revisions I
The Airborne Set and he Student's Task 16
Aerial Check Construction
Aerial Check Administration _ 18
Aerial Check Revisions 20
The Student Rating Research Form 22
Summary 23
Background o r n nalysis f ources f nreli-
ability....
Student Performance...
Direct and Indirect Measurement
ciency
Reliability o f the Evaluation o f Student Performance. 35
The Measurement o f Reliability
l
> » . , ^na ^ ^ IIU.JJI n . , nm unu u u w-^ m um« .nn np -
Oiapler agt
7. Measures of Proficiency Within he Same Stage of Train-
ing as Criteria
The Variables and he Sample
Measures
Checks Measuring Similar Skills
Proficiency Stanines 5 1
Performance Checks Measuring Similar Skills 5 2
Correlations Between Performance Checks Measuring
Similar Skills 5 2
Correlations etween Ratings, erformance hecks, nd
Final Testa
Bombing Skills... 5 7
Part Against Part of the Same Performance Check... 58
Test Against Test 58
Test Against Performance Check
Related Reports From the Aviation Psychology Program. 63
Printed Tests Against Aerial Performance Checks 63
Correlations Between Printed Tests 64
Summary 65
Introduction 67
Bombing Proficiency Scores 171
Boca Rnton...
mm iiiw ii i iwm'*i '*m'm' ww wwV W*My*i»»it U ^ w - W iuMw.HtywwwB'ii.i ^^ . im m ^ i p a w 'Jw y iwwwMwr - - "' '" n ini iyMf
Chapter agt
Evaluation f Methods o f Determining Reliability 75
Statistical Stuflics o f Helinbility
in g
Improving the Reliability of Average Circular Error. 89
The Learning Curve fo r ombing in Radar bserver
Training 91
Error
Measures
CE, Computed With and Without Extreme Misses. 97
Relation Between Final Course Grade and CE, With
and Without Bombing Practice Partialled. Out 98
Relation Between Phase Grades and Circular Error.. 99
Relation etween ingle roficiency easures nd
CE 0 0
Over Error..
Defense Research Committee
search Detachment N o . 16
Student Selection by Psychological Research Project
(Navigator) - 23
mand..,
TRAINING.
Variables 30
Validation Criteria
Summary.- 68
12. N VALUATION, ITH U G G E S T I O N S O R UTURE E-
SEARCH 71
Pro f ic iency Measurement
Training Research
C H A P T E R O N E .
Scope of Report'
tion to the selection and training of radar observers bombardment)
2
in the Army Air Forces. uring the first 2 years of the war, opera-
tions of heavy bombers "were conducted without radar
s
1913, satisfactory airborne equipment became available in small quan-
tities. year later, production of radar sets had accelerated to such
a point that it w as necessary to initiate a large scale training program.
The activities described his report t ook place largely n
connection with this training program.
The report begins with an account of the use o f radar as a device
for blind bombing and navigation ch. 2). he accoun t ncludes a
brief explanation of the basic principles on which radar operates, in-
cluding the use of high f r equency pulsating radio waves and tho trans-
miss ion and reception o f these waves . ew of th o major technical
dovelopmcnta are noted, such as tho early experiments with radar by
naval cientists. ho eraphosis is placed n ho development of air-
borne radar as a strategic and tactical weapon in World War II, start-
ing with tho first aircraft warning sets and culminating in tho uso of
airborne radar in bombing and navigation in th o European and Pacific
Theaters. inally, a urvey s made of ho development of radar
observer raining both n overseas nstallations and n hose ocated
in tho continental United States.
Chapter i-esents chronology of esearch activities o ervo as
a ramework or more detailed descriptions n ater chapters. ho
major undertakings o f of three organizations which
accomplished psychological esearch n he adar observer aro enu-
merated and their interrelations pointed out. he survey begins with
the research done by the Radar Project established in February 943,
at Camp Murphy, Fla., by the National Defense Research Committee
»Written y gt . Albert H . Hastorf.
'Tho ul l itle f he ircrew peclnllHt rh o pernfetl nilnr s n id o ombing
an d avigation In heavy bombardment aircraft f th o Army A ir Forces w ns a d nr obuvrttr
(bombardment). or urpesea f revity, ho horter itle, adar bserver. s fe d
throughout hla eport.
" A eflnltlon f hl a . l ther erms equiring xplanation s ncluded n loMi-ary
of the OiTicc of Scientific Reocurch and Development Project ÖC-70,
NS-MG). ext resented re lic esearch ctivities f he AF
Aircrew Evaluation and Research Detachment N o. n he selection
of radar observers at th e radar training station operated by th e Eighth
Air Force. inally, here s iven description f he work of he
Psychological esearch roject Radar). his roject, f f icially
established n December 911, concentrated ts ellorts n he psy-
chological problems encountered by he AAF Training Command n
selecting and raining radar observei within the continental United
States.
The major part of chapter 4 consists of a job description and analysis
of the ask of he radar observer based upon observations of ground
and aerial raining. e cond ection discusses o b equirements n
combat. aterial or this discussion was obtained from personal in-
terviews ith ombat experienced adar bservers nd rom ther
reports from the combat theaters. he combat analysis dilTcrentiates
the activities of the radar observer in the European and in the Pacific
Theaters. inally, there is a statement of probable requirements for
the radar observer's task in the future; these predictions are based on
current knowledge of th e technical advances made in the development
of ew airborne radar equipment.
Chapters 5 , 6, 7, and 8 eal with proficiency criteria developed or
the radar observer raining program by he Psychological Research
Project Radar). battery of 11 printed prof ic iency tests and per-
formance hecks as sed hroughout raining or valuation f
student proficiency. hapter 5 discusses the prof ic iency tests, chapter
G the performance checks, chapter 7 gencrn 1 problems in the measure-
ment f performance, and chapter he nterrelationships between
various proficiency measures .
The plan or proficiency est construction alled or ntermediate
tests in each of the major curriculum divisions and on e f inal compre-
hensive test. he tests described in chapter 5 represent each of these
types of test. brief account is given of the methodology of test con -
st ruction, problems encountered in the standardization of test admin-
istration, and he i f f iculties n est construction esulting rom n
unstandardized urriculum. mong he escriptive materials ill
be ound ample tems, eans , tandard deviations, and, herever
available, reliability oeßicients.
Chapter presents discussion of the three major groups of per-
formance checks developed: The bench set trainer checks, the super-
sonic rainer checks, and he aerial hecks. statement s made of
the rationale for the development of these checks. heir construction
is described, ncluding he selection of behavior to bo evaluated and
th e development of items and of format. Sample i t ems and statisti-
1 T
cal ata re nc luded . lso escribed n hapter re he ajor
steps in the training of examiners to administer the checks.
iscusses alidity nd
measures. istinction s ade e tween redictive alidity nd
curriculum validity, which holds measure to be valid f it furnishes
a comprehensive test of achievement for a given area of instructional
material. ypes o f criteria against which predictive validity may be
determined re escribed. s background or he iscussion f
reliability, erformance heck tems re na lyzed n erms f w o
components: he tudent's performance n d he examiner evalua-
tion of that performance. he reliability o f different types of t e m s
is evaluated with reference to measurement errors associated with these
tw o components. tatistical echniques appropriate o he measure-
ment of performance check reliability are rev iewed .
Chapter analyzes he nterrelations of he proficiency measu r e s
described n chapters and . mong he matters iscussed s he
relation f rof iciency est cores o cores n erformance hecks
measuring he am e kills. he indings re applied o he general
problem of the relationship between verbal knowledge and actual jo b
performance and th e question of substituting printvi pro f ic iency tests
for performance checks. nother section o f the chapter is devoted to
the interrelations of: 1) Performance checks which measure similar
skills, and 2) rof iciency ests which measure similar kills. lso,
evidence s presented s o he degree of relationship between hree
areas of radar observer skill: avigation, bombing and se t operation.
A comparison is m a d e between the statistical findings reported in this
chapter and parallel findings of AAF psychologica l research projects
working n rof iciency easurement n bombardier nd avigator
training.
in raining within he continental United States. he chapter n -
c l ude s description of alternate methods or scoring he amount f
bombing error. he reliability of camera bombing circular error
made y tudents at hree raining chools s presented. ata aro
presented also on the reliability of actual b o m b drops; however, these
aro available from one training schoo l on l y . ypes of variable errors
contributing o unreliability aro discussed and uggestions ro m a d o
for ncreasing eliability. orrelations ro iven etween ircular
error and certain f he ground and aerial rof iciency measures e-
veloped y he Psychological Research Project Radar). lso is -
cussed s he elationship between mount f practice and circular
error. inally, constant error evident n m o s t tudent bombing
missions is analyzed at length.
Chapters 0 nd 1 iscuss election esearch n adar bserver
training. Chapter 0 gives, irst, an historical account of elect ion
a
Project lladar), nd , econd, n ccount f he ethods hrough
which the selection of radar students w as actually uccomplished. he
chapter eviews he election esearch ccomplished y he adar
Project SC-70, NS-1-16) of the National De fen s e Research Commit-
te e und he Air-crew Evaluation and Research Detachment N o . f
the AAF Aviation Psychology Program. ests developed by each o f
these groups are escribed. esults re eported or alidation
Jitudy carried out by th e latter organization.
Chapter 1 s oncerned with election est esearch conducted by
the Psychological Research Project Radar). wo validation siudiea
were ompleted, ach based pon amp l e f ombardiers nd
sample of navigators. he first study validates the Air-crow Classifi-
cation Battery and he Radar Observer Selection Battery against a
course grade determined by he raining schools . he second tudy
validates not on ly tests from these two batteries but also experimental
psychomotor and printed tests. n the second study, the criterion for
the bombardier sample w as course grade computed by he Project
on the basis of standardized proficiency measures . he variables for
the navigator sample were validated against course grades determined
by he school and also against radar bombing error. n addition to
validity oefficients, ultiple orrelation tatistics re resented.
Chapter 1 ls o ncludes iscussion f mpirically-determined
attributes of the success fu l radar student.
Chapter 12 evaluates the research accomplished to date and presents
a prospectus for future investigation.
The report has ne appendix and glossary of echnical erms;
appendix A onsists of descriptions f he election ests validated
by Psychological Research Project (Radar).
