Subject: What it took to get wings in WW II.
From: vincent p. norris
Date: 7/15/03 8:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

The highest math skills were needed by the Navigators.

Art, if I may jump in here again, surely you know that's an
exaggeration.

Celestial navigation requires no math skills beyond the ability to
read a table and do simple arithmetic--the arithmetic every kid learns
by the time he gets to eighth grade. It requires no knowledge of
"higher math." No differential or integral calculus, or simultaneous
equations, or for that matter, even how to do square roots.

I went through navy flight training from 1949 to 1951. At that time,
at least, the navy had no separate training for navigators; all
midshipmen and navcads in multi-engine flight training were taught
celestial navigation and it was assumed they would serve as navigators
until they worked their way up to copilot.

I received so many hours of celestial navigation training that when I
returned to the University of Illinois to complete my undergrad
program, I was awarded 30 semester-hour credits of celestial
navigation! That is the equivalent of a full, two semester college
program. As a result, I was able to receive my bachelor's degree a
full year early.

So I can say, agian, that celestial navigation requires no math
skills bryond the ability to read a table and do simple arithmetic.

All the difficult math was done by those who prepared the tables, so
that aboard an aircraft, it took very little time to do the simple
math requried between taking the shot and plotting the position.

When an aircraft is moving along at a couple hundred knots, that is
important.

I took a commission in the marine corps, where I had served as an
enlisted man before being selected for flight training. So I can also
say that in the marines, the aircraft navigators were enlisted men,
who needed a GCT only 110 (slightly above average) to attend
navigation school.

vince norris








Arthur Kramer
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer