Air Weapons Controllers - Tyndall AFB, FL

3625th veterans, sign in the 3625th Site Roster

The 3625th Technical Training Squadron at Tyndall AFB, FL was located immediately across the street from the 678th Radar Sqdn radar site. The purpose of the 3625th was to teach people to become air weapons controllers. The basic functions of an Air Weapons Controller are: to direct, by radio and radar scope, fighter aircraft tointercept attacking bombers; to supervise operations of an aircraft and early warning system; toto commit and coordinate air defense forces. The objectives of the school are: to provide students with the basic principles and factors underlying aircraft control; to make students proficient in controlling aircraft from ground radar scopes; to make students in supervising aircraft control and warning operations. [Ed. note: the "Functions" and "Objectives" in the previous sentences from a 1954 vintage Tyndall yearbook]

One job in the 3625th was called a "T-4 Driver". The T-4 driver operated the AN-TPS-4 Target Generator. Utilizing the live radar from the radar site across the street, the T-4 driver would overlay simulated aircraft and other data for the students. It looked quite real; some of the students actually thought it was real. The T-4 driver would then act as pilots, talking to the students through an in-house radio system. The students would first start out just controlling the interceptor, after that they would move into a one-on-one with a target, and eventually work their way up to running on multiple targets. The training and exercises could be a lot of fun.