C H A P T E R T W O
The Radar Observer n he Army-
Air Forces
1
Radar w as ono of the outstanding technical developments o f World
War I. se d n detection and warning, aircraft nterception, sub-
marine hunting, bombing, navigation, fire control, and blind landing,
it proved itself important in both oiTcnsivo and defensive act ion . he
purpose of this chapter s o describe he se of radar by he Army
Air Forces as an aid to aerial bombing and navigation. he chapter
will nclude n account of he raining of he radar bserver with
emphasis upon the program, within the AAF Training C o m m a n d .
DEVELOPMENT O F R A D A R
Radar is a contraction of the words Detection, Ranging.
Its basic principle is that of the echo , with high frequency radio waves
substituted for sound waves . t is a familiar fact that a sharp noiso
or a shout near a cliff or high wall will bo returned as an echo. he
longer it akes he echo o return, he greater s he distance o he
reflecting obstacle.
In radar, hort pulses of adio energy, raveling at 80,000 miles
per econd, re ent out. f an cho eturns, he adio ulso has
reached om e reflecting object. y measuring he apse f t ime , the
distance to the object can be found, an d by determining the direction
from hich he cho eturns, he earing f he bject an e
determined.
Radar w as an outgrowth of radio research conducted over a period
of many years . he first step n ts development c a m e in 922 when
experimenters were working with high requency ransmitting and
receiving equipment at the Naval Aircraft Radio Laboravories.
3
n
one side of th e Potomac River they had nstalled ransmitter and,
on the other side, a receiver which conver ted the reflected radio energy
to visual orm n n oscilloscope creen. hey noticed hat ship
passing be tween he transmitter and he eceiver nterfered with o-
1
Writ to n y gt . Albert 1. Hastorf.
'"Story f ndnr" rciinrotl nder he irection f he onunnndlnK cnonil , . V S "
ccpl.ion. eali/.uig lic obsibili t iL'S of his discovery, hcy continued
investigation of he henomenon nd ound hat, ot only ould
ship ntorfcie with radio waves, but hat t would eflect them as well.
This suggested the desirability of placing the ransmitter and eceiver
in the same place. >y O o O , resear i had developed to the point where
the presence of surface vessels hidden by fog, smoke, or darkness could
bo detected.
As research con l inued, methods of aircraft detection were , developed.
It was ound hat an aircraft assing between ransmitter and e-
ceiver also et up an nterference pattern. y 031, both he . direc-
tion and distance of he aircraft could be determined accurately. n
1938, radar sets had been installed in some naval ships.
3
The irst mportant wartime application of airborne radar came n
the air battle over Great Britain. n that battle, ground radar warn-
ing stations detected approaching enemy planes and nformed fighter
pilots y adio f he nemy's pproximate osition. he ighter
pilots hen proceeded o make contact visually. t night, however,
or n he oggy weather often encountered over England, visual con-
tact as dillicult and often mpossible. o remedy his situation he
ItAF turned to airborne radar.
RAF ighter aircraft were equipped with aircraft interception sets.
Ground radar stations directed he fighters near enough o he enemy
planes so that these short range sets could be used. t is reported that
in one 21-hour period, radar-equipped ighters shot down 232 aircraft
at a cost to themselves of only 40 aircraft and 12 pilots.
4
The next major development in the use of airborne radar took place
in he ntisubmarine ampaign. he undamental ype f earch
radar set w as air-to-surface-vessel equipment, designated ASV. he
earliest widely used set of this type was a long-wave set. his was soon
replaced y more ccurate icrowave equipment. nother mport-
ant development on recent ASV sets was that o the plan position in-
dicator, or PPI cope, which presents G0
o
picture of the area over
which he aircraft s lying. ith hese ets, operators are able o
pick up and argets, convoys, ingle hips and surfaced ubmarines
at longer ranges than were previously possible.
Radar observer equipment consists of a earch et similar o ASV,
a precision ranging unit, and a bombing computer. ith it, cities and
other targets can be observed and bombed rom high altitudes through
a complete overcast. city appears as hite patch on he cope
at distances up o about 00 miles. s he ircraft approaches he
city, the white patch akes the approximate shape of the city. Bomb-
• Ibid., . .
4
Ibid., . .
ing an e uccomplishetl n wo ways. n coordinated bombing, he
radar observer gives he bombardier nformation with which ie yn-
chronizes he ombsi'dit o ake n ccurate elease v en houiih
the target is not visible. n direct bombing, the radar ob.-erver makes
the elease ndependently of he bombardier, by use of he radar et
alone.
Because he PPI cope presents a rough map of he area below he
aircraft, he adar et s very useful aid o navigation. rom he
scope , he radar bserver can ocate he osition f his ircraft y
determining ts direction and distance rom andmarks uch as coast-
l ines, akes, rivers, mountains and cities. e s hus ble o establish
his osition ven hough isual bservation r ad'o ontact s
impossible.
Th oint ritish nd American eizure of he aerial offensive n
the ummer of 91 3 gave airborne radar ts irst pportunity s n
of fens ive weapon. arliest se of radar or blind bombing and navi-
gation was by pathfinder crews of he RAF. he AAF He w ts irst
radar bombing mission in September of 913, using British equipment.
Improved equipment was soon developed at the Radiation Laboratory
Massachusetts nstitute Technology, mass production
of radar sets was begun n he United States. number of dillercnt
were used by he AAF but, argely because of he highly ecret
nature of the sets, the ollicial designations were rarely used, other terms
being coined or radar equipment, observers, and operations. AF
terms nclude '2S and tinky; AAF erms ncludo H2X, Mickey,
BTO for bombing through overcast, and Eagle for the AN/APQ-7 set.
Previous o October 943, AAF crews had been rained on RAF
radar equipment. n October, the first AN/APS-15 sets arrived rom
the United States or use by he Eighth Air Force. our aircraft
were equipped with these sets and crews were assigned to ly training
flights over England and he North Sea. ventually, the -ISiM Bomb
Group of he Eight Air Force was elected as central ocation or
such aircraft. rom his group, crews and aircraft were dispatched
to f ly with a dilterent unit of the Eighth Air Force as pathfinder o r lead
crews. he job of a pathfinder crew was to lead a formation of bombers
and make he bomb elease which erved s ignal or he ntire
formation drop ts of he S'id Group rained
additional adar bservers. s more adar equipped aircraft were
received rom he United States, the group began raining personnel
for permanent ssignment o other nits quipped ith athfinder
aircraft. his decentralization made t possible or he radar crews
to operate s more elTective.elements of he group to which hey were
assigned. reviously, efheient eam work had been ditlicult becauso
the pathfinders had led a different group on each mission.
70332T-
s the iK'cd or trained radar observer.s grew, (hii Eighth Air Force
established specialized raining school with ormal radar observer
course. he irst class entered on 25 ebruary 011 and consis'ed of
42 avigators nd ombardiers elected rom ombat roups n
England. nch class received month of ground and aerial raining
in radar navi-.ition and bombinff.
The nflow of students was ncreased o hat by May of 91 1 , here
were 5 students n class. pproximately wo-thirds of each class
had eceived ome adar raining n he nited States prior o em-
barking for England.
Shortly after the Eighth Air Force began extensive operations with
radar, he ifteenth Air Force n Italy rocured ts irst radar ob-
servers. ombat-experienced avigators nd ombardiers had een
returned o he United tates o eceive adar raining. ith his
personnel, the Fifteenth Air Force first began combat operations with
radar and ater activated ts own raining school or radar observers.
The use of airborne adar ncreased apidly. n November 043,
radar equipment made it possible or the Eighth Air Force to iy more
bombing missions han n ny previous month. hroughout Novem-
ber and virtually all bombing missions were ed by radar
equipped pathfinder crews.
techniques were refined and improved. n D-day, all heavy bombard-
ment ormations were ed by radar aircraft and all coastline argets
were bombed with the aid of radar.
In the Pacific Theater, in the early stages of the war, radar observers
f lew n B-24 bombers on ea-search missions against Japanese hip-
ping. wo radar sets were used: The radar observer operated a search
set such as the SCR-717 or AN/APS-15A, and the bombardier used a
radar computer, called he AN/APQ-5. y coordinating the opera-
tion f hese wo ets, he radar observer and he bombardier ere
able o ocate and bomb urface vessels with great accuracy.
The radar observer also played an mportant ole n he bombard-
ment of he Japanese home slands. uring he ast months of he
war n he acific, ll -29 ircraft ere quipped ith ither
AN/APQ-13 or AN/APQ-7 sets. arly operation of hese sets was
unsatisfactory ecause of he ack of dequately rained ersonnel.
This ituation mproved, owever, arly n 94 5 s he xpanded
training program n he United States provided greater number of
qualified radar observers.
THAIMNG OF RADAR OBSERVERS N THE UNITED STATES
he all 914, adar raining he ontinental nited
States was conducted on a relatively small cale. nstruction n radar
navigat io n and radar bombing was given regularly at only two schools:
• Ibid., . .
8
Lnnglpy Field, Va., and Boca Raton Army Air Field, Fla. t each of
those schools , graduate bombardiers and navigators were given 1 \ Y e e l c 3
o f radar observer raining. he combined student lo w w as approxi-
mately 24 0 per month. t that time, Lungloy Field was n overseas
replacement training center, and most of the graduates o f both schools
received dditional raining hile waiting ransportation o he
European Theater.
A hird radar observer school w as organized n April 944 y he
Second Air Force to train radar observers or B-29 operations n he
Paci f ic Theater. his choo l w as ocated at Smoky Hill Army Air
Field, alina, ans., nd rained lasses f pproximately 5 er
mon th . he training consis ted of both ground and aerial nstruction
in radar navigation and bombing . he curriculum stressed raining
in f f -se t bombing, echnique or bombing n bscured arget by
making computations with reference to a visible radar return ocated
a known distance and direction rom the target. raining continued
until August 944, when he choo l w as disbanded n d he nstruc-
t ional staff was transferred to the radar observer schools at Boca Raton
and Langley Field.
