Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1939-08-24
AIRCRAFT WARNING SERVICE
EXERCISE NEXT MONTH

The first Aircraft Warning Ser
vice test ever held in the Puget
Sound area will take place August LIST
to 3rd, it was announced today at the
Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound at
Fort Worden.
These exercises, which are part Of
n general exercise covering the en-.
tire Pacific coast, will put into OPP
GRAFTON network of observation sta
tons and communications system
| designed to flash warnings of enemy
aircraft approach to the Seattle area.
In this Aircraft Warning Service,
which will cover most of the state OF
Washington to a distance of about
100 miles inland, there will be 1870
observers. The majority of these will
be civilians; employees Of the Puget
Sound Power and Light Company; the
National Forest Service; Coast Guard.
Washington State Highway Patrol;
/, Seattle City Light Company; National
Park Service; Navy; Washington For
est Fire Association; U. 8. Weather
Burear; and also the Grays Harbor
Railway and Light Company; Simp-
son Logging Company; State Forest
son Logging Company; State Lorest
Service; Washington Pulp and Paper
Division, Crown Zellerbach Company
and the Chicago, Milwaukee, st.
Paul and Puget Sound Railroad.
The communications system will be
built around the power dispatching
lines of the Puget Sound Power and
Light Company, and both personnel
and facilities Of this company and of
the other commercial companies mem
toned, have been periodically placed
at the disposal Of the Army for this
test. In addition to above, full use IS
being made of the communications
facilities of the Navy; Coast Guard;
National Forest and Park Service and
other agencies involved.
Without the assistance of personnel
and facilities belonging to the Govern
pent agencies and commercial COM
panies mentioned above, it would not
be possible to hold this test organ
izo an Aircraft Warning Service in
Seattle area; and Colonel Cunningham
the commanding officer at Fort Wor-
den, made special point of the un-
usual cooperation received from all
concerned.
During the exercise there will be
alert periods Of several hours each
DAY during which time the observers.
without undue interference with nor
NAL duties, will DO on tho lookout for
enemy planes, which for the purpose
o.. this exercise vii DC in formations
of three or more. When these planes
are sighted, warnin, will be flashed
over the telephone lines of the Puget
Sound Power and Light Company or
by the telephone. radio, or teletypc
W OthCt oSOIS'N' ~N'
to an information center located IN
tho building of the Puget Sound Pow
or and Light Company at 9Th Avenue
and Olive Way in Seattle. In the IN
formation center, the track OF ap-
preaching planes will be plotted on
an electric plotting board.
It was stated III Fort Worden, IN
accordance with instructions from
higher authority, no block-outs will
be attempted, because darkenlng OK
the Seattle Tacoma area, except in
real emergency, would be difficult
and would cause undue alarm and in
convenience to civilians, and also, be-
cause the primary mission of this ex-
ercise is to train civilian observers
and in particular test out organiza-
ton ana operation of communications
systems employed with view of fur
Their development and improvement.