John W. Marchetti
Encyclopedia
John William Marchetti was a radar pioneer who had an outstanding career combining government and industrial activities. He was born of immigrant parents in Boston, Massachusetts, and entered Columbia College and Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science (the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University
) in 1925. In a six-year program combining liberal arts and engineering, he earned both A.B. and B.S. degrees, followed by the graduate E.E. (Electrical Engineering) degree in 1931. He was employed by New York Edison
as a power engineer for several years, during which time he also participated in the U.S. Naval Reserve
as an Ensign
.
position in the Signal Corps Laboratories
(SCL) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He began as a junior radio engineer in the General Development Laboratory, running tests on the SCR-300
, well known as the “Walkie-talkie
” communications set. After receiving appropriate security clearances, he was transferred to the Radio Position Finding (RPF - early SCL designation for radar) section where Paul E. Watson
, the SCL Chief Engineer, was leading the development of the Signal Corps’s first pulsed detection system. His initial assignment was to design a 600-MHz transmitter for future RPF systems using the newly developed Doorknob tubes.
In December 1937, the 200-MHz experimental equipment was set up near the coast and detected aircraft at distances up to seven miles flying in and out of New York City
. In early 1938, the RPF activities were moved to a more secure location at Fort Hancock
in Sandy Hook
, a peninsula reaching into the New York Harbor
. Watson’s initial system was designated SCR-268
, and two other systems soon evolved, the SCR-270
(mobile) and SCR-271 (fixed site). Marchetti continued work on 600-MHz devices as well as on the other three systems. Before the end of 1940, all of these were placed into production and had limited deployment.
During 1941, the SCL again relocated, this time to Camp Evans
, a site a few miles south of Fort Monmouth. Here it was called the Evans Signal Laboratory, with Watson, now a Lieutenant Colonel
, serving as the Director.
One of the first SCR-270s was in service on the island of Oahu
on December 7, 1941. At 7:20 a.m., the operators reported detecting a flight of planes due north, but the Duty Officer dismissed it as “nothing unusual” and the alarm went unheeded. At 7:53 a.m., the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor
.
With the entry of the U.S. into war, most of the personnel at the SCL were commissioned into the Army; Marchetti was made a Captain. Following the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor, there was a crash program to obtain radars to protect the Panama Canal Zone from a similar attack. To detect low-flying aircraft at a range allowing sufficient warning, a high-frequency radar system for picket ship
s stationed 100-miles offshore was needed. Coworker Harold A. Zahl
had developed a tube (VT-158) that gave up to 240 kW pulse power at 600 MHz . (This was actually four triodes and their associated circuitry tightly packaged in one glass envelope.)
Marchetti led a 20-person team in adapting the SCR-268s for using this tube; the project was completed in a few weeks, with the first set installed on the M.S. Nordic.
As U.S. troops began the recapture of islands in the Pacific Theater of Operations
, there was an urgent need for a portable radar to provide medium-range early-warning against aircraft. Again Marchetti was assigned the task of developing a suitable system. In only a few days, Marchetti and his team converted the picket-ship radar into the AN/TPS-3, a lightweight, transportable system that could be assembled and placed into operation by a small crew in 30 minutes. Somewhat later, the set was modified as a mortar-locating radar, the AN/TPQ-3. During the war, about 900 of these early-warning and mortar-locating systems were built, including 24 sets used in the D-Day Normandy landing.
For the continuing war years, Marchetti was engaged in a wide variety of radar projects. One of the largest activity was his support to the Rad Lab
at MIT
in developing a mobile, gun-laying, microwave system, eventually designated the SCR-584
. Undoubtedly the best-known radar system of the war, this included the M-9 analog computer
that set the stage for great post-war advances in this field.