In the all of 944, after almost year of ncreasing success with
radar navigation and bombing , it was decided to expand the training
program in the United States. ecause of a elative excess of pilots
and shortage of bombardiers and navigators, a decision w as made to
attempt to rain the former as radar observers. he training courso
w as increased to 16 weeks and included instruction in non-radar navi-
gation and bombing. fter about month, he G-week ourso w as
abandoned because the motivation of pilots for such training was low.
The selection of prospective students from bombardiers and navigators
was and the duration of the courso w as fixed at weeks . t
th e ime of entering radar observer raining, bombardiers were e-
quired to have had navigation training in advanced bombardier school
an d navigators were required to take 4 weeks of preradar training in
bombing .
In early 1945, anew radar observer school w as established at Victor-
villo Army Air-Field, Calif. he combined student f low of the threo
stations w as o o n ncreased o 0 0 tudents per month. ith his
rapid growth am e many problems f urriculum tandardization.
These problems arose n part because he different raining tations
wore equipped with different radar ets. he AM/APS-15 and ho
AN/APS-15A were used at Langley Field while the AN/APQ-13 w as
used at Boca Raton and at Victorville. owever, m o s t problems of
curriculum standardization arose between schools using th e ame set,
as o which operating procedures were best and ow he} hould o
The emand or adar bservers ontinued o ncrease. n ho
spring f 0 4 5 , ourth adar bserver chool as ctivated t
Williams Army Air Field, Ariz., and n he early ummer of 015 .
fifth chool as stablished t uma rmy ir ield, riz. he
combined onthly lo w or he chools as , 000 tudents. ery
few tudents raduated rom _ .cr f he ew chools, owever,
since, ith he nd f he ar, adar raining as mmediately
curtailed.
SUMMARY
This chapter gives brief description of he raining of he radar
observer and his place n he war-time operations of he Army Air
Force. t s divided nto hree ections. he undamental principle
of radar, t s pointed out in he first section, s similar o hat of the
echo. hort pulses of radio energy are sent out and a receiving unit
presents n visual orm he direction nd distance of the object which
reflects he pulses.
The second section is devoted to the use of airborne radar in combat
operations. his account begins with he early uses of ground radar
in detecting aircraft and he nstallation of he irst airborne ets n
fighter aircraft. earch ets were nstalled n aircraft as a part of
the anti-submarine campaign; hese ets were he orerunners o
sets operated by he radar observer. he RAF was the first air force
to use radar as an aid to navigation and bombing. n time the Eighth
Air Force had radar-equipped pathfinder aircraft and crews operating
on many of ts bombing missions. chool was also et up by his
Air Force to train radar observers. ir forces operating in he Medi-
terranean and Pacific Theaters made ncreased use of radar aids as
the war continued.
The inal ection of he chapter outlines he raining program or
radar observers ot up n he United tates. s combat operations
increased it was necessary to expand training facilities in this country.
Within period of months he number of raining stations was n-
creased rom 2 to 5 and the monthly student f low from 250 o , 0 0 0 .
10
1
The purpose f his chapter s o eview, n hronologicn l rder,
th e major esearch studies accomplished n the selection and raining
o f adar bservers. he presentation s n he o rm f urvey;
detailed accounts of specific research accomplishments m ay o ound
in subsequent chapters.
The studies o e men t i oned will e ntroduced n elation o ho
development of three more o r less independent research organizations.
The three organizations, in the order in which they will be presented,
are irst, he National Defense Research Commi t t e e Project SC-70,
NS-146, referred to as th e NDRC Project; second , th o AAF Aviation
Psychology Program, Aircrew Evaluation and Research Detachment
N o. 1, tho Eighth Air Force , to bo referred to as th o AERD N o . , and
third, he AAF viation Psychology rogram, sychological e-
search Project Radar). n addition, mention will be made f ho
select ion of radar observers by Psychological Research Project Navi-
gator) nd Headquarters, F Training C o m m a n d .
t e
SC-70, NS-1-16
Tho broad ask ssigned ho NDRC Project pon ts nitiation n
February 9-13, w as esearch upon psychological r ob l ems of adar
operation n both the A r m y and Navy.
2
n carrying out this assign-
m e n t ersonnel f he roject conducted u m e r o u s nvestigations,
some related primarily to ground radar installations, others primarily
to sets employed by naval vessels or aircraft. n this review, only ro -
soarch bearing upon the problems of airborne radar will be mentioned.
Among he airborne radar assignments undertaken y ho NDRC
Project, one of he first w as a jo b analysis o f tho operation of equip-
m e n t designated s ASV air-to-surface-vessel ) y po of irborne
'Written y j,'t. Albert H. Hnstor f .
'Appl lea 'LyclioloKy fvnel, N D U C , Final eport In K u m m a r y of work on he Belcc-tlon and
training f ndnr poralorfl , Mcnrcb Report N o. 9, 4 ojilerabiT ). |5. li e ollovrlug
personne l nrtlclpntcd n he 'rojcot; onald . tmlr . ley, Ulrictor, rving 1 . «dcr«on,
Alfred . aldwin, harles I. r ldgman, obert , aniel , ohn . nr ley , obert t.
Orehor, Kdward '. orne , dward A. Jerome, Wllllriiu I. Llehto, Thomas > . McCulloch,
Fred M c K l n n e y , Karl U . Smi th , 0. Raymond Stone, Edward J. Sweeney , Oarlh J. Thoaiai».
11
radar s'-a soarch equipment. SV He d cither he SCli ITA nr SCR
717B sets which, ike he - ; e t , s ..-:eil by he radar observer, h.-vi' Pl
scope and eoasequcnlly ^•([^lir(
Following tins analysis personnel of he project prepared ö election
tests dealing principally with perceptual aspects of the operator's task.
These ests ere believed o measure peed d ccurac) f ercep-
tual iscrimination, lertness, ersistence, nd he bility o ake
quick udgments. o establish ime imits and coring methuds, he
tests were administered experimentally at Camp Murphy, Fla.; Boca
Kation Fla; Langley nd t tations nder he
AAF Tactical Center, Orlando, Fla.
Several ests rom his group of 5 ere, administered y AERD
No. s part of election research roject o o described below.'
Those found by AERD No. o be most predictive of success radar
observer raining were ncluded ater n a est battery dministered
to potential radar observer students n he United States by esting
teams rom eadquarters, AAF raining ommand. ther ests
of this group were used by Psychological Research Project Naviga-
tor) uring he period hen hat organization as esponsible or
radar bserver tudent election. sychological esearch roject
(Radar) repared achine coreable orms of thers or nclusion
in battery of experimental selection ests.
The NDRC Project also contributed o radar observer research n
the areas of proficiency measurement and of raining methods. wo
comprehensive printed proficiency ests were constructed, one or the
AN/APS-15 set, and another for the AN/APQ-7 set. film trainer
was developed which used motion pictures of scope returns as briefing
and reconnaissance aids. manual was prepared o aid students n
training as radar observers for low altitude radar bombing. photo
bomb coring computer wa constructed. ne of he project's most
extensive tudies as n xtended raining experiment esigned o
ascertain he effect on proficiency of continued raining beyond he
normal duration of the AAF radar observer training course.
A1UCKEW VALUATION AND RESEARCH DETACHMENT
NO.
4
AERD No. consisted of G ofTicers and 15 enlisted men of the AAF
Aviation sychology rogram ho ere etnehed rom ay o
August 1911, and assigned to duty with the Eighth Air Force in Eng-
land. t his stage in he development of the air war he ncreasing
use of radar as nn aid to nevigation and bombing had emphasized the
importance of choosing well-qualified personnel or as radar
• Triilcy, W. M ., ed., Pt'jchr>logl(t\i l rcacurch in he heaters oj ear. AF avlntlon psychol-
0R y .-orfrntn oponrch eports, N o . 7. WouMnßton, Government rlnttng Of f l c e , 047.
12
observers. s \ esult, AERD o. . -sigmnl of ts uMnhoii, o
specialized esoai 'oh n he election of adar observer t uden t« .
5
jo b analysis w as uule of he particular kills and abilities equired
by he airborne adar observer n.training t he Eighth Air Force
Kadar Observer School . ollowing this analysis " JO printed select ion
tests were hosen or validation against ourse grades at he chool .
The ests validated nclude several of hose developed y he NDKC
Projectj several originated y AERD N o . , and arge group ro m
the AF ir-crew lassification attery. ls o alidated ere
stanines or bombardier, navigator and pilot. f he 0 tests, he 4
most valid were later to constitute the radar observer select ion battfry.
Another major undertaking of AERD N o . w as he construction
of a comprehensive printed proficiency tes t or radar observers . n-
cluded n his est w as ection n which he tudent's ask w as o
navigate through a simulated radar miss ion . avigation w as carried
out with the aid of a full-size plotting chart o f northwestern Germany
and as dependent pon he orrect nterpretation f eries f
photographs of the radar scope .
SELECTION F R A D A R OBSERVERS
As the importance of the radar observer n he European Theater
increased, the desirability of screening potential students in the United
States e came apparent. n July 914, he Psychological Research
Project Navigator), t he irection f eadquarters, AAF, s-
sembled elect ion attery o o dministered o otential adar
students at he advanced navigation chools . hree ests eve l oped
by the NDRC Project and a preference blank were chosen . he bat-
tery w as administered to advanced students w ho either had navigator
stanines o f eight and above or ranked in the upper third o f their class.
The first administration took place in July 914, at Hondo Army Air
Field, Tex.; ater administrations ere carried ut t hree ther
navigation schools. outine testing for screening purposes w as con-
ducted y personnel of hese chools and continued until N o v e m b e r
1944.
O n 9 N o v e m b e r 1944, Headquarters AAF Training Command estab-
lished irborne adar bserver election eams or he urpose f
administering election battery ased pon he validation tudios
of AERD N o. . n May 945, the Navigation Proficiency Test, de -
scribed in chapter 5 , w as added to this battery for selecting students in
advanced bombardier training. he airborne eams continued selec-
tion testing until July 1945.
• M n j o r . . l lmcr, nptnln Stunrt . ook, t. Wlllldra . Whcole?, /8gt.
U U S H P I I V . norncinclcr, T/Sgt. Robert B. Miller, Sgt. Philip II . Krcldt.
