Any connection to Ford Motor Co., RCA (Cherry Hill, New Jersey computer programming school), Spectra series computers, Aer-Neutronic, Philco-Ford, Collins Radio, Rockwell International, LLNL?
Any connection to Ford Motor Co., RCA (Cherry Hill, New Jersey computer programming school), Spectra series computers, Aer-Neutronic, Philco-Ford, Collins Radio, Rockwell International, LLNL?
I’ve definitely seen some of those. RCA makes some camera stuff on space missions, I think. Rockwell International, particularly. is interesting (beyond LLNL). Rockwell merged with North American Aviation, the prime contractor for the Apollo spacecraft, after the fire. That merger would include the North American spinoff/subsidiary/division called Rocketdyne, which worked on rocket/missile engines.
These are all places my poi worked.
There are a couple of others I just remembered such as the steel mills where his dad was a vice-president and one of the "Big Eight" CPA firms.
Ford Aerospace was one of the manufacturers of the Sidewinder missile. I believe that was tested at NOL-Corona. The Santa Barbara Research Center worked on the Sidewinder. until Raytheon took it over in 1964.
https://sbrc-sbrs.com/robert-talley-july-3-1995/
SBRC continued to supply detector units to the Sidewinder missile program, including some good PbSe units, although most of the PbS detectors were made by the Electronic Corporation of America (ECA).
Keep in mind that if we dig deep enough, we probably can connect all of these companies through different projects. That said, Sidewinder definitely has interesting connections.
EDIT
I see several Philco mentions on that page, too.
Because of problems which air-to-air missiles encountered with false targets from cloud edges using PbS detectors operating in the 2 micron region there was great interest in moving into the 3 to 5 micron region, particularly at Naval Ordnance Test Satation (NOTS), China Lake. SBRC had detector development studies from the Navy and orders from Philco, who made the Sidewinder missiles.
That work since to be around 1960.
Keep in mind that if we dig deep enough, we probably can connect all of these companies through different projects. That said, Sidewinder definitely has interesting connections.
You don’t have to dig deep. These companies openly work together. It’s not a secret or conspiracy. Often even having their buildings side by side. They routinely share work through sub contracting, exchange ideas and technology, employees freely move through the different companies looking for more excitement and to better their careers…
Mah-na Mah-na
Keep in mind that if we dig deep enough, we probably can connect all of these companies through different projects. That said, Sidewinder definitely has interesting connections.
You don’t have to dig deep. These companies openly work together. It’s not a secret or conspiracy. Often even having their buildings side by side. They routinely share work through sub contracting, exchange ideas and technology, employees freely move through the different companies looking for more excitement and to better their careers…
Well said. In a sense they work for the same company. All very Thomas Pynchon.
Link to another thread that suggests a connection between Johnny Swindle’s ship, Mare Island and Bates’ workplace.
To sum up: Swindle’s ship spent 1964 being upgraded at Mare Island Naval Yard with a weapons system partially designed (in the 1950s) by Bates’ Navy organization.
Not sure quite what to make of this:
The PO Box keys in the Eureka letter belonged to Chester Clark Klingel. Z sites have stated Klingel was cleared of being the Zodiac. Good.
I found something interesting in his obituary. At some point in time, he worked for North American Aviation, a company that we have been discussing in this thread.
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/times … =183660199
He enlisted in the Army, trained at Fort Bliss, Texas, served on Guam, at Hanford Plutonium works, WA and San Francisco Presidio doing radar repair. After honorable discharge, he worked at North American Aviation developing oscilloscopes.
When he worked there, I do not know.
One interesting potential connection is that North American was the manufacturer of the X-15 hypersonic airplane.
According to an online bio, Joseph Bates worked on the USAF hypersonic program.
http://p47pilots.com/P47-Pilots.cfm?c=i … C.%20Bates
went to Omaha, Nebraska.SAC Headquarters under Gen. LeMay; then to Motorola Research Electronic Warfare Div., Calif.; X.15 Recovery Program; Edwards AFB; Research of Standard Arm Missiles at Corona Naval Ordnance Lab, Corona, CA; now at Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach, CA in Ordnance Systems Component Rework, and radar detection systems and fire control. Has son living in San Diego, CA.
Was there any connection between these two men here? Was Zodiac a co-worker of these two men?
Oscilloscopes were used in the X-15 program (and NASA space missions). But oscilloscopes seem pretty common in aerospace programs. And there seem to be a lot of possible ways to connect to Mr. Bates through his work, so it’s hard to say which one would be right, if any.
I’m undecided on whether the Eureka has anything to do with Zodiac. Nonetheless this is something to think about.
These men could have met someplace other than work. There are many bars and restaurants in these areas with Happy Hours. My POI was very fond of these, especially the ones with "free" hor’s d’oerves!
FWIW, I found a strange little Zodiac-DB Cooper collision in all of this.
North American Aviation was the prime contractor on the Apollo command modules. At one point they were looking for oscilloscopes for the Apollo missions. This source says they considered purchasing oscilloscopes from a company called Tektronix, and has a document to back it up. The source isn’t sure if this ended up happening.
https://vintagetek.org/tektronix-and-th … n-mission/
A few years back, Tektronix was all the rage as a possible workplace for DB Cooper, due to the combination of rare earth elements that citizen sleuths found on the tie that Cooper left behind on the flight.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-ne … -thickens/
It seems very unlikely that Cooper and Zodiac were one and the same. The olive complexion of DB Cooper is just one of the big hurdles between connecting the cases.
Cerium was one of the elements found on Cooper’s tie. I’m not sure if that connects to oscilloscopes. It appears to connect to cathode ray tubes that Tektronix manufactured. Is there any connection between cerium and oscilloscopes?
Cerium? Are you cereous?
Cerium was one of the elements found on Cooper’s tie. I’m not sure if that connects to oscilloscopes. It appears to connect to cathode ray tubes that Tektronix manufactured. Is there any connection between cerium and oscilloscopes?
There were many phosphor type crt’s back then, i believe cerium phosphate was one of them. It offered faster response from the electron beam and wouldn’t saturate as much as its predecessors, especially if a dual electron beam instrument was being used. A high quality oscilloscope could have possibly been manufactured with them for a short time, I really don’t know for sure. Like most elements, cerium literally has 1000s and 1000s of uses.
Mah-na Mah-na
Since I know AK Wilks is very interested in the Betsy Aardsma murder, I found an infrared camera company headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, the location of Penn State.
HRB-Singer.
They produced an infrared night vision camera called the Reconofax VI that was popular in the Sixties. They were used in battle in Vietnam and for mapping at home.
Have a couple of question about Robison:
Anyone in this case with the last name Collins or Harrington?
Anyone in this case tied to the phone company or the Navy?
Thanks,
Soze
Note:
I found that there were a couple of Collins mentioned in the files. I am particularly interested in everything that can be obtained on Fred Collins and John Collins.
Thanks again.
I guess this isn’t surprising, since he was an aerospace engineer at Hughes Aircraft, but it’s confirmation about the fact that Mr. Boles worked on the Surveyor program. To refresh, that’s one of the few NASA programs that Bell and Howell (Percy) out front on.
http://www.mountain-news.com/news/features/article_a57367da-b0ae-5e44-84cb-1d90cae4dde8.htm l”> https://web.archive.org/web/20181008073 … 4dde8.html
The Ogles were under the impression that Mr. Boles worked for another Crestline neighbor, Mr. Hintz, at Hughes in El Segundo, as a guidance controller for the Surveyor Program.
