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Show HILL TOP TIMES Page 10 November 21, 1980 , ' , - third stage motor awakens all desert Inhabitants In the vicinity of Pad of the 2849th Air Base Group here. (U.5. Air Force Photo) Squadron A Mlnuteman at Key systems of a switch. aircrews scramble their loaded Phantoms from Tab Vee Shelters at Ramstein and Hahn Air Bases in Germany in dress rehearsals of the "real thing." Does the United States depend on the successes of these missions? Certainly! Can the Air Force assure the public of the reliability of these operational systems? You bet! Lt; Col. Frank - Murphy, commander, Missile and Munitions Test Squadron (MAZ), Maintenance Hq. Sq. Section, 2849th Air Base Group, is concerned about increased tensions around the globe. "The Air Force is ready," y he says, "thanks, in part, to the work performed by the men and women of the Missile and Munitions Test Squadron." . day-to-da- Test important weaponry contains Each of these key weapon systems ALC's tested Missile Ogden components by and Munitions Test Squadron. As a functional part of the Directorate of Maintenance, the 120 men and women in MAZ carry out and record tests on some of the most important weaponry in the Air Force arsenal. Missile and munitions handlers and loaders, instrumentation mechanics, and aerial photographers combine to make the squadron a unique part of the Air Force Logistics Command team. Large rocket motors, like the 225,000-poun- d thrust Minuteman Stage 1, are statically fired at the Lakeside Test Complex on the Utah Test and Training Range, west of the Great Salt Lake. The squadron's Large Motor and Instrumentation Units also test solid propel lan t motors from the second and third stages of the Minuteman, as well as Maverick, Genie, SRAM, BOMARC, Sparrow, Shrike and Sidewinder missile systems. These tests monitor the effects of aging on motor performance by measuring temperature, thrust and chamber pressure during each motor firing. To duplicate operational conditions, motors can be environmentally conditioned prior to firing to temperature ranges from -- 75 degrees degrees Fahrenheit. were recently involved personnel Squadron in a special test to determine the explosive potential of a Maverick missile and what 170 Test Complex. The motors -- B-5- Fahrenheit to at Lakeside ' ,lA 3 are tested by the Missile and Munitions Test Hill By 2nd Lt. Andy Cilley Range Instrument Unit Deep within the core of a silo at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyo., the sleek figure of a Minuteman II stands alert. . Across the continent at Grif fiss AFB, N. Y., the eight engines of each 2 on Christmas Tree alert can suddenly roar to life at the flick - wW" squadron .keeping Mr TosH F-- 4 1 - amount of storage space between missiles is required to minimize detonation propagation. "Based on this test, aircraft, parking distances may be adjusted at operational locations, thereby reducing the risk to both people and facilities," reports Lt. Andy Motes, Range Instrumentation Unit Chief. . Smaller airmunitions are tested by the squadron's Munitions Test Unit in the west area of Hill. The unit has special facilities for testing squibs, gas generators, flares, fuzes, thermal batteries and small rocket motors. Squadron personnel say, "We can drop, shock, vibrate, accelerate, heat and cool, decompress to near space conditions, and fire any item you've got as long as it's smaller than a breadbox." A current test program focuses on the jet engine starter cartridge used on F-- FB-11and 2 aircraft. These cartridges are cycled through extreme temperature ranges, in search of propel la nt cracks, and then fired under instrumented conditions. The results of this project will help keep our front line weapon systems ready to go. The squadron's Conventional Munitions Flight Test Unit serves a unique role with AFLC's only military munitions loading crews. These crews, led by Capt. Willie Nantz, load the full family of munitions which include general purpose ordnance, guided bombs, cluster bomb units, missiles and ammunition. These weapons are launched under stringent test conditions at the various target complexes on the Utah Test and Training Range. Much of the munitions used in the Vietnam conflict were loaded and tested by this unit. 4, Fore--:ridy- ' 1' ' 1, B-5- ed Lm - m A I . VUIIU , 'S . ..I.V.. i..i....i,.. MMLitMM. X , MSgt. Dale Spurlock sits at the control panel and directs a rocket motor firing procedure from the Data Reduction Building at the Utah Test and Training Range. (U.S. Air Force Photo) air-launch- ed . Aerial optical records used the record for Vs Providing documentary many of these tests are the squadron's fine aerial instrumentation optical photographers. TSgt. Ron Bogart, unit "We have the most diversely talented instrumentation photographers in the Air Force and the only such photographers in AFLC." These enlisted airmen provide high speed motion picture and still photography of tests at Lakeside and as well as providing photographic support to the 6514th Test Squadron in its air launched cruise missile mid-ai- r recovery system. The aerial photographers are flight qualified in several types of fighters, transports and helicopters. With the small administrative staff added to its structure the Missile and Munitions Test Squadron carries out one of the Air Force's most unique roles and lives up to its motto, "Testing is our Business." NCOIC, says on-bas- , ' K 1 7SS. , - a. 4 , ; ' I 4f 1 e, 4 4 a if . - , j if,:- SSgt. Ed Moore loads a 16mm high speed camera which Is used to obtain test short-rang- e attack missile rack. (U.S. Air Force Photo) data on a |