13
i'syrnomGiru, HKSKAKCH I IOJF .CT HADAH)
In he ":ill f -'II. ftfr <:ir of iicrc'a.-<cl ii'/r.-.-.^ n -trat-Lric
bombing ltli adar, he AAF •nil. 'nr ' : pon rc uly -.\pandcd
program or th«; raining of aflur b.M-;vf-r-:. .'' raining irogram,
null] hat l/nc. harj j(-cn on'- fM i-; ; '. - ' ] t 2 raining tation?. lans
wt-re ina'k' o iicif-a-o he ninnber of -tations o > . A nd a(or o , and
to ex/m:' he total ^Uulent f low froiu 25 0 to .
1
6
Tliese I fVf ' lopinenf .s ade t-iraljle lie .-tabll.-lniu'nL f n AF
Psychologien] rojef . - t or specialized radar observer esearch.
Aetlvaliun of the Projecl
Early n -pt'inber 514 . t. ol. . aul Tor t, ommanding
Oflleer of AKKD No, , aeeoinpanied by Ma]. Bevcrley von II. Gilmer
and Capt. Stuart W. Cook, reported o the Air Surgeon, Wai-hington,
to discuss he prelituinury indings and lans or completion of he
v.'ork ndertaken y hat etachment hile ith he ighth ir
Force. t his ime he irst conferences ere eld elative o he
need or a psychological project n he selection and raining of radar
observers. ater this need was discus.scd with he Surgeon at Ilead-
ptarters, AAF Training Command, Fort Worth, Tex., and with Col.
William . arland, hen eputy or raining n perations f .
Langlcy Field, Va, t was decided at hese discussions to activate a
project nder he irection f aptain ook nd, ecause f he
urgency of he work, o assign ersonnel o Langley Field on em-
porary duty prior to official activation.
Arrangements were made, also, to eidist the assistance of established
psychological units and projects. wo oflicers rom he Psychology
Department, School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, Tex., were
assigned on temporary duty to assist in the planning for experimenta-
tion with pparatus ests. he Director of sychological esearch
Project Bombardier) ssisted ith lans or roficiency measure-
ment. n ollicer from the Psychological Research Unit, San Antonio,
collaborated n he reparation f lans or xperimentation ith
printed election ests. y ctober 911, group f oflicers and
15 nlisted en ad een ssembled t angley ield. orking
(jtiarters were established or this group on the flight lino where other
flying' and training activities were concentrated.
On December 1911, he Psychological Research Project Radar)
was officially activated by Headquarters, AAF Training Command.
7
•The ln.t v,-o cliools wro Üuatctl t .nnplcy Mil nd t oca aton AF. he
forini-r w an ^iHiiiMblo or AN/Al'S-lT) nml AN/APS-15A rnlnlii;; wlille ho nttor ni) ,-ht
AN/Al'Q-U nd N'/AI'Q-T. hird clinol. lctoi-vlllc AF as HtaMlBbcd or
AN'/AI'Q-KT ralnlnj». t was miiiph.mcutod nter y Yunm AAP and Williams Field. he
latter undertook nil AN/Al'Q-T raining.
'I.ildT, endiiiinrterH AF TrnlnliiK' Command, o umninndlnß cnernl, AP Eastern
Tei'linlcal rnlnlnu ommand, ubject: ntabllnhmcnt f Kycholofc 'k 'a l lesccrch roject
(Hndur), 5 November 1044, Fllo 353 Undar.
14
T
The majority f por onnel .tatioiu\l t uuglvy ield n emporary
duty were hen permanently assigned.
Research Ohjeclivcs and Priorities
The letter of activation tates the mission of the roject as ollows:
e r . he development f aptilude eM s or he election f adar p-
erators, . he evelopment f adar operator roliciency riteria
against which o validate aptitude ests, . he nvestigation of con-
ditions of optimally llicient se f rainers nd raining ethods.
< / . onduct of research tudies on other psycholog'cal problems o bo
directed by his headquarters.
Priorities ere ssigned o esearch bjectives n he asis f
practical circumstances, under which the project ts irst
and ighest riority as iven o he evelopment, f roliciency
tests and checks. econd was assigned o he validation of
selection ests. hird priority as placed pon nstructor election
and evaluation. owest riority s given o he nvestigation f
trainers and raining methods.
ficiency measures most urgent. he raining program was ow and
there was an acutely elt need or acceptable ethods of evaluating
students. upervisory raining ersonnel nder ho eadership f
Colonel Garland, were dissatisfied with ho methods hat had been
hurriedly mprovised nd ere eceptive, consequently, o proposals
regarding ew ypes f roficiency easurement. n ddition, t
appeared robable hat, until cceptable roficiency easures ere
constructed, here would o vailable no dequate criterion against
which o validate election ests. f ho possible riteria, one, ho
pass-fail criterion, was eliminated because ho demand by ho oper-
ational air orces or radar observers did not allow ho ailuro of n-
ferior students. nother, instructor grades, appeared ikely o o of
doubtful value because the rapid expansion of training necessitated tho
üs o f many nstructors ith o revious eaching xperience nd
others with ittlo or no motivation to each. hird, bombing accu-
racy, as ade mpractical y ho ack f uflicient hotographic
equipment at the radar training stations.
V/ork on he validation of selection ests, assigned econd priority
because f ho ecessity or mmediate evelopment f roficiency
measures, was only slightly delayed by his emphasis. hile t was
not possible o egin he evelopment of ew election ests, arly
attention was given o ho assembly and administration of battery
of selection ests available rom other ources. t was expected hat
development of new tests would not bo long delayed since plans culled
for tandard raining rogram n which dentical proficiency
* IbUL, aragraph .
measures would bo sed it all raining tations. he iui hat uch
standardization as ot chieved ultiplied reatly he ork n
proficiency measuiement and unduly delayed elect ion est develop-
ment.
llcsoarch n nstructor elect ion nd valuation, hile ssigned
third priority n he project's emphasis, w as greatly needed and e-
quired elatively small nvestment of personnel. alidation of he
instructor selection ests w as never accomplished because of the delay
in ccumulating uitable criteria of nstructor ro f i c i ency . owevSt
priority w as given to research projects in training. hile significant
training problems were present, the project followed the policy of the
Aviation Psychology Program n emphasizing esearch n personnel
select ion and evaluation.
Survey of Project Research
O n e of the first asks o f he project w as o become adequately ori-
ented o he adar observer's asks nd o he echnical etails of
various ypes of radar equipment. ectures, demonstrations, obser-
vations and orientation lights were specially arranged or this pur-
post. embers of the project were successively enrolled in the course
at Langley Field hroughout he duration of he raining program.
In this course project personnel participated in ll ground and flying
training s egular tudents, and accumulated uf f ic ient numbers of
hours of Hying time to solo as radar observers.
The first 2 months of the project's activity were directed primarily
toward he ompletion f attery f tandardized roficiency
measures or he various ypes of radar equipment sed. arly n
January 945, a battery of three proficiency teste and three perform-
ance checks, applicable to both AN/APS-15 and AN/APQ-13 equip-
ment, w as presented at the conference of he Radar Standardization
and Advisory Board. ollowing the presentation, the board adopted
a recommendation "that the phase checks and examinations which are
(g[L lÄ^?OKl©[n](o)yS[l
F O R E D E R A L S C I E N T I F I C A N D E C H N I C A L N F O R M A T I O N
U S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL B U R E A U OF STANDARDS / NSTITUTE OR APPLIED T E C H N O L O G Y
UNCLASSIFIED
This ocument s eing istributed y he learinghouse or ederal
Scientific nd echnical nformation, epartment f ommerce, s
result f ecent greement etween he epartment f Defense DUD)
an d he Department of Commerce (DOC) .
The learinghouse s istributing nclassi f ied , nlimited ocuments
which re r av e een nnounced n he echnical bstract ulletin
(TAB) of the Defense Documenta t ion Center.
.
j
I P s y c E l i Q c i D l l d D g n e a i f l
IE®§©SIII
(n)Ibs©ii
Edited by
New York, N. Y.
Operations of he Psychological esearch roject Radar) o re
carried out by a coordinated research group. rom the point of view
of recognizing individual contributions to this report, this fact has a
number of mplications. t s mpossible, for example, to assign n-
dividual responsibility for critical stages of research planning which,
for the most p^rt, invo lved group consideration and decision. ven
in project development, which was carried out by esearch teams, s-
sential contributions o f a critical nature must go unidentified.
With hese qualifications, an effort has een made o ootnote he
n a m e s of those persons w ho carried central responsibility or various
areas of the project's work . n addition, the writers of each chapter
have been named, although, here again, critical contributions from the
group notably altered original outlines and drafts.
Beyond this it did not seem wise to attempt in the ext individual
recognition for what w as so effectively a cooperative and coordinated
operation. n he other hand, brief note should be taken of certain
individual ervices hich ere undamental o he rganization's
work and o he preparation of he report. or example, Capt. H.
Richard Van Saun and Sgt. Albert H. Hastorf did nvaluable work
in esearch coordination. taff Sgt. Bernard C. Sullivan organized
an extensive sys tem of research records and upervised he Project's
early statistical work . taff Sgt. Roland E. Johnston carried hese
same esponsibilities during ater period w h e n extensive BM n -
alysis w as being carried ou t . or a short but critical period the proj-
ec t profited from the statistical services of Lt. So l M . Rcshal and Capt.
William F. Long.
Basic to all the research analysis carried out by the project was its
research ecord ys t em . rimarily nstrumental n ts development
and maintenance were Cpl . lyman Sofer, Sgt. Samuel D . Morford
and Cpl . Arlene Babcock .
Graphic materials e m p l o y e d by the project in its research and used
in this report were the work of Sgt. Alfred S. Arnott.
All development f physical measurement nstruments and main-
tenance of testing apparatus w as the primary responsibility of Techni-
cal Sgt. George M . Bellinger.
Principal credit for e f f ec t ive administration of the project's affairs
during the major period of its work goes to Sgt. Harold I. Roth, Staff
Sgt. Lester 1. Foster, and Cpl. John D . Hennessy. During the e m o -
III
T"
ionally trying stages of iniil editing, mimeographing, proofreading,
and assembling his eport, entire esponsibility or administration
w as turned over to Capt. Gabriel D . Ofie.sh, oordination and admin-
istration of the project's field operations were carried out by Lt. Stuart
Lottier and Lt. Lewis G . Carpenter, Jr.
