Link Trainer and Other World War II Simulator Information

[Noha307]

So, I just received the two image files (as well as the original charts) in the mail today and they are BIG. As in over 14,000 by 14,000 pixels for both of them. The good news is that this likely allows them to be reproduced in good quality at 1:1 scale. The bad news is at least one is too big to even send via email. Therefore, I have uploaded them to the museum's Internet Archive account. So you will have to download them from there:

• Link Trainer Chart: Imeson Airport
• VOR/ADF Link Chart

I have attached smaller versions to this post, but despite being maximum dimensions for WIX, they are essentially thumbnails by comparison.

I want to make sure I thank AirCorps Library for doing the digitization at no cost to the museum. It wouldn't have been possible without them.

Attachments

[Noha307]

While I was working for a post on the Vintage Aviation Books and Periodicals thread, I came across a number of publications with information relating to this thread.

One is a mention of a Manual for Instruction on Poorman Flexible Gunnery Trainer, Air Forces Manual 66.[1] Other than a single picture in an issue of Bomber Legends magazine, I initially couldn't find any further reference to the device.[2] However, further searches lead me to a device called the "Waller Gunnery Trainer".[3][4] It apparently featured a spherical screen onto which images of airplanes were projected:

(Source: American WideScreen Museum)

A little bit later, I discovered the answer. A man named Fred S. Poorman filed for a patent of an Aircraft Gunnery Practice Range, 2,457,832, in 1945. (To confuse matters, the description of a Periscope Film video states the "poorman" was a "'poor man's' version of a Waller Trainer".[5] However, this appears to be either a false or coincidental etymology. This is supported by the fact that references to the trainer refer to it with the single word "poorman", rather than as the two word "poor man".)

(Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office)

Another manual describes "six specific synthetic aids" used in gunnery training:

1. Recognition, range and point-of-aim cards
2. The stationary deflection trainer
3. The range estimator
4. Dual Projection Trainer
5. Link BB Range
6. The Gunairstructor

(Source: Library of Congress)

Finally, the November 1944 issue of Air Force magazine describes a "Dead Reckoning Navigation Trainer, Type G-2" that I was not aware of before.[6] Some quick searching lead me to a series of AirCorps Library manuals that revealed that the USAAF employed a number of such trainers designated the G-1, G-1A, G-2, and G-3. This, in turn, resulted in the realization that the initial letter of each trainer's designation appears to have indicating the role. With that knowledge - and some references - the sequence can be partially pieced back together:

• Type A-2 Bombing Trainer[7]
• Type A-2A Bombing Trainer[7]
• Type A-2B Bombing Trainer[7]
• Type A-6 Bomb Trainer[8]
• Type C-2 Instrument Flying Trainer[9]
• Type C-3 Instrument Flying Trainer[9]
• Type C-4 Instrument Flying Trainer[9]
• Type C-5 Instrument Flying Trainer[9]
• Type C-8 Trainer[10]
• Type C-11A Jet Propelled Aircraft Instrument Flying Trainer[10]
• Type D Instrument Flying Trainer[11]
• Type D-1 Instrument Flying Trainer[11]
• Type D-2 Instrument Flying Trainer[11]
• Type E-5 Aerial Gunnery Trainer[12]
• Type E-9 Aerial Gunnery Trainer[12]
• Type E-10 Aerial Gunnery Trainer[13]
• Type E-11 Aerial Gunnery Trainer[14]
• Type E-12 Fixed Gunnery Trainer[15]
• Type E-21 Mirror Range Estimation Trainer[16]
• Type E-22 Mirror Range Estimation Trainer[16]
• Type F-1 Torpedo Launching Trainer[17]
• Type G-1 Navigation Dead Reckoning Trainer[18]
• Type G-1A Navigation Dead Reckoning Trainer[18]
• Type G-2 Dead Reckoning Navigation Trainer[19]
• Type G-3 Navigation Dead Reckoning Trainer[20]
• Type Z-1 0-250 Knots Instrument Flying Trainer[10]
• Type Z-2[21]
• Type Z-3[21]
• Type Z-4[21]

As best as I can tell, the D model was only used by the British Commonwealth and never by the USAAF. However, the designation was likely nevertheless reserved to avoid confusion.