Attacks on England by German V-1 flying bomb
s began in early 1944. Several SCR-268 systems upgraded to 600 MHz were rushed to England and set up on the coast to direct the anti-aircraft guns. When first used, the radar-directed guns actually were reduced in their hits. Marchetti was sent to England to check the radars. He found the electronic function was correct; however, the signal being sent to the gun-aiming analog computer was not the direct reflection from the V-1 but a signal being reflected from the nearby English Channel
. After a minor change in the equipment as well as in the operating procedure, the hit probability increased from a few percent to around 90 percent, subsequently saving thousands of lives. For his efforts, Marchetti was awarded the Order of the British Empire
(OBE).
After correcting the SCR-268 operation, Marchetti remained in England, and in June 1944, he participated in the D-day liberation of Europe. Following the Omaha Beach
landing in Normandy, he served as the radar officer for the First Army and was promoted to Major
. Among other duties, he searched in unsecured areas for German radar installations. After several months of service in Europe, he returned to Fort Monmouth. In 1999, the Federation of French War Veterans awarded Marchetti the Normandy Medal in recognition of his contributions.
at Harvard University
for employment at Air Forces laboratories.
The Watson Laboratories was authorized to establish the Cambridge Field Station (CFS), adjacent to MIT and Harvard. In September 1945, Marchetti was assigned as the Acting Commanding Officer of the CFS. Fifteen of the projects originally at the Rad Lab, together with the laboratory equipment, were transferred to the CFS. Also included were the testing facilities located at Hanscom Army Air Field
at nearby Bedford, Massachusetts
. By March 1946, the CFS had a staff of 770, including 350 scientists, engineers, and other technical personnel.
In November 1946, Marchetti, having received an honorable discharge from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel
, was named Chief of the Research Division, encompassing all of the technical activities of the CFS. This included four component laboratories (Antennas, RF Components, Electronic Components, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering), and six systems laboratories (Ground Radar, Navigation, Communications, Relay Systems, Countermeasures, and Special Studies). Primary projects under Marchetti’s responsibility at that time included the continued development of an experimental air-traffic control system (started at the Rad Lab); experimental launching of German V-2 rockets at White Sands Missile Range
, New Mexico
; and the development of VOLIR (Volumetric Indicating Radar), an automated scanning radar for the VolScan (Volume Scanning) air- traffic-control system.
In September 1947, the U.S. Army Air Forces became the U.S. Air Force
, a separate service. The CFS was removed from under the Watson Laboratories and became an Air Force Base, later an Electronics Station. In December 1948, the Research Division was redesignated the Radio Physics Research Directorate of the CFS. Still directed by Marchetti, its significant accomplishments included the development of techniques for transmitting the output of radar sets over telephone networks (later called a modem
) and a light gun (pen) for designating targets on a radar CRT to initiating a track (later used in the cursors for computer displays). Under Project Billboard, an experimental low-frequency, long-range radar was installed on the coast for sweeping the Atlantic Ocean
.
The CFS was renamed the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) in July 1949. At that time, the air-defense capability of the U.S. military was of great concern. Marchetti and George E. Valley, a former Rad Lab scientist who had joined the MIT physics faculty, established the Air Defense Systems Engineering Committee. Based on this committee, the Air Defense Project was officially formed at AFCRL in July 1950. From this, the first large-scale defense project since WWII evolved.
It was soon recognized that information from multiple radars would need to be handled by a central, high-performing, real-time computer; Marchetti proposed that the Whirlwind
digital computer, under development by Jay W. Forrester
at MIT, fit the requirements and should be used. (With the later addition of magnetic core memory, this was designated the AN/FSQ-7
.) Coupled with the related developments from AFCRL (modems for transmitting radar signals and the light gun for handling displays), this eventually became the SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment
) air defense system for North America. The activity was first called Project Charles and later Project Lincoln; the latter was the foundation of the Lincoln Laboratory
, a Federally Funded R&D Center of MIT.
The AFCRL operations began migrating to Hanscom AFB in Bedford during the early 1950s. In June 1951, the AFCRL was redesignated as the Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC), and Marchetti’s operation was designated the Electronics Research Division (ERD). The AFCRC was placed under the command of Major General James F. Phillips in August, and Marchetti was named the Technical Deputy to the Commander. In addition to the ERD, the AFCRC had an Atomic Warfare Division and a Geophysics Research Division, all under the technical responsibility of Marchetti. By early 1952, the AFCRC had over 2,500 personnel, and the three Divisions were upgraded to Directorates.
