Thank you to John D. Bower from Boulder, Colorado for contacting the NASFL Museum and for shipping a WWII Volt Torpedo Camera in mint condition. It was donated to the Museum and it will be on display.

Vought-Solar Aircraft Torpedo Camera Type 1:  It is in original condition, except that lens heating wires were removed by him, thinking that it would take better pictures. The camera film is standard 120; it is spooled on longer backing paper to account the width of the horizontal size of the negative. The box contains the camera, accessories as well as an instruction manual. The Vought-Solar came in two non-interchangeable models, either 12 or 24 volts. The voltage of each camera was marked clearly on a large side plate. The Navy Torpedo Camera is a motorized panoramic camera, fitted with a louvre shutter, shooting 7-inch wide negatives to document aerial torpedo attacks (from launch to impact). It was manufactured for the Navy by Russell Vought Co, a division of Solar Aircraft Co , San Diego, CA, USA from 1943 to 1944. Burke & James bought many of these surplus converting them to panoramic cameras for general civilian use. They were marketed under the name Panoram.

Camera for Air Combat Documentation (Gun Sight Aiming Point camera): The purpose of this camera was to determine the results of a Squadron's torpedo attack.  The camera was attached to the aircraft and bore-sighted with the aircraft’s line of flight. When the torpedo was released, the camera was simultaneously electrically fired. The camera produced 2¼"x 7¼" negatives on rolls of specially spooled 120 film. Photographs could be analyzed to determine target identification, and to see if a torpedo hit had been made on the target.  These cameras were also used in training to check pilot technique without having to fire a live torpedo. When the plane made a run on a ship the picture was taken. They were able to tell if the pilot in training would have sunk the ship from the picture.

Thank you so much John Bower, for your generosity!

New Spotlights of WWII veterans were created. Check them out to read on their story:

Allan McElhiney - USNR WWII & Korea

David Epstein - USNR WWII Parachute Rigger

William J. Hopwood - Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale WWII - Communications Officer

Sgt. Paul Bradley - US Army WWII

For March and April we will feature WWII NASFL Instructor David White who participated in the search for Flight 19, and Jack Cawley, USNR WWII who was also stationed at this base working at the Wing Shop.

The 2012 Freedom Awards for Broward Navy Days took place on March 23 at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club:
"Saluting those who defend our freedom and support our men and women in uniform."

The honorees were:

• William D. Baumgartner, Rear Admiral, U. S. Coast Guard, Commander, Seventh District
• Larry Burchfield, Senior Executive, South Region, Human Military Healthcare Services
• Allan McElhiney, President, Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum
• Ron Perkins, Chaplain, Seafarers’ House

Broward Navy Days Mission Statement: to assist with the morale, welfare, & recreation needs of the crew members of our nation’s sea-going services: The Navy, Coast Guard and Marines. To raise awareness and to enlist public support for our mission throughout the year and annually organize and coordinate Fleet Week Port Everglades. Established In 1990 as a nonprofit corporation, Broward Navy Days, Inc. is a 501(c)(3).

We received a letter from Mr. Carlos Chatara who brought his son Giancarlo to the NASFL Museum to research for his School project. Young Giancarlo was very interested with all the artifacts and he was most impressed "to meet a real WWII hero" in Mr. Allan McElhiney, who was a WWII sailor. It was a pleasure to meet the Chatara family and to remind us that the Museum's vision is to Preserve, Educate and Honor the Heroes. Below, is an excerpt from their letter and photos of Giancarlos project:

"March 28, 2012
Dear Debbie and Allan:

Thank you for taking the time to teach us about the Naval Air Station of Florida during WWII, especial thanks to your Dad, he is a real hero not only because he was in the war but to keep and maintain all this valuable information in the Museum during all this time to show to the new generations. Because my son had this project for the school and the information you provided us, my son's project was one of the 3rd best in his class.

The School is: Eagle Point Elementary in Weston
Teacher : Michelle Laudanno
4th Grade

I have attached some pictures of the project. My son Giancarlo, my Wife Tania and myself want to thank you and your Dad for your help. Carlos Chatara."

Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum hosted a reception to showcase "Our Poetic Tribute to Amelia Earhart"
in honor of April 2012 National Poetry Month!  Produced by Broward County, Florida Poet-in-Residence Anastasia Clark, who worked for a year bringing awareness, readings and workshops around South Florida. Many of the poets that participated got to see the poetry collection before it leaves on its way to the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, in Atchison, Kansas. The heirloom quality album features three original artworks by Shae Leighland-Pence and the works of 42 emerging and established poets with 49 poems from South Florida, California, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia and Utah. The cover was hand-crafted by LeatherScrapBook.Com, Inc. Copies of this special collection will be available for display at the following locations in time for April 2012 National Poetry Month.

List as of March 29, 2012:

• Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, 223 North Terrace Street, Atchison, KS 66002.
• Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum, 4000 West Perimeter Road, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315. This Museum will have a permanent display copy of the collection.
  
• Broward County Libraries Division: Southwest Regional Library, Dania Beach Paul DeMaio Branch Library, Margate Catharine Young Library, Miramar Branch Library, Stirling Road Branch Library and Weston Branch Library.
• Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907.
• San Diego Air and Space Museum, 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101.
• Tennessee Museum of Aviation, 135 Air Museum Way, Sevierville, TN 37862.
• National Capitol Squadron, (A unit of the Commemorative Air Force). 12499 Beverly Ford Road, Brandy Station, VA 22714.
• Air Power Museum, (A unit of the Commemorative Air Force). 9600 Wright Drive, Midland, TX 79706.
• Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum, 1600 Air Museum Road, Hood River, OR 97031.
• 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum/Art Gallery, 3489 Tree Lane, Genesco, NY 14454.
• Heritage Flight Museum, 4165 Mitchell Way, Bellingham, WA 98226.
• Rensslaerville Library,188 Main Street, Rensslaerville, NY 12147.
• Cohoes Public Library, 169 Mohawk Street, Cohoes, NY 12047.
• National Women's History Project, 3440 Airway Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.
• Custom House Maritime Museum, New London Maritime Society,150 Bank Street, New London, CT 06320.
• International Women's Air & Space Museum, Burke Lakefront Airport, 1501 North Marginal Road, Cleveland, OH 44114.
  

Funding for this project was provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. A public reading of poems will be performed at Studio 18 in the Pines on April 20, 2012 from 6-8pm. Thank you to each and everyone for their support!

Photo Gallery by contributing poets
Minerva Bloom, Anastasia Clark & H.E. Mantel-HaroHalola

T h e    P o e t s
Attention Poets: if you contributed for this collection and would like your website or contact made public,
please e-mail the Webmistress with your link so she can post it. Thank you.
Click on Poet's names to visit their respective websites.