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When I was a kid, I used to read this comics about aircraft pilots in the 50's, and in the operations center of their aircraft carrier, they had operators using markers on a glass wall to keep track of operations. Any idea how that was called and where I can find pictures of it? Is it still in use today, or is it now all computerized?

DeltaLima
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Frank
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    May have been the Combat Information Center – Dave Mar 20 '17 at 18:09
  • Still in use in 2006. – Steve Mar 20 '17 at 18:20
  • The "glowing summary plot" the CIC looks quite close! Can you make it an answer out of it? Do you have various pictures? – Frank Mar 20 '17 at 18:35
  • There is an example in the USS Midway. It's right next to the Airboss seat, and I hoped I had a picture of it from my visit, but it seems I didn't. – DJClayworth Mar 20 '17 at 19:37
  • The one I'm looking for was a display that's just a vertical piece of glass that one operator would write onto on one side, and others could look at on the other side to understand where the airplanes were. – Frank Mar 20 '17 at 20:08
  • @mins Not what I was thinking of. This would have been in the 'tower'. – DJClayworth Mar 20 '17 at 20:22
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    I don't agree that this is off-topic, we already have answered questions about ATC radar displays, this one just happens to be military related. – fooot Mar 20 '17 at 20:24
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    This is what you are after. Another one. It seems to be known also as a vertical summary plot. – mins Mar 20 '17 at 20:32
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    @mins - YES! Thanks! Can you make an answer out of this, rather than just a comment? – Frank Mar 20 '17 at 20:57
  • I'm sure someone more informed than me will write this answer. – mins Mar 20 '17 at 21:12
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    If I recall, I think the board you're talking about is in the CATCC (Carrier Air Traffic Control Center) room on a CVN aircraft carrier. I was an Electronics Tech on the USS Abraham Lincoln and remember seeing this board there. I've been trying to Google some info, but can't come up with anything ... likely because the space is usually classified and sanitized before media is allowed in. By the way, this is not where the air boss is (he's in the conning tower, CATCC is below the flight deck). – Steve Mar 21 '17 at 15:04

1 Answers1

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Perhaps you're referring to the status board (still in use):

enter image description here
(navy.mil)

Air Traffic Controller 3rd Class Jeoffrey Keever writes the status of each aircraft on the status board in Carrier Air Traffic Controller Center (CATCC) aboard USS John F Kennedy (CV 67) during flight operations.

Windows also seem to work:

enter image description here
(navy.mil)

Also the low-tech but dependable Ouija board is still in use:

enter image description here
(navy.mil)

  • And you know probably where your planes are, especially if your in trouble (energy outage, radar outage...). – Peter Mar 01 '18 at 09:52