In addition o he aid lready entioned he editor eceived n-
valuable assistance at other points n he preparation of he eport.
Lt. Stuart Lottier read all chapters from the point of view of improve-
ment in style. parallel review w as made by Cpl . Harold H. Kelley
from the point of view of technical content. he exacting task of re -
viewing the report for adherence to certain ormal conventions estab-
lished or he aviation sychology esearch eries s hole, w as
carried out jointly by Sgt. Ted P. Kisciras, Sgt. Harold . Roth, and
('apt. Gabriel D . Ofiesh .
Loyal and edlcient secretarial service during the period of the proj-
ect's esearch ctivities w as endered y Miss Mary ingrea, Mrs.
Laura Winter, Mrs. Rose Singer, Mrs. Virginia Van Saun, and Mrs.
Mildred Flanagan. rs. Margaret Gage w as invaluable in her role as
research librarian. uring the preparation of the mimeographed re -
port the diflicult clerical load w as carried by Miss Nora Jenkins, Miss
Phyllis Ashburn, and Mrs. Christino Glynn.
In addition o he ull-time project personnel, Maj. B . on Haller
Gilmer gave constant assistance to the research program in his super-
visory capacity at Headquarters, AAF Training Command. apt.
Iko H. Harrison served as a valuable consultant o n navigational and
bombing problems.
Finally, attention should bo called to the significant contribution of
Col . William M . Garland. uch success as had been achieved in psy-
chological esearch n he radar raining program is due in no small
measure o is ision nd o is ontinued issistance nd
encouragement.
'ö
v
1. COPE F HE EPORT
2. HE ADAR HERVER N HE R M Y IR ORCES
Development o f Radar
Training o f Radar Observers in the United States
Summary
NS-146
Selection o f Radar Observers 3
Psychological Research Project (Radar) 4
Activation o f the Project 4
Research Objectives and Priorities
Personnel 8
Summary 9
General Considerations 1
Methods o f Describing a Job 1
Basis o f Present Definition o f Radar Observer's Job.. 4
Job Description n nd Analysis o f Radar Observer Students
in Training. 6
Set Operation: Job Description...
Navigation: ob Description.. 6
4. ob Doscriplion of he Kadar Observer in Combat 7
Sources o f nformation 7
European Theater 7
Set Operation
The Job f he Radar Observer in the Future 3
Trends in Equipment Development 3
Indicated Changes in he Radar Observer's Job 4
Summary. 4
Introduction 7
Training 8
Preliminary Drafts
ficiency Tests 5
Training Program _ 6
Radar Bombing Intermediato Test
Final Test I
Checks
The Bench Set and he Student's Task 9
Bench Check Construction
Types o f Bench Check Items 02
Bench Check Administration _ _ 0 2
Bench Check Revisions 03
Standardized Supersonic Trainer Performance Checks 6
The Supersonic Trainer and he Student's Task 06
Supersonic Check Construction 07
Types o f Supersonic Check Items._ 03
Supersonic Check Administration 11
Supersonic Check Revisions I
The Airborne Set and he Student's Task 16
Aerial Check Construction
Aerial Check Administration _ 18
Aerial Check Revisions 20
The Student Rating Research Form 22
Summary 23
Background o r n nalysis f ources f nreli-
ability....
Student Performance...
Direct and Indirect Measurement
ciency
Reliability o f the Evaluation o f Student Performance. 35
The Measurement o f Reliability
l
> » . , ^na ^ ^ IIU.JJI n . , nm unu u u w-^ m um« .nn np -
Oiapler agt
7. Measures of Proficiency Within he Same Stage of Train-
ing as Criteria
The Variables and he Sample
Measures
Checks Measuring Similar Skills
Proficiency Stanines 5 1
Performance Checks Measuring Similar Skills 5 2
Correlations Between Performance Checks Measuring
Similar Skills 5 2
Correlations etween Ratings, erformance hecks, nd
Final Testa
Bombing Skills... 5 7
Part Against Part of the Same Performance Check... 58
Test Against Test 58
Test Against Performance Check
Related Reports From the Aviation Psychology Program. 63
Printed Tests Against Aerial Performance Checks 63
Correlations Between Printed Tests 64
Summary 65
Introduction 67
Bombing Proficiency Scores 171
Boca Rnton...
mm iiiw ii i iwm'*i '*m'm' ww wwV W*My*i»»it U ^ w - W iuMw.HtywwwB'ii.i ^^ . im m ^ i p a w 'Jw y iwwwMwr - - "' '" n ini iyMf
Chapter agt
Evaluation f Methods o f Determining Reliability 75
Statistical Stuflics o f Helinbility
in g
Improving the Reliability of Average Circular Error. 89
The Learning Curve fo r ombing in Radar bserver
Training 91
Error
Measures
CE, Computed With and Without Extreme Misses. 97
Relation Between Final Course Grade and CE, With
and Without Bombing Practice Partialled. Out 98
Relation Between Phase Grades and Circular Error.. 99
Relation etween ingle roficiency easures nd
CE 0 0
Over Error..
Defense Research Committee
search Detachment N o . 16
Student Selection by Psychological Research Project
(Navigator) - 23
mand..,
TRAINING.
Variables 30
Validation Criteria
Summary.- 68
12. N VALUATION, ITH U G G E S T I O N S O R UTURE E-
SEARCH 71
Pro f ic iency Measurement
Training Research
C H A P T E R O N E .
Scope of Report'
tion to the selection and training of radar observers bombardment)
2
in the Army Air Forces. uring the first 2 years of the war, opera-
tions of heavy bombers "were conducted without radar
s
1913, satisfactory airborne equipment became available in small quan-
tities. year later, production of radar sets had accelerated to such
a point that it w as necessary to initiate a large scale training program.
The activities described his report t ook place largely n
connection with this training program.
The report begins with an account of the use o f radar as a device
for blind bombing and navigation ch. 2). he accoun t ncludes a
brief explanation of the basic principles on which radar operates, in-
cluding the use of high f r equency pulsating radio waves and tho trans-
miss ion and reception o f these waves . ew of th o major technical
dovelopmcnta are noted, such as tho early experiments with radar by
naval cientists. ho eraphosis is placed n ho development of air-
borne radar as a strategic and tactical weapon in World War II, start-
ing with tho first aircraft warning sets and culminating in tho uso of
airborne radar in bombing and navigation in th o European and Pacific
Theaters. inally, a urvey s made of ho development of radar
observer raining both n overseas nstallations and n hose ocated
in tho continental United States.
Chapter i-esents chronology of esearch activities o ervo as
a ramework or more detailed descriptions n ater chapters. ho
major undertakings o f of three organizations which
accomplished psychological esearch n he adar observer aro enu-
merated and their interrelations pointed out. he survey begins with
the research done by the Radar Project established in February 943,
at Camp Murphy, Fla., by the National Defense Research Committee
»Written y gt . Albert H . Hastorf.
'Tho ul l itle f he ircrew peclnllHt rh o pernfetl nilnr s n id o ombing
an d avigation In heavy bombardment aircraft f th o Army A ir Forces w ns a d nr obuvrttr
(bombardment). or urpesea f revity, ho horter itle, adar bserver. s fe d
throughout hla eport.
" A eflnltlon f hl a . l ther erms equiring xplanation s ncluded n loMi-ary
of the OiTicc of Scientific Reocurch and Development Project ÖC-70,
NS-MG). ext resented re lic esearch ctivities f he AF
Aircrew Evaluation and Research Detachment N o. n he selection
of radar observers at th e radar training station operated by th e Eighth
Air Force. inally, here s iven description f he work of he
Psychological esearch roject Radar). his roject, f f icially
established n December 911, concentrated ts ellorts n he psy-
chological problems encountered by he AAF Training Command n
selecting and raining radar observei within the continental United
States.
The major part of chapter 4 consists of a job description and analysis
of the ask of he radar observer based upon observations of ground
and aerial raining. e cond ection discusses o b equirements n
combat. aterial or this discussion was obtained from personal in-
terviews ith ombat experienced adar bservers nd rom ther
reports from the combat theaters. he combat analysis dilTcrentiates
the activities of the radar observer in the European and in the Pacific
Theaters. inally, there is a statement of probable requirements for
the radar observer's task in the future; these predictions are based on
current knowledge of th e technical advances made in the development
of ew airborne radar equipment.
Chapters 5 , 6, 7, and 8 eal with proficiency criteria developed or
the radar observer raining program by he Psychological Research
Project Radar). battery of 11 printed prof ic iency tests and per-
formance hecks as sed hroughout raining or valuation f
student proficiency. hapter 5 discusses the prof ic iency tests, chapter
G the performance checks, chapter 7 gencrn 1 problems in the measure-
ment f performance, and chapter he nterrelationships between
various proficiency measures .
The plan or proficiency est construction alled or ntermediate
tests in each of the major curriculum divisions and on e f inal compre-
hensive test. he tests described in chapter 5 represent each of these
types of test. brief account is given of the methodology of test con -
st ruction, problems encountered in the standardization of test admin-
istration, and he i f f iculties n est construction esulting rom n
unstandardized urriculum. mong he escriptive materials ill
be ound ample tems, eans , tandard deviations, and, herever
available, reliability oeßicients.
Chapter presents discussion of the three major groups of per-
formance checks developed: The bench set trainer checks, the super-
sonic rainer checks, and he aerial hecks. statement s made of
the rationale for the development of these checks. heir construction
is described, ncluding he selection of behavior to bo evaluated and
th e development of items and of format. Sample i t ems and statisti-
1 T
cal ata re nc luded . lso escribed n hapter re he ajor
steps in the training of examiners to administer the checks.
iscusses alidity nd
measures. istinction s ade e tween redictive alidity nd
curriculum validity, which holds measure to be valid f it furnishes
a comprehensive test of achievement for a given area of instructional
material. ypes o f criteria against which predictive validity may be
determined re escribed. s background or he iscussion f
reliability, erformance heck tems re na lyzed n erms f w o
components: he tudent's performance n d he examiner evalua-
tion of that performance. he reliability o f different types of t e m s
is evaluated with reference to measurement errors associated with these
tw o components. tatistical echniques appropriate o he measure-
ment of performance check reliability are rev iewed .
Chapter analyzes he nterrelations of he proficiency measu r e s
described n chapters and . mong he matters iscussed s he
relation f rof iciency est cores o cores n erformance hecks
measuring he am e kills. he indings re applied o he general
problem of the relationship between verbal knowledge and actual jo b
performance and th e question of substituting printvi pro f ic iency tests
for performance checks. nother section o f the chapter is devoted to
the interrelations of: 1) Performance checks which measure similar
skills, and 2) rof iciency ests which measure similar kills. lso,
evidence s presented s o he degree of relationship between hree
areas of radar observer skill: avigation, bombing and se t operation.
A comparison is m a d e between the statistical findings reported in this
chapter and parallel findings of AAF psychologica l research projects
working n rof iciency easurement n bombardier nd avigator
training.
in raining within he continental United States. he chapter n -
c l ude s description of alternate methods or scoring he amount f
bombing error. he reliability of camera bombing circular error
made y tudents at hree raining chools s presented. ata aro
presented also on the reliability of actual b o m b drops; however, these
aro available from one training schoo l on l y . ypes of variable errors
contributing o unreliability aro discussed and uggestions ro m a d o
for ncreasing eliability. orrelations ro iven etween ircular
error and certain f he ground and aerial rof iciency measures e-
veloped y he Psychological Research Project Radar). lso is -
cussed s he elationship between mount f practice and circular
error. inally, constant error evident n m o s t tudent bombing
missions is analyzed at length.
Chapters 0 nd 1 iscuss election esearch n adar bserver
training. Chapter 0 gives, irst, an historical account of elect ion
a
Project lladar), nd , econd, n ccount f he ethods hrough
which the selection of radar students w as actually uccomplished. he
chapter eviews he election esearch ccomplished y he adar
Project SC-70, NS-1-16) of the National De fen s e Research Commit-
te e und he Air-crew Evaluation and Research Detachment N o . f
the AAF Aviation Psychology Program. ests developed by each o f
these groups are escribed. esults re eported or alidation
Jitudy carried out by th e latter organization.
Chapter 1 s oncerned with election est esearch conducted by
the Psychological Research Project Radar). wo validation siudiea
were ompleted, ach based pon amp l e f ombardiers nd
sample of navigators. he first study validates the Air-crow Classifi-
cation Battery and he Radar Observer Selection Battery against a
course grade determined by he raining schools . he second tudy
validates not on ly tests from these two batteries but also experimental
psychomotor and printed tests. n the second study, the criterion for
the bombardier sample w as course grade computed by he Project
on the basis of standardized proficiency measures . he variables for
the navigator sample were validated against course grades determined
by he school and also against radar bombing error. n addition to
validity oefficients, ultiple orrelation tatistics re resented.
Chapter 1 ls o ncludes iscussion f mpirically-determined
attributes of the success fu l radar student.
Chapter 12 evaluates the research accomplished to date and presents
a prospectus for future investigation.
The report has ne appendix and glossary of echnical erms;
appendix A onsists of descriptions f he election ests validated
by Psychological Research Project (Radar).
C H A P T E R T W O
The Radar Observer n he Army-
Air Forces
1
Radar w as ono of the outstanding technical developments o f World
War I. se d n detection and warning, aircraft nterception, sub-
marine hunting, bombing, navigation, fire control, and blind landing,
it proved itself important in both oiTcnsivo and defensive act ion . he
purpose of this chapter s o describe he se of radar by he Army
Air Forces as an aid to aerial bombing and navigation. he chapter
will nclude n account of he raining of he radar bserver with
emphasis upon the program, within the AAF Training C o m m a n d .
DEVELOPMENT O F R A D A R
Radar is a contraction of the words Detection, Ranging.
Its basic principle is that of the echo , with high frequency radio waves
substituted for sound waves . t is a familiar fact that a sharp noiso
or a shout near a cliff or high wall will bo returned as an echo. he
longer it akes he echo o return, he greater s he distance o he
reflecting obstacle.
In radar, hort pulses of adio energy, raveling at 80,000 miles
per econd, re ent out. f an cho eturns, he adio ulso has
reached om e reflecting object. y measuring he apse f t ime , the
distance to the object can be found, an d by determining the direction
from hich he cho eturns, he earing f he bject an e
determined.
Radar w as an outgrowth of radio research conducted over a period
of many years . he first step n ts development c a m e in 922 when
experimenters were working with high requency ransmitting and
receiving equipment at the Naval Aircraft Radio Laboravories.
3
n
one side of th e Potomac River they had nstalled ransmitter and,
on the other side, a receiver which conver ted the reflected radio energy
to visual orm n n oscilloscope creen. hey noticed hat ship
passing be tween he transmitter and he eceiver nterfered with o-
1
Writ to n y gt . Albert 1. Hastorf.
'"Story f ndnr" rciinrotl nder he irection f he onunnndlnK cnonil , . V S "
ccpl.ion. eali/.uig lic obsibili t iL'S of his discovery, hcy continued
investigation of he henomenon nd ound hat, ot only ould
ship ntorfcie with radio waves, but hat t would eflect them as well.
This suggested the desirability of placing the ransmitter and eceiver
in the same place. >y O o O , resear i had developed to the point where
the presence of surface vessels hidden by fog, smoke, or darkness could
bo detected.
As research con l inued, methods of aircraft detection were , developed.
It was ound hat an aircraft assing between ransmitter and e-
ceiver also et up an nterference pattern. y 031, both he . direc-
tion and distance of he aircraft could be determined accurately. n
1938, radar sets had been installed in some naval ships.
3
The irst mportant wartime application of airborne radar came n
the air battle over Great Britain. n that battle, ground radar warn-
ing stations detected approaching enemy planes and nformed fighter
pilots y adio f he nemy's pproximate osition. he ighter
pilots hen proceeded o make contact visually. t night, however,
or n he oggy weather often encountered over England, visual con-
tact as dillicult and often mpossible. o remedy his situation he
ItAF turned to airborne radar.
RAF ighter aircraft were equipped with aircraft interception sets.
Ground radar stations directed he fighters near enough o he enemy
planes so that these short range sets could be used. t is reported that
in one 21-hour period, radar-equipped ighters shot down 232 aircraft
at a cost to themselves of only 40 aircraft and 12 pilots.
4
The next major development in the use of airborne radar took place
in he ntisubmarine ampaign. he undamental ype f earch
radar set w as air-to-surface-vessel equipment, designated ASV. he
earliest widely used set of this type was a long-wave set. his was soon
replaced y more ccurate icrowave equipment. nother mport-
ant development on recent ASV sets was that o the plan position in-
dicator, or PPI cope, which presents G0
o
picture of the area over
which he aircraft s lying. ith hese ets, operators are able o
pick up and argets, convoys, ingle hips and surfaced ubmarines
at longer ranges than were previously possible.
Radar observer equipment consists of a earch et similar o ASV,
a precision ranging unit, and a bombing computer. ith it, cities and
other targets can be observed and bombed rom high altitudes through
a complete overcast. city appears as hite patch on he cope
at distances up o about 00 miles. s he ircraft approaches he
city, the white patch akes the approximate shape of the city. Bomb-
• Ibid., . .
4
Ibid., . .
ing an e uccomplishetl n wo ways. n coordinated bombing, he
radar observer gives he bombardier nformation with which ie yn-
chronizes he ombsi'dit o ake n ccurate elease v en houiih
the target is not visible. n direct bombing, the radar ob.-erver makes
the elease ndependently of he bombardier, by use of he radar et
alone.
Because he PPI cope presents a rough map of he area below he
aircraft, he adar et s very useful aid o navigation. rom he
scope , he radar bserver can ocate he osition f his ircraft y
determining ts direction and distance rom andmarks uch as coast-
l ines, akes, rivers, mountains and cities. e s hus ble o establish
his osition ven hough isual bservation r ad'o ontact s
impossible.
Th oint ritish nd American eizure of he aerial offensive n
the ummer of 91 3 gave airborne radar ts irst pportunity s n
of fens ive weapon. arliest se of radar or blind bombing and navi-
gation was by pathfinder crews of he RAF. he AAF He w ts irst
radar bombing mission in September of 913, using British equipment.
Improved equipment was soon developed at the Radiation Laboratory
Massachusetts nstitute Technology, mass production
of radar sets was begun n he United States. number of dillercnt
were used by he AAF but, argely because of he highly ecret
nature of the sets, the ollicial designations were rarely used, other terms
being coined or radar equipment, observers, and operations. AF
terms nclude '2S and tinky; AAF erms ncludo H2X, Mickey,
BTO for bombing through overcast, and Eagle for the AN/APQ-7 set.
Previous o October 943, AAF crews had been rained on RAF
radar equipment. n October, the first AN/APS-15 sets arrived rom
the United States or use by he Eighth Air Force. our aircraft
were equipped with these sets and crews were assigned to ly training
flights over England and he North Sea. ventually, the -ISiM Bomb
Group of he Eight Air Force was elected as central ocation or
such aircraft. rom his group, crews and aircraft were dispatched
to f ly with a dilterent unit of the Eighth Air Force as pathfinder o r lead
crews. he job of a pathfinder crew was to lead a formation of bombers
and make he bomb elease which erved s ignal or he ntire
formation drop ts of he S'id Group rained
additional adar bservers. s more adar equipped aircraft were
received rom he United States, the group began raining personnel
for permanent ssignment o other nits quipped ith athfinder
aircraft. his decentralization made t possible or he radar crews
to operate s more elTective.elements of he group to which hey were
assigned. reviously, efheient eam work had been ditlicult becauso
the pathfinders had led a different group on each mission.
70332T-
s the iK'cd or trained radar observer.s grew, (hii Eighth Air Force
established specialized raining school with ormal radar observer
course. he irst class entered on 25 ebruary 011 and consis'ed of
42 avigators nd ombardiers elected rom ombat roups n
England. nch class received month of ground and aerial raining
in radar navi-.ition and bombinff.
The nflow of students was ncreased o hat by May of 91 1 , here
were 5 students n class. pproximately wo-thirds of each class
had eceived ome adar raining n he nited States prior o em-
barking for England.
Shortly after the Eighth Air Force began extensive operations with
radar, he ifteenth Air Force n Italy rocured ts irst radar ob-
servers. ombat-experienced avigators nd ombardiers had een
returned o he United tates o eceive adar raining. ith his
personnel, the Fifteenth Air Force first began combat operations with
radar and ater activated ts own raining school or radar observers.
The use of airborne adar ncreased apidly. n November 043,
radar equipment made it possible or the Eighth Air Force to iy more
bombing missions han n ny previous month. hroughout Novem-
ber and virtually all bombing missions were ed by radar
equipped pathfinder crews.
techniques were refined and improved. n D-day, all heavy bombard-
ment ormations were ed by radar aircraft and all coastline argets
were bombed with the aid of radar.
In the Pacific Theater, in the early stages of the war, radar observers
f lew n B-24 bombers on ea-search missions against Japanese hip-
ping. wo radar sets were used: The radar observer operated a search
set such as the SCR-717 or AN/APS-15A, and the bombardier used a
radar computer, called he AN/APQ-5. y coordinating the opera-
tion f hese wo ets, he radar observer and he bombardier ere
able o ocate and bomb urface vessels with great accuracy.
The radar observer also played an mportant ole n he bombard-
ment of he Japanese home slands. uring he ast months of he
war n he acific, ll -29 ircraft ere quipped ith ither
AN/APQ-13 or AN/APQ-7 sets. arly operation of hese sets was
unsatisfactory ecause of he ack of dequately rained ersonnel.
This ituation mproved, owever, arly n 94 5 s he xpanded
training program n he United States provided greater number of
qualified radar observers.
THAIMNG OF RADAR OBSERVERS N THE UNITED STATES
he all 914, adar raining he ontinental nited
States was conducted on a relatively small cale. nstruction n radar
navigat io n and radar bombing was given regularly at only two schools:
• Ibid., . .
8
Lnnglpy Field, Va., and Boca Raton Army Air Field, Fla. t each of
those schools , graduate bombardiers and navigators were given 1 \ Y e e l c 3
o f radar observer raining. he combined student lo w w as approxi-
mately 24 0 per month. t that time, Lungloy Field was n overseas
replacement training center, and most of the graduates o f both schools
received dditional raining hile waiting ransportation o he
European Theater.
A hird radar observer school w as organized n April 944 y he
Second Air Force to train radar observers or B-29 operations n he
Paci f ic Theater. his choo l w as ocated at Smoky Hill Army Air
Field, alina, ans., nd rained lasses f pproximately 5 er
mon th . he training consis ted of both ground and aerial nstruction
in radar navigation and bombing . he curriculum stressed raining
in f f -se t bombing, echnique or bombing n bscured arget by
making computations with reference to a visible radar return ocated
a known distance and direction rom the target. raining continued
until August 944, when he choo l w as disbanded n d he nstruc-
t ional staff was transferred to the radar observer schools at Boca Raton
and Langley Field.
In the all of 944, after almost year of ncreasing success with
radar navigation and bombing , it was decided to expand the training
program in the United States. ecause of a elative excess of pilots
and shortage of bombardiers and navigators, a decision w as made to
attempt to rain the former as radar observers. he training courso
w as increased to 16 weeks and included instruction in non-radar navi-
gation and bombing. fter about month, he G-week ourso w as
abandoned because the motivation of pilots for such training was low.
The selection of prospective students from bombardiers and navigators
was and the duration of the courso w as fixed at weeks . t
th e ime of entering radar observer raining, bombardiers were e-
quired to have had navigation training in advanced bombardier school
an d navigators were required to take 4 weeks of preradar training in
bombing .
In early 1945, anew radar observer school w as established at Victor-
villo Army Air-Field, Calif. he combined student f low of the threo
stations w as o o n ncreased o 0 0 tudents per month. ith his
rapid growth am e many problems f urriculum tandardization.
These problems arose n part because he different raining tations
wore equipped with different radar ets. he AM/APS-15 and ho
AN/APS-15A were used at Langley Field while the AN/APQ-13 w as
used at Boca Raton and at Victorville. owever, m o s t problems of
curriculum standardization arose between schools using th e ame set,
as o which operating procedures were best and ow he} hould o
The emand or adar bservers ontinued o ncrease. n ho
spring f 0 4 5 , ourth adar bserver chool as ctivated t
Williams Army Air Field, Ariz., and n he early ummer of 015 .
fifth chool as stablished t uma rmy ir ield, riz. he
combined onthly lo w or he chools as , 000 tudents. ery
few tudents raduated rom _ .cr f he ew chools, owever,
since, ith he nd f he ar, adar raining as mmediately
curtailed.
SUMMARY
This chapter gives brief description of he raining of he radar
observer and his place n he war-time operations of he Army Air
Force. t s divided nto hree ections. he undamental principle
of radar, t s pointed out in he first section, s similar o hat of the
echo. hort pulses of radio energy are sent out and a receiving unit
presents n visual orm he direction nd distance of the object which
reflects he pulses.
The second section is devoted to the use of airborne radar in combat
operations. his account begins with he early uses of ground radar
in detecting aircraft and he nstallation of he irst airborne ets n
fighter aircraft. earch ets were nstalled n aircraft as a part of
the anti-submarine campaign; hese ets were he orerunners o
sets operated by he radar observer. he RAF was the first air force
to use radar as an aid to navigation and bombing. n time the Eighth
Air Force had radar-equipped pathfinder aircraft and crews operating
on many of ts bombing missions. chool was also et up by his
Air Force to train radar observers. ir forces operating in he Medi-
terranean and Pacific Theaters made ncreased use of radar aids as
the war continued.
The inal ection of he chapter outlines he raining program or
radar observers ot up n he United tates. s combat operations
increased it was necessary to expand training facilities in this country.
Within period of months he number of raining stations was n-
creased rom 2 to 5 and the monthly student f low from 250 o , 0 0 0 .
10
1
The purpose f his chapter s o eview, n hronologicn l rder,
th e major esearch studies accomplished n the selection and raining
o f adar bservers. he presentation s n he o rm f urvey;
detailed accounts of specific research accomplishments m ay o ound
in subsequent chapters.
The studies o e men t i oned will e ntroduced n elation o ho
development of three more o r less independent research organizations.
The three organizations, in the order in which they will be presented,
are irst, he National Defense Research Commi t t e e Project SC-70,
NS-146, referred to as th e NDRC Project; second , th o AAF Aviation
Psychology Program, Aircrew Evaluation and Research Detachment
N o. 1, tho Eighth Air Force , to bo referred to as th o AERD N o . , and
third, he AAF viation Psychology rogram, sychological e-
search Project Radar). n addition, mention will be made f ho
select ion of radar observers by Psychological Research Project Navi-
gator) nd Headquarters, F Training C o m m a n d .
t e
SC-70, NS-1-16
Tho broad ask ssigned ho NDRC Project pon ts nitiation n
February 9-13, w as esearch upon psychological r ob l ems of adar
operation n both the A r m y and Navy.
2
n carrying out this assign-
m e n t ersonnel f he roject conducted u m e r o u s nvestigations,
some related primarily to ground radar installations, others primarily
to sets employed by naval vessels or aircraft. n this review, only ro -
soarch bearing upon the problems of airborne radar will be mentioned.
Among he airborne radar assignments undertaken y ho NDRC
Project, one of he first w as a jo b analysis o f tho operation of equip-
m e n t designated s ASV air-to-surface-vessel ) y po of irborne
'Written y j,'t. Albert H. Hnstor f .
'Appl lea 'LyclioloKy fvnel, N D U C , Final eport In K u m m a r y of work on he Belcc-tlon and
training f ndnr poralorfl , Mcnrcb Report N o. 9, 4 ojilerabiT ). |5. li e ollovrlug
personne l nrtlclpntcd n he 'rojcot; onald . tmlr . ley, Ulrictor, rving 1 . «dcr«on,
Alfred . aldwin, harles I. r ldgman, obert , aniel , ohn . nr ley , obert t.
Orehor, Kdward '. orne , dward A. Jerome, Wllllriiu I. Llehto, Thomas > . McCulloch,
Fred M c K l n n e y , Karl U . Smi th , 0. Raymond Stone, Edward J. Sweeney , Oarlh J. Thoaiai».
11
radar s'-a soarch equipment. SV He d cither he SCli ITA nr SCR
717B sets which, ike he - ; e t , s ..-:eil by he radar observer, h.-vi' Pl
scope and eoasequcnlly ^•([^lir(
Following tins analysis personnel of he project prepared ö election
tests dealing principally with perceptual aspects of the operator's task.
These ests ere believed o measure peed d ccurac) f ercep-
tual iscrimination, lertness, ersistence, nd he bility o ake
quick udgments. o establish ime imits and coring methuds, he
tests were administered experimentally at Camp Murphy, Fla.; Boca
Kation Fla; Langley nd t tations nder he
AAF Tactical Center, Orlando, Fla.
Several ests rom his group of 5 ere, administered y AERD
No. s part of election research roject o o described below.'
Those found by AERD No. o be most predictive of success radar
observer raining were ncluded ater n a est battery dministered
to potential radar observer students n he United States by esting
teams rom eadquarters, AAF raining ommand. ther ests
of this group were used by Psychological Research Project Naviga-
tor) uring he period hen hat organization as esponsible or
radar bserver tudent election. sychological esearch roject
(Radar) repared achine coreable orms of thers or nclusion
in battery of experimental selection ests.
The NDRC Project also contributed o radar observer research n
the areas of proficiency measurement and of raining methods. wo
comprehensive printed proficiency ests were constructed, one or the
AN/APS-15 set, and another for the AN/APQ-7 set. film trainer
was developed which used motion pictures of scope returns as briefing
and reconnaissance aids. manual was prepared o aid students n
training as radar observers for low altitude radar bombing. photo
bomb coring computer wa constructed. ne of he project's most
extensive tudies as n xtended raining experiment esigned o
ascertain he effect on proficiency of continued raining beyond he
normal duration of the AAF radar observer training course.
A1UCKEW VALUATION AND RESEARCH DETACHMENT
NO.