The Type E-12 is the "BB range" referred to in the document from the Library of Congress above:

(Source: AirCorps Library)

The Type G-1 is apparently the "Navitrainer" mentioned in a previous post:

(Source: AirCorps Library)

The Type G-2 was actually made up of a total of 40 booths linked together:

(Source: AirCorps Library)

Finally, I learned, thanks to another WIX thread, that some B-24s had B-29 turrets installed and were used as gunnery trainers, such as this B-24H, 42-95065:

(Source: Warbird Information Exchange)

EDIT (24-04-04): Another version of reference #3 available via archive from another website includes more pictures and better formatting.

Last edited by Noha307 on Thu Apr 04, 2024 4:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Zac Yates]

[*]Gunairstructor

(Source: Synthetic Training Devices of WW2 - Flight simulators)

I wonder if the Gunairinstructor is what RNZAF Corsair pilot the late Lance Adlam was referring to in this passage from his 1991 book The Quest For Wings:

The gun-air exercise was quite an experience. Inside a darkened room fitted up with a movie screen and amplifiers there was a simulated fighter’s cockpit with all the instruments, switches and controls just like a Link trainer but with gun button and gun sight as well. While flying this machine we looked and the screen and with all appropriate noises we chased an enemy aircraft that appeared on the screen all over the sky, among the clouds and even just above the ground, lining it up and firing our guns just like a real fighter. The mechanism could be stopped at any point to see just where our shots were going or it could be set so flashes would show on the screen.

[Noha307]

I wonder if the Gunairinstructor is what RNZAF Corsair pilot the late Lance Adlam was referring to in this passage from his 1991 book The Quest For Wings:

The gun-air exercise was quite an experience. Inside a darkened room fitted up with a movie screen and amplifiers there was a simulated fighter’s cockpit with all the instruments, switches and controls just like a Link trainer but with gun button and gun sight as well. While flying this machine we looked and the screen and with all appropriate noises we chased an enemy aircraft that appeared on the screen all over the sky, among the clouds and even just above the ground, lining it up and firing our guns just like a real fighter. The mechanism could be stopped at any point to see just where our shots were going or it could be set so flashes would show on the screen.

It could be. However, if there's anything I've learned researching this thread, it's that anyone and everyone had their own idea for some sort of mechanical training device and as a result they really proliferated. So, without more information, it would be hard to know for certain. One thing that might help is the location. Do you know where he was when he described this device?

As if to illustrate this point, just the other day another device I had yet to encounter - a B-29 Manipulation Trainer - was posted in a different thread:

(Source: Flickr)

[Noha307]

An early model desk in use at the Roosevelt Flying Service:

(Source: Warbird Information Exchange)

I also learned of two additional simulators from a presentation by Dr. Peter Hobbins during the recent Aviation Cultures Spotlight: Simulating Aviation for Fun and Profit. They are the "Great Lakes Trainair" and the "Vickers-Bygrave Bombing Teacher".[1] Interestingly, like some Link Trainers, a trademark notice for the former describes it as being "[s]old [p]rincipally to [a]musement [p]arks or for [a]musement [p]urposes".[2] (Indeed, one was apparently demonstrated at the World's Fair.[3]) However, the trademark apparently wasn't particularly effective, as, in the process of trying to find more information about the former, I also came across a device called the Crowell Trainair:

Crowell Trainair.png (285.65 KiB) Viewed 7449 times

(Source: Aviation Week via Internet Archive)

[Noha307]

