Posting Woomera

[Music] for untold centuries this land has been a hunting ground of the australian aboriginal inhabited by many forms of life which provided food for the natives lizards kangaroos and emus abound it was in this remote area that the department of supply in conjunction with the british government established a research station which is now known the world over the rocket range men now search for data on missiles and hunt for and recover instruments and army personnel are engaged in the research programs at warmer here miles from anywhere in a trackless land is a surprising thriving township accommodation is of modern design providing attractive flats where many occupants keep small gardens single quarters blocks cover a large area and more are planned occupants have comfortable rooms with ample space for sleeping and relaxation hot and cold water is laid onto each quarter design and ventilation are suited to the climate of the area [Music] there are several hundred houses in the township here again with the aid of water the desert springs to life lawns and gardens are the pride and joy of their owners water is piped over 100 miles from wyala on the coast [Music] schooling facilities for the large child population are excellent providing for education based on the south australian system [Music] the australian services canteen organization store provides groceries clothing meat bread and other similar requirements sport golf is very popular sand scrapes taking the place of the more conventional greens [Music] cricket also enjoys a large following with many keen players the pitch is located in a dry clay pan area other sporting activities included and a sport for both from which dad gets just as much enjoyment the soapbox derby [Music] a good hill gives the youthful drivers a good run following a hefty push from dad on the fall of the starters flag the swimming pool is always a popular spot to swim or just lays on the surrounding lawns the children's pool ensures safe bathing for the tiny tots the more energetic swimmers have plenty of length to swim up and down and plenty of water to dive into living in warmer is much like living in any town shopping gardening sporting activities and church on sundays [Music] working in warmera is quite different monday morning sees a change army personnel along with civilians board buses which take them across 25 miles of desert to the range head to start the day's work alongside the road is a telephone line erected by the army which runs beyond the range head for hundreds of miles down the range to provide telephone communications strict security is enforced throughout the area all vehicles are checked through and passes of all bus passengers are checked before the bus proceeds beyond this gate [Music] the end of the trip and the start of the day army personnel are divided into several categories one of which is the radar troop these men are responsible for maintenance repair and operation of all radar equipment on the range in addition they handle many types of intricate sensitive and highly accurate tracking recording and plotting machines [Music] much of the work is done in the radar test shop but a considerable quantity must be done in situ by mobile maintenance men another army section operates in the boost shop where booster units are fitted to missiles and vehicles of various types before they are placed in position for firing here as indeed everywhere on the range the spirit of teamwork is clearly an evidence service personnel work side by side with the civilian staff of the department of supply this department controls the operation of the range entry to it and the work program [Music] after leaving the boost shop the missiles go out to the launcher sites where they're connected electrically to control center timing unit and so on great care is exercised in all operations to ensure that accurate information is gained from test firings [Music] shimmering in the desert sun some miles distant is a tall tower which provides cover and ladder access for the black knight dozens of men are engaged in preparing and checking it for firing thousands of gallons of water are used to provide cooling for the launcher area when firing tests are carried out on the water pumps to check on correct flow rate as this missile is to be fired at night huge floodlights are placed in position and checked cooperation between services and civilians is again the keynote army personnel in white overalls fuel the black knight to provide the propulsive power an army officer known as the launcher officer is in charge of the launcher area and all that happens in it power cables are connected [Music] delivery hoses are run out and coupled up to the pumps the pipeline is then connected to the fuel tanks [Music] power on hand pressure is applied to the control valve and kerosene surges through the hose the same army crew also handles the second phase of fueling the pumping in of high test peroxide or htp this is dangerous work as the liquid is highly corrosive and to safeguard themselves the men don special protective clothing and water is kept flowing over the ground to immediately wash away any possible spillage when the pump is positioned the delivery hoses are a run-out for connection between the black knight and the tanker which is carefully backed up onto the launcher protective helmets are put on before connecting the hose to the missile [Music] fueling is now in progress [Music] showers are left running to help keep the operators cool and to wash off any htp several types of aircraft are used as targets this meteor jet contains no pilot instead in his place is a lot of electronic equipment which allows complete remote control including takeoff and landing the same applies to the canberra bomber which would normally carry a crew of three the jindavik australia's own target aircraft was never designed to carry a human pilot but was envisaged as a remote-controlled target aircraft from its very inception the djindovic has gained world acclaim for its design and performance it is capable of flying at very high altitudes and very high speeds when the target aircraft is in the required or suitable position a missile fly another tank not all firings are those of weapons considerable research is done in aerodynamics telemetry and so on by using a research vehicle such as the australian designed kurigel [Music] an army launcher officer and his team prepare kuragal for its rapid trip skyward wiring is connected circuits are checked and air bottles hooked up while they're doing the preparity work on the launcher other people all over the range are setting up checking and adjusting a thousand and one other pieces of equipment which will extract data from the flight of the curriculum controves and high-speed cameras miles down the range are uncovered and checked high-speed cameras are loaded and sighted radar sets scan the skies [Music] the operator checks his cable connections to ensure accurate and reliable running [Music] eyes watch dials and screens sound ranging equipment is tested bird is calculated the cooler goal will land this saves time in recovering it and returning it for study and evaluation [Music] two army officers coordinate the operation of radar equipment timing equipment is checked for accuracy telemetry recorders are loaded and set [Music] tracking equipment are checked and operators advised plotters are set tape recorders are tested and set up a flags on yellow lights telemetry doppler and mts silence for trial on launcher 3a 30 seconds to go [Music] all is set the timing system is now in control [Music] but [Music] suddenly the rain springs to life eyes turn quickly skyward to follow the rapidly receding speck in the sky that is cool long after it is lost to the naked eye the kidney theodolites high-speed cameras aerials controls and ranging equipment still hold and track it down range the recovery section watch and wait for the parachute on which the spent vehicle will drift earthwood the location pinpointed the recovery vehicle is quickly on the scene photographs are taken of the position the parachute is then pushed back into the bag and the kudegal loaded onto the truck for a somewhat slower return journey and so the work goes on missiles fired data collected adjustments made and then fired again aptly named after the aboriginal spear throwing stick is an object lesson in cooperation and proudly taking its place in the organization is the australian regular army [Music] you

Channel: ACMI Collection

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Keywords: ACMI, ACMI Collection, Film, Library, Archive, Moving Image, Image, Watch, Vintage

Id: _ma_fNiNwag

Length: 14min 53sec (893 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 16 2021