4
AERD No. consisted of G ofTicers and 15 enlisted men of the AAF
Aviation sychology rogram ho ere etnehed rom ay o
August 1911, and assigned to duty with the Eighth Air Force in Eng-
land. t his stage in he development of the air war he ncreasing
use of radar as nn aid to nevigation and bombing had emphasized the
importance of choosing well-qualified personnel or as radar
• Triilcy, W. M ., ed., Pt'jchr>logl(t\i l rcacurch in he heaters oj ear. AF avlntlon psychol-
0R y .-orfrntn oponrch eports, N o . 7. WouMnßton, Government rlnttng Of f l c e , 047.
12
observers. s \ esult, AERD o. . -sigmnl of ts uMnhoii, o
specialized esoai 'oh n he election of adar observer t uden t« .
5
jo b analysis w as uule of he particular kills and abilities equired
by he airborne adar observer n.training t he Eighth Air Force
Kadar Observer School . ollowing this analysis " JO printed select ion
tests were hosen or validation against ourse grades at he chool .
The ests validated nclude several of hose developed y he NDKC
Projectj several originated y AERD N o . , and arge group ro m
the AF ir-crew lassification attery. ls o alidated ere
stanines or bombardier, navigator and pilot. f he 0 tests, he 4
most valid were later to constitute the radar observer select ion battfry.
Another major undertaking of AERD N o . w as he construction
of a comprehensive printed proficiency tes t or radar observers . n-
cluded n his est w as ection n which he tudent's ask w as o
navigate through a simulated radar miss ion . avigation w as carried
out with the aid of a full-size plotting chart o f northwestern Germany
and as dependent pon he orrect nterpretation f eries f
photographs of the radar scope .
SELECTION F R A D A R OBSERVERS
As the importance of the radar observer n he European Theater
increased, the desirability of screening potential students in the United
States e came apparent. n July 914, he Psychological Research
Project Navigator), t he irection f eadquarters, AAF, s-
sembled elect ion attery o o dministered o otential adar
students at he advanced navigation chools . hree ests eve l oped
by the NDRC Project and a preference blank were chosen . he bat-
tery w as administered to advanced students w ho either had navigator
stanines o f eight and above or ranked in the upper third o f their class.
The first administration took place in July 914, at Hondo Army Air
Field, Tex.; ater administrations ere carried ut t hree ther
navigation schools. outine testing for screening purposes w as con-
ducted y personnel of hese chools and continued until N o v e m b e r
1944.
O n 9 N o v e m b e r 1944, Headquarters AAF Training Command estab-
lished irborne adar bserver election eams or he urpose f
administering election battery ased pon he validation tudios
of AERD N o. . n May 945, the Navigation Proficiency Test, de -
scribed in chapter 5 , w as added to this battery for selecting students in
advanced bombardier training. he airborne eams continued selec-
tion testing until July 1945.
• M n j o r . . l lmcr, nptnln Stunrt . ook, t. Wlllldra . Whcole?, /8gt.
U U S H P I I V . norncinclcr, T/Sgt. Robert B. Miller, Sgt. Philip II . Krcldt.
13
i'syrnomGiru, HKSKAKCH I IOJF .CT HADAH)
In he ":ill f -'II. ftfr <:ir of iicrc'a.-<cl ii'/r.-.-.^ n -trat-Lric
bombing ltli adar, he AAF •nil. 'nr ' : pon rc uly -.\pandcd
program or th«; raining of aflur b.M-;vf-r-:. .'' raining irogram,
null] hat l/nc. harj j(-cn on'- fM i-; ; '. - ' ] t 2 raining tation?. lans
wt-re ina'k' o iicif-a-o he ninnber of -tations o > . A nd a(or o , and
to ex/m:' he total ^Uulent f low froiu 25 0 to .
1
6
Tliese I fVf ' lopinenf .s ade t-iraljle lie .-tabll.-lniu'nL f n AF
Psychologien] rojef . - t or specialized radar observer esearch.
Aetlvaliun of the Projecl
Early n -pt'inber 514 . t. ol. . aul Tor t, ommanding
Oflleer of AKKD No, , aeeoinpanied by Ma]. Bevcrley von II. Gilmer
and Capt. Stuart W. Cook, reported o the Air Surgeon, Wai-hington,
to discuss he prelituinury indings and lans or completion of he
v.'ork ndertaken y hat etachment hile ith he ighth ir
Force. t his ime he irst conferences ere eld elative o he
need or a psychological project n he selection and raining of radar
observers. ater this need was discus.scd with he Surgeon at Ilead-
ptarters, AAF Training Command, Fort Worth, Tex., and with Col.
William . arland, hen eputy or raining n perations f .
Langlcy Field, Va, t was decided at hese discussions to activate a
project nder he irection f aptain ook nd, ecause f he
urgency of he work, o assign ersonnel o Langley Field on em-
porary duty prior to official activation.
Arrangements were made, also, to eidist the assistance of established
psychological units and projects. wo oflicers rom he Psychology
Department, School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, Tex., were
assigned on temporary duty to assist in the planning for experimenta-
tion with pparatus ests. he Director of sychological esearch
Project Bombardier) ssisted ith lans or roficiency measure-
ment. n ollicer from the Psychological Research Unit, San Antonio,
collaborated n he reparation f lans or xperimentation ith
printed election ests. y ctober 911, group f oflicers and
15 nlisted en ad een ssembled t angley ield. orking
(jtiarters were established or this group on the flight lino where other
flying' and training activities were concentrated.
On December 1911, he Psychological Research Project Radar)
was officially activated by Headquarters, AAF Training Command.
7
•The ln.t v,-o cliools wro Üuatctl t .nnplcy Mil nd t oca aton AF. he
forini-r w an ^iHiiiMblo or AN/Al'S-lT) nml AN/APS-15A rnlnlii;; wlille ho nttor ni) ,-ht
AN/Al'Q-U nd N'/AI'Q-T. hird clinol. lctoi-vlllc AF as HtaMlBbcd or
AN'/AI'Q-KT ralnlnj». t was miiiph.mcutod nter y Yunm AAP and Williams Field. he
latter undertook nil AN/Al'Q-T raining.
'I.ildT, endiiiinrterH AF TrnlnliiK' Command, o umninndlnß cnernl, AP Eastern
Tei'linlcal rnlnlnu ommand, ubject: ntabllnhmcnt f Kycholofc 'k 'a l lesccrch roject
(Hndur), 5 November 1044, Fllo 353 Undar.
14
T
The majority f por onnel .tatioiu\l t uuglvy ield n emporary
duty were hen permanently assigned.
Research Ohjeclivcs and Priorities
The letter of activation tates the mission of the roject as ollows:
e r . he development f aptilude eM s or he election f adar p-
erators, . he evelopment f adar operator roliciency riteria
against which o validate aptitude ests, . he nvestigation of con-
ditions of optimally llicient se f rainers nd raining ethods.
< / . onduct of research tudies on other psycholog'cal problems o bo
directed by his headquarters.
Priorities ere ssigned o esearch bjectives n he asis f
practical circumstances, under which the project ts irst
and ighest riority as iven o he evelopment, f roliciency
tests and checks. econd was assigned o he validation of
selection ests. hird priority as placed pon nstructor election
and evaluation. owest riority s given o he nvestigation f
trainers and raining methods.
ficiency measures most urgent. he raining program was ow and
there was an acutely elt need or acceptable ethods of evaluating
students. upervisory raining ersonnel nder ho eadership f
Colonel Garland, were dissatisfied with ho methods hat had been
hurriedly mprovised nd ere eceptive, consequently, o proposals
regarding ew ypes f roficiency easurement. n ddition, t
appeared robable hat, until cceptable roficiency easures ere
constructed, here would o vailable no dequate criterion against
which o validate election ests. f ho possible riteria, one, ho
pass-fail criterion, was eliminated because ho demand by ho oper-
ational air orces or radar observers did not allow ho ailuro of n-
ferior students. nother, instructor grades, appeared ikely o o of
doubtful value because the rapid expansion of training necessitated tho
üs o f many nstructors ith o revious eaching xperience nd
others with ittlo or no motivation to each. hird, bombing accu-
racy, as ade mpractical y ho ack f uflicient hotographic
equipment at the radar training stations.
V/ork on he validation of selection ests, assigned econd priority
because f ho ecessity or mmediate evelopment f roficiency
measures, was only slightly delayed by his emphasis. hile t was
not possible o egin he evelopment of ew election ests, arly
attention was given o ho assembly and administration of battery
of selection ests available rom other ources. t was expected hat
development of new tests would not bo long delayed since plans culled
for tandard raining rogram n which dentical proficiency
* IbUL, aragraph .
measures would bo sed it all raining tations. he iui hat uch
standardization as ot chieved ultiplied reatly he ork n
proficiency measuiement and unduly delayed elect ion est develop-
ment.
llcsoarch n nstructor elect ion nd valuation, hile ssigned
third priority n he project's emphasis, w as greatly needed and e-
quired elatively small nvestment of personnel. alidation of he
instructor selection ests w as never accomplished because of the delay
in ccumulating uitable criteria of nstructor ro f i c i ency . owevSt
priority w as given to research projects in training. hile significant
training problems were present, the project followed the policy of the
Aviation Psychology Program n emphasizing esearch n personnel
select ion and evaluation.
Survey of Project Research
O n e of the first asks o f he project w as o become adequately ori-
ented o he adar observer's asks nd o he echnical etails of
various ypes of radar equipment. ectures, demonstrations, obser-
vations and orientation lights were specially arranged or this pur-
post. embers of the project were successively enrolled in the course
at Langley Field hroughout he duration of he raining program.
In this course project personnel participated in ll ground and flying
training s egular tudents, and accumulated uf f ic ient numbers of
hours of Hying time to solo as radar observers.
The first 2 months of the project's activity were directed primarily
toward he ompletion f attery f tandardized roficiency
measures or he various ypes of radar equipment sed. arly n
January 945, a battery of three proficiency teste and three perform-
ance checks, applicable to both AN/APS-15 and AN/APQ-13 equip-
ment, w as presented at the conference of he Radar Standardization
and Advisory Board. ollowing the presentation, the board adopted
a recommendation "that the phase checks and examinations which are