Goodbye, Loran-C

LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) was developed for military purposes during WWII, with first operational use in 1942. The system was retained after the war because of its usefulness to shipping, commercial fishing, and long-distance air transportation. LORAN worked by transmitting pulses from various high-powered stations scattered around the globe: the receiver measured the time differences in the reception of the pulses from different sources, from which the position of the vessel or aircraft could be calculated. In the late 1970s, the original version of the system, LORAN-A, was replaced with LORAN-C, which operated on a lower frequency, with more highly-automated receivers and with significantly increased positional accuracy.

I got my first taste of Loran in 1965 when the Coast Guard assigned me to LORSTA Batan shortly after ET School. I retired from the Coast Guard in 1987 after serving almost 28 years, and 11 of those years were Loran-related assignments.

Crew of Loran Monitor Station Kodiak, AK 1976

The U.S. government has terminated Loran-C due to budget considerations and obsolescence. Its functions have been taken over by GPS, a satellite based system that is more accurate, more efficient, and provides more world-wide coverage than Loran-C did.

Thanks, LORAN, for 68 years of reliable service. Mariners and pilots may want to raise a glass in appreciation of the scientists and engineers who developed this system and the Coast Guardsmen who maintained it. I am proud to be a part of this group.

Below is the text of an email sent to me by a fellow Loran Coastie:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas, Gary CDR" Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 9:33 PM
Subject: The Loran Day Is Closed, Log It So


At 1316 local time, 03 Aug 2010, ETCS Fred Ripley, USCG, Officer in Charge of USCG Loran Station Caribou, directed ET2 Andrew Petersen to secure the Canadian East Coast 5930 Master Signal, terminating last United States Coast Guard Loran-C transmission. Loran Stations Shoal Cove, George and Nantucket had secured their transmissions just before Caribou. All the USCG loran transmitters are now silent.

For the first time since 1942, there is not a loran signal in the atmosphere above United States or the Canada. There are no longer any Coast Guard engineers and technicians designing new systems, maintaining and operation fielded ones or providing support to the field units to keep them on air and in tolerance. With this, the Coast Guard's Loran-C engineering mission is complete and the Loran Support Unit engineers and technicians now move forward to disestablish our unit.

As Tim Kelley, the Canadian Master of Ceremonies noted, the US Coast Guard was a steady partner with the Canadian Loran program, moving with them from Loran A to C, from vacuum tubes to solid state transmitters, and to frame relay and LCCS. He thanked my crew - "the Loranimals of LSU" - for all they had done over the years. However, that accolade really includes all those who served at not only LSU in the past, but also those that served in the Loran branch of EECEN and truly dates all the way back to then LCDR Lawrence Harding, an electrical engineer and the first Coast Guardsman who started our involved with Loran A in May 1942 by helping to establish the first operational stations in Canada and US during WWII.

In the world of Coast Guard operations, the operators often appear to get more glory than the engineers. But in the world of Loran, the engineers were the operators and they shined through. And while Loranimals mostly operated in out of the way places without much visibility, they earned the glory none the less, even if it was not as often mentioned. You made a difference to the nation.

With the closure, take a moment to remember those who went before you, what they accomplished and the expected level of performance they established. For six decades, Coast Guard engineers and technicians upheld their legacy. Job well done, you have much to be proud of.

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26 October 1945

From: Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas

To: Commandant, United States Coast Guard

Via: Chief of Naval Operations

Subject: Loran Service

1. The installation, maintenance, and operation of Loran service in the Pacific Ocean Areas by the officers and men of the United States Coast Guard contributed in great measure to the successful prosecution of the war against the Japanese. The navigational service afforded to our sea and air forces through the use of Loran Service was of vital importance not only in the transportation demands in moving troops and material, but in actual combat operations as well.

2. The Coast Guard personnel who constructed the Loran stations conquered many hazardous and difficult problems of weather and terrain, and those officers and men who have manned the isolated stations have done a magnificent and exacting job in transmitting Loran signals.

3. It is requested that the appreciation of the Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, be expressed to all officers and men of the United States Coast Guard who participated in the extensive Loran program for their outstanding performance in support of the operations which resulted in the final victory.


/s/ C. W. Nimitz

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Please feel free to pass along to all those who served at EECEN, LSU or
elsewhere whose address I don't have.

Regards,

GMT

Shape the Technology to the user, NOT the Reverse

CDR Gary M. Thomas
Commanding Officer
USCG LORAN Support Unit
12001 Pacific Avenue
Wildwood, New Jersey 08260-3232