Project Lincoln at MIT was under the cognizance of the ERD, and the integration of the project’s radars became a major activity at the ERD. In March 1952, radar data was sent from Bedford to the Whirlwind computer at MIT over an 8-digit telephone link developed by the ERD, allowing the first fully automated aircraft interception using SAGE. By the end of 1952, there were 12 radars operating at Cape Cod in the experimental SAGE system.
Other major activities in 1952-1953 included completing the VolScan air-traffic control system with the computer containing the first desktop Graphical User Interface
(GUI); establishing an Upper Air Observatory in New Mexico; opening an Arctic research station on Fletcher's Ice Island
(T-3); participating in Project Buster-Jangle atomic tests in Nevada; conducting Project Moby Dick, a record-setting balloon flight for high-altitude research; and developing a high-performance analog computer for Tactical Air Traffic Control.
was developing their Research and Development Division (RAD) in Wilmington, Massachusetts
, and Martchetti joined them in the fall of 1954 as the Director of the Electronics Research Laboratory. In a joint project between the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force
, the Pinetree Line
(a series of fixed-position radars) was being built across Canada. This was an outgrowth of the successful Project Lincoln. In 1951, the Watson Laboratories had been moved to Griffiss AFB, New York, becoming the Rome Air Development Center
(RADC); this Air Force center was responsible for the Pinetree radars.
Based on his early relationships with Watson Laboratories and experience on SAGE, Marchetti was able to obtain a contract from RADC for Avco RAD to design and build an experimental phased-array
antenna system for allowing wide scanning on Pinetree and other future radars. Several AFCRC engineers were hired for this effort. Called the Steerable Array Radar and Communications (SARAC), the project was successfully completed, with a 15-by 15-foot prototype antenna having hundreds of transmitter and receiver elements that allowed multiple beams to be electronically scanned. Avco RAD was not successful in obtaining a production contract for the improved radars.
Avco Everett Research Laboratory, also located in the Boston area, had contracts with AFCRC that involved studying the plasma
generated by re-entry vehicles
. For this effort, Marchetti, at Avco RAD, developed a 30-MHz pulsed radar that was set up at San Salvador Island
to observe the ionized trail from a NASA Mercury
capsule. This radar was used in early 1961 to obtain data from the re-entry of flight MA-6
. In a number of subsequent reports and papers, the instrument was referred to as the Marchetti radar.
, with the primary objective of performing research and development on advanced radars. One of the first contracts was from RADC for designing and fabricating a wide-bandwidth radar transmitter. This operated between 1.224 and 1.386 GHz in the L-band using two traveling-wave tubes that produced 10-kW peak power. This was completed in 1963.
Another early contract from RADC was for developing a radar facility at the White Sands Missile Range
, New Mexico, for re-entry measurements. For this, a 100-MHz AN/TPQ-20 radar was rebuilt with five Yagi antenna
s to receive vertically and horizontally polarized signals reflected from a test vehicle. During 1965-66, an in-depth analytical and experimental study was conducted for RADC to characterize performance of antenna array elements. This covered arrays with up to 1,000 elements and at frequencies from UHF through X-Band.
Although his firm had been reasonably successful in obtaining and performing advanced radar work, Marchetti was disappointed with the profitability of defense contracting and decided to change his field to rapid transportation. The High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 had opened the door to a new era of railway operations. The Budd Company
teamed with Pennsylvania Railroad
to develop the Metroliner
, an electric, multiple unit, high-speed passenger train in which each car had its own locomotive unit using power drawn from catenary overhead lines.
