Tim Moore
Airman
Carl Norden began working with Elmer Sperry in 1911, and their focus was on gyroscopic stabilization of Naval ships and aircraft using rather large gyros. In addition, the Navy requested gyro stabilization for their gunsights. Norden had a huge dislike for the Army, possibly because his father had prejudiced him against Army leadership and officers, and so it was natural for him to have an affinity with the Navy. After leaving Sperry a couple of years later, he maintained his Navy contacts and consulted with them on a variety of projects. He designed some of the earliest aircraft catapults, using a flywheel mechanism, and these were put into the USS Lexington and Saratoga in 1920. As he developed the Norden Bombsight, he continued to work with the Navy, and the Navy Nordens were numbered by "Mark" , whereas the AAF versions were numbered by "M"; the last version for the Navy was the "Mark XV" which was the equivalent to the AAF "M-9B". Norden refused to sell his bombsights to the Army, and so all of the AAF bombsights had to be purchased from the Navy. You can see on all Norden bombsights today on the data plate "Bureau of Ordnance", which was Navy, and most will have a small white anchor stamped on the front. Ultimately, the Navy abandoned high-altitude precision bombing for dive bombing and torpedo bombing, but Carl Norden and his bombsight were inextricably linked to the US Navy. Spent time today restoring two Norden bombsights for the US Naval Museum of Aviation in Pensacola, and will continue the restorations this year. Below are the two Museum curators with the two Nordens. A third is mounted in their PBY Catalina.
Last edited by a moderator:
