The White Falcon - 06.02.1970, Page 1

THE WHITE FALCON
Vol. XIII, No. 6
U.S. Naval Station, Keflavik, Iceland
February 6, 1970
A freak accident
Zapped by lightening
A freak incident, reminiscent
of when lightening struck the
Apollo 12 moon rocketat Cape Ken-
nedy last November, occurred on
January 21 during a VP-26 flight
over Keflavik.
The odds against such a thing
happening in this area, where on-
ly seven thunder or lightening
storms have been reported in the
past two years, are about one
million to one. Yet, when Lt. R.
J. Merritt, commander of a P-3B
aircraft, was making his approach
about ten miles northwest of the
field, his plane was "zapped by a
lightening bolt," creating a
brilliance described by one crew-
member as that of 40 or 50 photo-
graphers firing "their flashbulbs
inside the plane at the same

The lightening struck the ra-
area in three places, caus-
ing slight exterior damage. Lt.
Merritt maintained complete op-
erational control and made a nor-
mal landing after returning from
a two-hour test flight over the
Arctic Circle.
Aerographer•s Mat e
Quinn operates the
weather satellite recorder
at Fleet Weather Facility.
Base weather facility helps mark
100th year of U.S. weather service
This Monday, February 9, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary
of weather in.the United States. Actually, weather has existed in
America for many centuries, however, the occasion marks the first
century of a government established
Weatheragencies throughout the
nation will commemorate the cen-
tennial with various special e-
vents, including a three-day sym-
posium in Washington, D.C. On
February 12, American and foreign
meteorologists will gather in
Washington to discuss future wea-
ther trends. The event will be
moderated by past presidents of
the American Meteorological Soc-
iety, which this year observes
its 50th anniversary.
Although it was in 1870 that
President U.S. Grant signed a
congressional resolution creating
the national weather service, the
business of recording general at-
mospheric conditions began two
centuries earlier. In 1644, a
colonial settlement chaplain nam-
ed John Champanius ceased talking
about the weather and started do-
ing something about it by record-
ing the daily weather happenings
near Wilmington, Del. His diar-
Plottlng the high and low
pressure areas over the
North Atlantic is Fleet Wea-
ther’s AGC Fred Droulllard.
weather service.
ies formed the first continuous
weather record in the U.S., and
the logging of weather conditions
(See 100TH YEAR, Page 3)
CapL Slayton to visit
Captain Morgan Slayton, USN
(Ret.), director of the Univer-
sity of Maryland's Atlantic Divi-
sion, is scheduled to visit the
naval station from February 10
through February 17.
During his semi-annual admin-
istrative visit, Capt. Slayton
will counsel and assist U of M
students on their individual de-
gree requirements and on matters
relating to U of M's educational
programs.
Persons desiring a counseling
appointment with Capt. Slayton
may call the U of M office, Ext.
6226.
AG1 Karl Loeper briefs Navy
pilots on atmospheric condi-
tions, as plotted by the
Weather Activity.