In 1966, drawing on his experience in power systems when with New York Edison and his expertise in electro-mechanical control systems from radar development, Marchetti convinced Budd officials to use his firm for the electrical engineering work on the Metroliner. Although the main office for Marchetti, Inc., remained in Natick, the primary Metroliner activities were in Wilmington, Massachusetts
, at the Penn Central (later Amtrak
) maintenance yards. The Budd Metroliner prototype cars tested at 164 mph, and went into regular service on Penn Central lines between Washington, D.C., and New York City in early 1969; their speed, however, was limited to between 100 and 125 mph because of track conditions. In 1971, the cars were transferred to the newly formed Amtrak
, but were still improved and maintained by Budd.
Marchetti, Inc., continued its relationship with Budd until 1978, mainly as a subcontractor
but for a period as a subsidiary
. These 12 years were a totally new career for Marchetti. An engineer who worked for the firm in the 1970s said that he found John Marchetti to be an outstanding electrical engineer but was totally unaware that he had an earlier career in radar.
. He visited Camp Evans in January 1999, to give an oral history of his work there.
In November 2000, he provided an oral history of his overall career for the National Museum of American History
at the Smithsonian Institution
. John W. Marchetti died on March 28, 2003, in Cherry Hill.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
) in 1925. In a six-year program combining liberal arts and engineering, he earned both A.B. and B.S. degrees, followed by the graduate E.E. (Electrical Engineering) degree in 1931. He was employed by New York Edison
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $36 billion in assets...
as a power engineer for several years, during which time he also participated in the U.S. Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
as an Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
.
Army - Signal Corps Laboratories
In 1937, Marchetti obtained a civil serviceUnited States civil service
In the United States, the civil service was established in 1872. The Federal Civil Service is defined as "all appointive positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the Government of the United States, except positions in the uniformed services." . In the early 19th century,...
position in the Signal Corps Laboratories
Signal Corps Laboratories
Signal Corps Laboratories was formed on June 30, 1930, as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Through the years, the SCL had a number of changes in name, but remained the operation providing research and development services for the Signal Corps.-Background:At the...
(SCL) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He began as a junior radio engineer in the General Development Laboratory, running tests on the SCR-300
SCR-300
The SCR-300 was a portable radio transceiver used by US Signal Corps in World War II. This backpack-mounted unit was the first two way radio to be nicknamed a "walkie talkie".- History :...
, well known as the “Walkie-talkie
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
” communications set. After receiving appropriate security clearances, he was transferred to the Radio Position Finding (RPF - early SCL designation for radar) section where Paul E. Watson
Paul E. Watson
Paul E. Watson was a pioneer researcher in the development of radar. Born in Bangor, Maine, Watson was a civilian engineer employed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps from the late 1920s. In 1936, he was named Chief Engineer of a Signal Corps research group at Camp Evans in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey...
, the SCL Chief Engineer, was leading the development of the Signal Corps’s first pulsed detection system. His initial assignment was to design a 600-MHz transmitter for future RPF systems using the newly developed Doorknob tubes.
In December 1937, the 200-MHz experimental equipment was set up near the coast and detected aircraft at distances up to seven miles flying in and out of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In early 1938, the RPF activities were moved to a more secure location at Fort Hancock
Fort Hancock, New Jersey
Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook, located in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. This coastal artillery base played an important part in the defense of New York Harbor and played a role in the...
in Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit along the Atlantic coast of New JerseySandy Hook may also refer to:-Places:United States* Sandy Hook , a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut* Sandy Hook, Kentucky, a city in Elliott County...
, a peninsula reaching into the New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
. Watson’s initial system was designated SCR-268
SCR-268 radar
The SCR-268 was the US Army's first radar system. It was developed to provide accurate aiming information and used in gun laying systems and directing searchlights against aircraft....
, and two other systems soon evolved, the SCR-270
SCR-270 radar
The SCR-270 was one of the first operational early warning radars. It was the U.S. Army's primary long-distance radar throughout World War II and was deployed around the world...
(mobile) and SCR-271 (fixed site). Marchetti continued work on 600-MHz devices as well as on the other three systems. Before the end of 1940, all of these were placed into production and had limited deployment.
