by Gary W.
During the
build-up for the first Polaris submarine missile, there was a demand for
skilled workers. Because I had been an electronics technician, I was able to
get a job readily at the Lockheed plant in Sunnyvale, California. This is my
story.
I was assigned
to the missile test and readiness console area in the big missile bay. Our
engineers were always working to improve and to expand testing procedures, and I
implemented their ideas into the test console. When an idea was tested and
proved, it was incorporated on the submarines.
Electronics
then was a touch different than electronics now—the circuits were much bigger! The
checkout equipment I worked on needed a console as big as a closet. Now, it probably
fits into a smart phone.
I have always
felt that I helped advance the submarine missile program into what it is today.
I appreciate the opportunity that Lockheed Martin gave me to do that.
