Norden M bombsights were found in two time capsules found in an American barn. This technology was actively used in World War II and the Vietnam War, but it was classified for many years. The site Gizmodo reports about the find.
The barn was owned by Dale Burand, who lives in Oklahoma City. The capsules, which the American had been using as a workbench since 1953, looked like metal barrels. They were later transferred to the Dallas-based Commemorative Air Force, a non-profit organization. The wardens of the museum of military exhibits located in this city opened the capsules and found two bomb sights there.
The Norden M devices, despite the hopes of the American military, were not very accurate, the newspaper writes. The idea of the engineers was to automate the aiming process. To do this, the developers used an analog computer that calculated the point of impact of the bomb based on flight conditions. This made it possible to adjust the sight when changing the speed and direction of the wind.
The technology was developed under strict secrecy, but the Norden M system is now very outdated. It was last used in 1967, when US Navy VO-67 Squadron dropped tracking sensors onto the Ho Chi Minh Trail (Laos and Cambodia's land and waterways).