During 1941, the SCL again relocated, this time to Camp Evans
Camp Evans
Camp Evans, New Jersey is a former military base associated with Fort Monmouth. It is located in Wall Township, although it is often said to be located in Belmar . The property overlooks the Shark River.Camp Evans is named after Lt. Col...
, a site a few miles south of Fort Monmouth. Here it was called the Evans Signal Laboratory, with Watson, now a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
, serving as the Director.
One of the first SCR-270s was in service on the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
on December 7, 1941. At 7:20 a.m., the operators reported detecting a flight of planes due north, but the Duty Officer dismissed it as “nothing unusual” and the alarm went unheeded. At 7:53 a.m., the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
With the entry of the U.S. into war, most of the personnel at the SCL were commissioned into the Army; Marchetti was made a Captain. Following the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor, there was a crash program to obtain radars to protect the Panama Canal Zone from a similar attack. To detect low-flying aircraft at a range allowing sufficient warning, a high-frequency radar system for picket ship
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
s stationed 100-miles offshore was needed. Coworker Harold A. Zahl
Harold A. Zahl
Harold A. Zahl was an American physicist who had a 35-year career with the U.S. Army Signal Corps Laboratories, making major contributions to radar development.-Career and accomplishments:...
had developed a tube (VT-158) that gave up to 240 kW pulse power at 600 MHz . (This was actually four triodes and their associated circuitry tightly packaged in one glass envelope.)
Marchetti led a 20-person team in adapting the SCR-268s for using this tube; the project was completed in a few weeks, with the first set installed on the M.S. Nordic.
As U.S. troops began the recapture of islands in the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
, there was an urgent need for a portable radar to provide medium-range early-warning against aircraft. Again Marchetti was assigned the task of developing a suitable system. In only a few days, Marchetti and his team converted the picket-ship radar into the AN/TPS-3, a lightweight, transportable system that could be assembled and placed into operation by a small crew in 30 minutes. Somewhat later, the set was modified as a mortar-locating radar, the AN/TPQ-3. During the war, about 900 of these early-warning and mortar-locating systems were built, including 24 sets used in the D-Day Normandy landing.
For the continuing war years, Marchetti was engaged in a wide variety of radar projects. One of the largest activity was his support to the Rad Lab
Radiation Laboratory
The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned from October 1940 until December 31, 1945...
at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in developing a mobile, gun-laying, microwave system, eventually designated the SCR-584
SCR-584 radar
The SCR-584 was a microwave radar developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. It replaced the earlier and much more complex SCR-268 as the US Army's primary anti-aircraft gun laying system as quickly as they could be produced...
. Undoubtedly the best-known radar system of the war, this included the M-9 analog computer
Analog computer
An analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
that set the stage for great post-war advances in this field.
Attacks on England by German V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s began in early 1944. Several SCR-268 systems upgraded to 600 MHz were rushed to England and set up on the coast to direct the anti-aircraft guns. When first used, the radar-directed guns actually were reduced in their hits. Marchetti was sent to England to check the radars. He found the electronic function was correct; however, the signal being sent to the gun-aiming analog computer was not the direct reflection from the V-1 but a signal being reflected from the nearby English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. After a minor change in the equipment as well as in the operating procedure, the hit probability increased from a few percent to around 90 percent, subsequently saving thousands of lives. For his efforts, Marchetti was awarded the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE).
After correcting the SCR-268 operation, Marchetti remained in England, and in June 1944, he participated in the D-day liberation of Europe. Following the Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
landing in Normandy, he served as the radar officer for the First Army and was promoted to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. Among other duties, he searched in unsecured areas for German radar installations. After several months of service in Europe, he returned to Fort Monmouth. In 1999, the Federation of French War Veterans awarded Marchetti the Normandy Medal in recognition of his contributions.
