A moment in time

this was Navy photography one man a machinist mate at that Walter l Richardson took his own graflex camera Loft in one of the first naval aircraft and someone in Washington saw the pictures Richardson never turned an engine valve again he became the Navy's first photographer and all Navy photography afloat as well as along has been a part of Naval Aviation ever since the photographer became an officer and a Naval aviator Henson Richardson established the school of aerial photography and became its first commanding officer he introduced Motion Picture photography to the Navy one of the first to recognize its potential and he led Navy photography into its first scientific investigation with Walter l Richardson officer cameraman pilot Navy photography was born foreign thank you in the years since Walter Richardson pioneered in photography the Navy's cameras have become increasingly sophisticated methods and techniques more refined and the uses of Photography many times expanded oh the basic principle however Remains the Same the perpetuation of an image the stopping of a moment in time the moments in time stopped by Navy cameramen today range from a single frame high altitude perspective of enemy territory to the heart of an explosion at the rate of millions of frames a second film tells us about the environment in which the Navy operates foreign it makes a permanent record of the Navy's impact on this day and age the navy camera whatever its size or special purpose shows the face of the Navy in a thousand ways every day thank you the camera captures on film the vital elements of the Navy's day-to-day operations contributing to the combat effectiveness of the fleet the chief of Naval operations sets photographic policy and establishes requirements the chief of Naval material provides guidance and Direction and has assigned the Naval Air systems command as the principal Naval technical assistant for photography this command through the director of the photographic division develops evaluates and buys the equipment and supplies it sees that Navy photographic Personnel are professionally able it designs and fits out sure-based and chipboard Photo Labs and serves as program manager for the Navy film programs for training and information because Navy photography is involved in a broad spectrum of land sea and air operations a number of Fleet commands and Major Field activities support the overall photographic effort the Naval Air Development Center Johnsville Pennsylvania development of aerial cameras the naval reconnaissance and Technical Support Center Suitland Maryland photo intelligence the Pacific Missile Range Point Mugu California and the Navy weapons Center at China Lake a job of using photography to develop and sharpen our Firepower the naval Ordnance laboratory White Oak Maryland aerobolistic research and undersea Warfare and the naval photographic Center Washington DC volume still and motion picture production film library for the Navy research and developments in handheld cameras in film and in film processing today's Navy is a far cry from the Navy a photographic Pioneer Walter Richardson but aerial reconnaissance is still the Prime mission of Navy photography a precise and analytical record of the Earth's surface and of everything that moves on that surface that's aerial reconnaissance the Navy's carriers are completely equipped and staffed for every step in photographic reconnaissance from operation and maintenance of the cameras to complete film processing equipment and stereoscopic devices for viewing and interpreting the photograph the fleet's photo reconnaissance system afloat and a loft is backed up by the Navy's Shore establishments the Naval Air Development Center tests and develops aerial cameras and other Airborne reconnaissance equipment a gigantic collimator testing a 40-inch lens many times larger than the aerial camera to which it will be fitted the development Center's own aircraft run flight tests of cameras camera pods and devices for night photography intelligence techniques and systems are developed at the naval reconnaissance Center photo interpreting equipment begins here as an idea the idea becomes reality in the form of a prototype which is then tested not just for technical performance but for operating efficiency in the bouncing salt Laden humid environment of a ship the equipment that reaches the fleet is practical workable indispensable in the job of analyzing enemy activities and of briefing the attack Pilots for their strengths the pilots see their targets in advance they build graphic images of checkpoints enemy defenses a final objective thank you photography has prepared the Airmen for their strengths and it has contributed to to the aircraft they fly and the weapons they use at the naval Ordnance laboratory photography is a specific science part of the research on missiles explosives and underwater weapons in this one thousand foot ballistic range a complex electronic and Optical system films a missiles trip down the tube at over 7 000 miles an hour color schlieren photography makes turbulence and changes in air density visible as a ballistic missile moves through the tunnel the color techniques give an observer three factors to evaluate Hue color saturation and brightness not merely Shades of Gray the pattern of shock waves the pitch and yaw of the missile speak volumes to the photographic interpreter underwater High Speed photography an evaluation of a submerged explosion photography documents the wind tunnel behavior of a ballistic missile encountering air speeds of up to 17 times the speed of sound the instrumentation