The RCA Selectron -- Project Whirlwind PRELIM--

The RCA Selectron -- Project Whirlwind

These excerpts and documents include reproductions of material from the libraries of the Massachusets Institute of Technology. All documents property of, and all rights reserved by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology unless otherwise noted.

MIT Project Whirlwind repository

Project 6345, better known as Project Whirlwind, was the key computer research effort leading to the AN/FSQ-7 SAGE air defense control computer system. Shaped-beam cathode ray tubes were key components of the system but they were not yet commercial off the shelf (COTS) items. Project 6345's group 65 was responsible for electron tubes including CRTs and actively participated with and supported both Hughes and Convair, for the Typotron and Charactron respectively, in the successful reduction to practice of these display devices. The labs and staff of MIT as well as numerous leading electronics businesses made major contributions to the practical realization of these devices. Below are excerpts from the bi-weekly progress reports concerning these CRTs. After the listing of the publication date the major topics and company names are cited.

11 September 1953

Rectangular screen Charactrons