Air Force - Cambridge Research
In February 1945, the Army Air Forces took over from the Signal Corps a portion of the radar laboratories at Fort Monmouth, designating this activity the Watson Laboratories. At the conclusion of the war in May, Marchetti, now assigned to the Watson Laboratories, began recruiting scientists and engineers from the Rad Lab at MIT and the Radio Research LaboratoryRadio Research Laboratory
The Radio Research Laboratory , located on the campus of Harvard University was an 800-person secret research laboratory during World War II. Under the U.S...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
for employment at Air Forces laboratories.
The Watson Laboratories was authorized to establish the Cambridge Field Station (CFS), adjacent to MIT and Harvard. In September 1945, Marchetti was assigned as the Acting Commanding Officer of the CFS. Fifteen of the projects originally at the Rad Lab, together with the laboratory equipment, were transferred to the CFS. Also included were the testing facilities located at Hanscom Army Air Field
Hanscom Air Force Base
Hanscom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of Bedford, Massachusetts. The facility is a joint use civil airport/military base with Hanscom Field which provides general aviation and charter service.The host unit at Hanscom is the non-flying...
at nearby Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. By March 1946, the CFS had a staff of 770, including 350 scientists, engineers, and other technical personnel.
In November 1946, Marchetti, having received an honorable discharge from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
, was named Chief of the Research Division, encompassing all of the technical activities of the CFS. This included four component laboratories (Antennas, RF Components, Electronic Components, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering), and six systems laboratories (Ground Radar, Navigation, Communications, Relay Systems, Countermeasures, and Special Studies). Primary projects under Marchetti’s responsibility at that time included the continued development of an experimental air-traffic control system (started at the Rad Lab); experimental launching of German V-2 rockets at White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
; and the development of VOLIR (Volumetric Indicating Radar), an automated scanning radar for the VolScan (Volume Scanning) air- traffic-control system.
In September 1947, the U.S. Army Air Forces became the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, a separate service. The CFS was removed from under the Watson Laboratories and became an Air Force Base, later an Electronics Station. In December 1948, the Research Division was redesignated the Radio Physics Research Directorate of the CFS. Still directed by Marchetti, its significant accomplishments included the development of techniques for transmitting the output of radar sets over telephone networks (later called a modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
) and a light gun (pen) for designating targets on a radar CRT to initiating a track (later used in the cursors for computer displays). Under Project Billboard, an experimental low-frequency, long-range radar was installed on the coast for sweeping the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
The CFS was renamed the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) in July 1949. At that time, the air-defense capability of the U.S. military was of great concern. Marchetti and George E. Valley, a former Rad Lab scientist who had joined the MIT physics faculty, established the Air Defense Systems Engineering Committee. Based on this committee, the Air Defense Project was officially formed at AFCRL in July 1950. From this, the first large-scale defense project since WWII evolved.
It was soon recognized that information from multiple radars would need to be handled by a central, high-performing, real-time computer; Marchetti proposed that the Whirlwind
Whirlwind (computer)
The Whirlwind computer was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is the first computer that operated in real time, used video displays for output, and the first that was not simply an electronic replacement of older mechanical systems...
digital computer, under development by Jay W. Forrester
Jay Wright Forrester
Jay Wright Forrester is a pioneer American computer engineer, systems scientist and was a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Forrester is known as the founder of System Dynamics, which deals with the simulation of interactions between objects in dynamic systems.- Biography :Forrester...
at MIT, fit the requirements and should be used. (With the later addition of magnetic core memory, this was designated the AN/FSQ-7
AN/FSQ-7
The AN/FSQ-7 was a computer model developed and built in the 1950s by IBM in partnership with the US Air Force. Fifty-two were built and used for command and control functions for the Semi Automatic Ground Environment air-defense system...
.) Coupled with the related developments from AFCRL (modems for transmitting radar signals and the light gun for handling displays), this eventually became the SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment
Semi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...
) air defense system for North America. The activity was first called Project Charles and later Project Lincoln; the latter was the foundation of the Lincoln Laboratory
Lincoln Laboratory
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as...
, a Federally Funded R&D Center of MIT.