camera follows the flank path of a mine from time of release until it hits the water photography documents an event from beginning to end even though the life of the event may be reckoned in microseconds these scenes were made with a Jacob's camera developed at the naval Ordnance lab it produces pictures at the incredible rate of over a million frames per second with no loss of information between frames deep in the Mojave Desert of California at China link the naval weapons Center conducts a program of warfare analysis a variety of special cameras ride the weapons and the test Slims or observe from near and far registering changes and movements imperceptible to the naked eye foreign as well as successes photography tries to show the why of every malfunction films can be projected in Ultra slow motion they can be stopped backed up viewed again until the engineers know why that parachute failed to open in time foreign with equipment modified through the lessons of photography the result an injection system which can save astronauts even when used from ground lever the Pacific Missile Range at Point Magoo every firing is photographed every type of missile checked before it's released to the fleet foreign weapons prove themselves here too at the Navy missile Center Airborne cameras tracked the flight of a new missile and check Its Behavior pattern camera pods developed here are used to record combat strikes as well as test runs they must perform without attention the pilots have their hands full with other matters carries a television camera in addition to a conventional high-speed camera sponging 100 miles at Sea can be televised back to the engineers at Point Magoo with instant playback too when these planes strike their weapons will function properly because photography has found their weaknesses and proved their strong points now photography records the strikes themselves for intelligence for tactical information or training foreign the carrier pilot is probably the most photographed American Fighting Man part of a television system called plant or Pilot Landing Aid television every recovery is televised as the aircraft approaches the carrier the plant television cameras pick it up and keep it in constant view recording The Landing signal officers running talk with a pilot later each pilot can study his Landing performance on videotape in the event of a mishap the tape becomes a valuable investigative tool training Film Production is another mission for Navy photography professional filmmakers from both the Navy and Commercial Studios produce hundreds of Motion Pictures each year for Fleet Distribution of a mixed service personnel with civilian employees all contributing to a single goal whatever the subject matter simple or sophisticated each training film Finds Its viewers any group of men with a need to know what a need to learn whether at a state side Shore Station aboard a combat ship or at a remote Outpost picture supplement words amplify ideas clarify policies foreign pictures are the stock and trade of the more than 480 Photo Labs from the Arctic to the Antarctic aboard ship and ashore largest and most modern of these Laboratories is the installation in Washington DC the naval photographic Center here Under One Roof is the central photographic facility for the Navy NBC has complete motion picture production capability from the Inception of the film idea to the release print for distribution the photo centers still facilities are geared to the mass production of Photography serving a variety of purposes in the Navy a still picture library and Motion Picture film depository assure that valuable film records will be safeguarded and available when needed foreign specialists in the research and development department tests develop and evaluate new photographic chemicals films and photographic equipment for four volume purchases are made by the Navy Department the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet combat camera groups headquartered at Norfolk and San Diego cover combat operations and special assignments in their areas wherever the Navy operates Navy photography is at hand to record to inform to document JB cameramen have reported most of what the world knows of conditions on the great white continent of Antarctica foreign exposing film under the most extreme conditions imaginable Navy photographic Personnel accompany explorers and scientists in their search for evidence of the Earth's history beneath the polar ice cap the Navy records the daily life of South polar citizens foreign the Navy is vitally concerned with man's ability to live and work Beneath the Sea every step of the Navy's research in the ocean depth is recorded by Navy photography which has had to develop its own techniques for work on this new frontier foreign Photography in the Navy is no less a weapon than a missile slung under the wing of a fighter bomber with this photographic weapon the Navy learns more about the physical forces it must use it explores new approaches to Old problems it strengthens its capacity to carry out its statutory mission foreign foreign Richardson made his first aerial photograph the need for photography has continually expanded New Uses have been discovered and new cameras and processors developed the growth of Photography reflects the growth and change of the fleet itself as long as man continues to cross new thresholds in the sky and tears of the sea seeks out answers to the Eternal questions posed by his planet and universe there will always be a need for some way to graphically record that moment in time it's in time as others have done before us foreign