Instrument Trainer Charts

• Accra, Gold Coast
• Altus, Okla.
• Atkinson
• Beam, Bracketing
• Belem
• Ascension Island
• Boise, Ida.
• Brownsville, Texas
• Bryan, Texas
• Carlsbad, N. M.
• Casablanca, Morocco
• Casper, Wyo.
• Chanute Field, Ill.
• Charleston, S. C.
• Charlotte, N. C.
• Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Columbus, Miss.
• Dallas-Ft. Worth
• Dakar, Fr. W. Africa
• Deming, N. M.
• Denver, Colo.
• Frederick, Okla.
• Fresno, Calif.
• Goodfellow Field, Texas
• Harrisburg, Pa.
• Houston, Texas
• Indianapolis, Ind.
• Kano, Nigeria
• Las Vegas, N. M.
• La Junta, Colo.
• Little Rock, Ark.
• Long Beach, Calif.
• Louisville, Ky.
• Maidugur, Nigeria
• Marshall, Liberia
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Miami, Fla.
• Minneapolis, Minn.
• Moore Field, Texas
• Morrison Field, Fla.
• Nashville, Tenn.
• Natal, Brazil
• New Castle, Dela.
• Oran, Algeria
• Patterson Field, Ohio
• Philadelphia, Pa.
• Phoenix, Ariz.
• Pittsburg, Pa.
• Pocatello, Ida.
• Presque Isle, Me.
• St. Joseph, Mo.
• Scott Field, Ill.
• Shreveport, La.
• Sioux City, Ia.
• Stewart Field, N. Y.
• Tampa, Fla.
• Topeka, Kans.
• Tucumcari, N. M.
• Watertown, S. D.
• Wendover, Utah
• Chicago Area
• Great Falls Area
• Los Angeles Area
• New York Area
• Oakland Area
• Seattle Area
• San Antonio, Texas
• Terre Haute Area
• Instrument Landing-Standard Beam
• Approach and Controlled Descent through Clouds
• Instrument Landing-and Runway Localizer
• Radio Compass (QDM)

(Source: Index of Technical Publications and Information, T. O. No. 00–1, 1 August 1944, 219.)

Automatic Radio Range Charts

• Blytheville, Ark.
• George Field, Ill.
• Jackson, Miss.
• Laughlin Field, Texas
• Moody Field, Ga.
• Pendleton, Ore.
• Waco, Texas

(Source: Index of Technical Publications and Information, T. O. No. 00–1, 1 August 1944, 219.)

G-2 Dead Reckoning Navigation Trainer Recorder Sheets

• 28°N to 32°N
• 32°N to 36°N
• 36°N to 40°N
• 40°N to 44°N
• 44°N to 48°N
• 48°N to 52°N

(Source: Index of Technical Publications and Information, T. O. No. 00–1, 1 August 1944, 219.)

On a different note, the "School Link" mentioned in a previous post was also used in an experiment to test its usefulness in training. The resulting report was titled Evaluation of School Link and Special Methods of Instruction in a Ten-Hour Private Pilot Flight-Training Program.

[Noha307]

Two unidentified trainers at a primary flight training school during World War II:

(Source: Reddit)

[Noha307]

Across the pond the British developed a series of trainers for use in instruction of radio navigation systems. These included the Types 23 and 48 for Gee, the Type 31 for BABS and Rebecca, and the Types 54, 54A, 70, 71, 94, 102 and 103 for H2S and ASV.[1] Images of two of the setups can be found below:

Gee Trainer Type 23

(Source: Chic's Website)

H2S Trainer (with Link Trainer)

(Source: Chic's Website)

H2S Trainer (without Link Trainer)

(Source: QSL.net)

There are surviving examples of the Type 48 with the Signals Museum and the Duxford Radio Society.[2] In addition, a manual for the Type 48 is available from a page on the website of Colin Hinson.

Finally, on an unrelated note, below is another picture of an early Link trainer:

American Airlines Link Trainer.png (411.54 KiB) Viewed 7071 times

One of the Link Trainers just purchased by
American Airlines for instruction in instrument flying

(Source: Aero Digest via Internet Archive)

[Noha307]

During the war there were a category of very basic trainers. These featured an instrument panel made out of paper or cardboard with the gauges literally printed on them. Some of them, like these "Aviator's Training Cockpits" made by the Einson-Freeman Company, were marketed to children as toys...

(Source: eBay)

(Source: eBay)

...and others, such as this one in storage at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, were used as simple rudder control trainers.

This pilot testing equipment was used at the School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, Texas. The candidate would attempt to hold an unbalanced fuselage pointed at a light target lamp in front of them in order to test motor skills.

(Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force)

The former was very much in keeping with the "air mindedness" of the time that also produced pulp magazines. Further, the use of trainers for novelty purposes was nothing new. Recall that even Link trainers were used as kiddie rides in the 1930s - with one for sale in a classified advertisement even being equipped with a "25c coin slot". A recent thread about a B-36 flight simulator also featured what might be called a "backyard" Link trainer from 1945:

(Source: Flickr)

They also resemble the World War I-era trainers mentioned in previous post in both form and function. In addition, the very limited instrument panel of the postwar Link "School Trainer" mentioned in a previous post may have very much built off of these ultra simplistic trainers.

On the other hand, it turns out the latter is likely what is seen in a previous post.

[Noha307]

A publication called "Trajectory" published by the Army Air Forces Instructors School (Bombardier) on 30 November 1943 contains some excellent information about what it terms "training aids". They include:

• A device very similar to the A-6 bomb trainer mentioned in a previous post that is named as the "McKaba Bombing Trainer".
  

  

  McKaba Bombing Trainer - Mockup.png (116.95 KiB) Viewed 6774 times

  
  

  

  McKaba Bombing Trainer - Diagram.png (46.05 KiB) Viewed 6774 times

  
  

  

  McKaba Bombing Trainer - Diorama.png (96.37 KiB) Viewed 6774 times

• A "Theory of Bombing Trainer" that uses a "system of slides, pulleys and wires [to] demonstrate the Bombing Problem virtually in its entirety".
  

  

  Theory of Bombing Trainer.png (118.56 KiB) Viewed 6774 times

• A "photo trainer" that can be used to simulate battle damage assessment photography in day or night conditions.
  

  

  Photo Trainer.png (93.68 KiB) Viewed 6774 times

(Source: Trajectory via Уголок неба)

EDIT (23-08-15): Add missing source.

[Noha307]

Truck-mounted gun turret trainers were mentioned in a previous post, but a recent thread included photographs of a number of additional examples.

[Noha307]

A couple pictures of the British torpedo attack trainer:

(Source: IWM)

(Source: IWM)

These trainers were located at:

• HMS Jackdaw near Crail, Fife, Scotland
• Rinnigill in Hoy, Orkney, Scotland (submarine trainer adapted from aerial version)

There's also a presentation that, in addition to the Ruggles Orientator mentioned in a previous post, names a few types from the 1910s that haven't been covered yet, including the Antoinette Barrel and the Sanders Teacher.

[Noha307]

The definitive book on the Link company seems to be The Pilot Maker by Lloyd L. Kelly and Robert B. Parke. I ordered a copy and learned a few things from it. For example, Link developed a (likely postwar) device called the E-26 flexible gunnery trainer. A search for information about this led to an Annotated Bibliography of Research on Training Aids and Training Devices. Searching for a document on that list led, in turn, to one titled Psychological Research on Flexible Gunnery Training from 1947 which, in Chapter 9, mentions a number of devices:

• Ranging and Tracking Trainers
  
  • Reflectone Range Estimation Trainer (aka, the "Optical Range Estimation Trainer", as it is called in a New York Times obituary for its inventor, Luther G. Simjian.)
  • Full Scale Range Estimation Range
  • RCAF Range Estimation and Aircraft Recognition Trainer
  • E-8 Spotlight Trainer
  • B-29 Manipulation Trainer
  • AN/APG-15 T1 Trainer
• Deflection Trainers
  
  • Waller Trainer (see previous post)
  • E-14 Trainer (aka "Jam-Handy" Trainer)
  • AAFSAT Synthetic Trainer
• Shotgun Ranges
  
  • Basic Deflection Range
  • Moving Base Range
  • High Tower Range
  • Giant Skeet Range
• Machine Gun Ranges
  
  • Moving Target Ranges (Hand-held and Turret)
  • Burst Control Range
  • Poorman Range (see previous post)
  • OQ-3 Radio Controlled Target Planes

[Noha307]

The Museum of Flight has a manual for the Link Celestial Navigation Trainer in their digital collections: AN 08-25-17 - Installation, Operation and Maintenance Instructions: Celestial Navigation Trainer AN-2554-1

[mike furline]

PIMA