The AFCRL operations began migrating to Hanscom AFB in Bedford during the early 1950s. In June 1951, the AFCRL was redesignated as the Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC), and Marchetti’s operation was designated the Electronics Research Division (ERD). The AFCRC was placed under the command of Major General James F. Phillips in August, and Marchetti was named the Technical Deputy to the Commander. In addition to the ERD, the AFCRC had an Atomic Warfare Division and a Geophysics Research Division, all under the technical responsibility of Marchetti. By early 1952, the AFCRC had over 2,500 personnel, and the three Divisions were upgraded to Directorates.
Project Lincoln at MIT was under the cognizance of the ERD, and the integration of the project’s radars became a major activity at the ERD. In March 1952, radar data was sent from Bedford to the Whirlwind computer at MIT over an 8-digit telephone link developed by the ERD, allowing the first fully automated aircraft interception using SAGE. By the end of 1952, there were 12 radars operating at Cape Cod in the experimental SAGE system.
Other major activities in 1952-1953 included completing the VolScan air-traffic control system with the computer containing the first desktop Graphical User Interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
(GUI); establishing an Upper Air Observatory in New Mexico; opening an Arctic research station on Fletcher's Ice Island
Fletcher's Ice Island
Fletcher's Ice Island or T-3 was an iceberg discovered by U.S. Air Force Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher. Between 1952 and 1978 it was used as a manned scientific research station that included huts, a power plant, and a runway for wheeled aircraft. The iceberg was a thick tabular sheet of glacial ice...
(T-3); participating in Project Buster-Jangle atomic tests in Nevada; conducting Project Moby Dick, a record-setting balloon flight for high-altitude research; and developing a high-performance analog computer for Tactical Air Traffic Control.
Avco Corporation
Marchetti resigned from the AFCRC in May 1954. The Avco CorporationAvco
Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming.-Brief history:The Embry-Riddle Company created the Aviation Corporation in 1928 as a holding company tasked with acquiring small airlines...
was developing their Research and Development Division (RAD) in Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm...
, and Martchetti joined them in the fall of 1954 as the Director of the Electronics Research Laboratory. In a joint project between the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
, the Pinetree Line
Pinetree Line
The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by NORAD , over half were manned by United States Air Force...
(a series of fixed-position radars) was being built across Canada. This was an outgrowth of the successful Project Lincoln. In 1951, the Watson Laboratories had been moved to Griffiss AFB, New York, becoming the Rome Air Development Center
Rome Laboratory
The Rome Laboratory, formerly known as the Rome Air Development Center, is one of eight research and development labs run by the US Air Force located at Griffiss AFB in Rome, NY. One of four superlabs run by the Air Force, the Rome Lab is tasked with generic research, as opposed to having a...
(RADC); this Air Force center was responsible for the Pinetree radars.
Based on his early relationships with Watson Laboratories and experience on SAGE, Marchetti was able to obtain a contract from RADC for Avco RAD to design and build an experimental phased-array
Phased array
In wave theory, a phased array is an array of antennas in which the relative phases of the respective signals feeding the antennas are varied in such a way that the effective radiation pattern of the array is reinforced in a desired direction and suppressed in undesired directions.An antenna array...
antenna system for allowing wide scanning on Pinetree and other future radars. Several AFCRC engineers were hired for this effort. Called the Steerable Array Radar and Communications (SARAC), the project was successfully completed, with a 15-by 15-foot prototype antenna having hundreds of transmitter and receiver elements that allowed multiple beams to be electronically scanned. Avco RAD was not successful in obtaining a production contract for the improved radars.
Avco Everett Research Laboratory, also located in the Boston area, had contracts with AFCRC that involved studying the plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
generated by re-entry vehicles
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
. For this effort, Marchetti, at Avco RAD, developed a 30-MHz pulsed radar that was set up at San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island, also known as Watlings Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. Until 1986, when the National Geographic Society suggested Samana Cay, it was widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited...
to observe the ionized trail from a NASA Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
capsule. This radar was used in early 1961 to obtain data from the re-entry of flight MA-6
Mercury-Atlas 6
Mercury-Atlas 6 was a human spaceflight mission conducted by NASA, the space agency of the United States. As part of Project Mercury, MA-6 was the successful first attempt by NASA to place an astronaut into orbit. The MA-6 mission was launched February 20, 1962. It made three orbits of the Earth,...
. In a number of subsequent reports and papers, the instrument was referred to as the Marchetti radar.
Marchetti, Inc.
In 1962, Marchetti, Inc., was formed in Natick, MassachusettsNatick, Massachusetts
Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...
, with the primary objective of performing research and development on advanced radars. One of the first contracts was from RADC for designing and fabricating a wide-bandwidth radar transmitter. This operated between 1.224 and 1.386 GHz in the L-band using two traveling-wave tubes that produced 10-kW peak power. This was completed in 1963.
Another early contract from RADC was for developing a radar facility at the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
, New Mexico, for re-entry measurements. For this, a 100-MHz AN/TPQ-20 radar was rebuilt with five Yagi antenna
Yagi antenna
A Yagi-Uda array, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of a driven element and additional parasitic elements...
s to receive vertically and horizontally polarized signals reflected from a test vehicle. During 1965-66, an in-depth analytical and experimental study was conducted for RADC to characterize performance of antenna array elements. This covered arrays with up to 1,000 elements and at frequencies from UHF through X-Band.
Although his firm had been reasonably successful in obtaining and performing advanced radar work, Marchetti was disappointed with the profitability of defense contracting and decided to change his field to rapid transportation. The High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 had opened the door to a new era of railway operations. The Budd Company
Budd Company
The Budd Company is a metal fabricator and major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and was formerly a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars during the 20th century....
teamed with Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
to develop the Metroliner
Budd Metroliner
The Budd Metroliner car was an electric multiple unit train designed for first-class, high-speed service on the Pennsylvania Railroad's route between New York City and Washington, DC....
, an electric, multiple unit, high-speed passenger train in which each car had its own locomotive unit using power drawn from catenary overhead lines.
In 1966, drawing on his experience in power systems when with New York Edison and his expertise in electro-mechanical control systems from radar development, Marchetti convinced Budd officials to use his firm for the electrical engineering work on the Metroliner. Although the main office for Marchetti, Inc., remained in Natick, the primary Metroliner activities were in Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm...
, at the Penn Central (later Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
) maintenance yards. The Budd Metroliner prototype cars tested at 164 mph, and went into regular service on Penn Central lines between Washington, D.C., and New York City in early 1969; their speed, however, was limited to between 100 and 125 mph because of track conditions. In 1971, the cars were transferred to the newly formed Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, but were still improved and maintained by Budd.
Marchetti, Inc., continued its relationship with Budd until 1978, mainly as a subcontractor
Subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract....
but for a period as a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
. These 12 years were a totally new career for Marchetti. An engineer who worked for the firm in the 1970s said that he found John Marchetti to be an outstanding electrical engineer but was totally unaware that he had an earlier career in radar.
Closing
John Marchetti’s wife, Sara, gave support that was instrumental throughout his career. They had one daughter, Nina M. Archabal, and one son, John W. Marchetti, Jr. Upon retirement, he returned to New Jersey and lived in Cherry HillCherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...
. He visited Camp Evans in January 1999, to give an oral history of his work there.
In November 2000, he provided an oral history of his overall career for the National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. John W. Marchetti died on March 28, 2003, in Cherry Hill.
General sources
- Staff of the CECOM LCMC Historical Office; "A Concise History of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and the U. S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command," 2009; http://cecom.army.mil/historian/pubupdates/FM%20History%20Book%2009_4Web.pdf
- Liebowitz, Ruth P.; “Chronology – From the Cambridge Station to Air Force Geophysics Laboratory 1945-1985”; Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, TR-85-0201, 6 September 1985; http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA164501&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
- Rejan, Windy; “The Technology That Changed The World,” Monmouth Message, 1 June 2007; http://cecom.army.mil/historian/pubArtifacts/Articles/2007-09-04_0700-FILE-Radar.doc