Below: When McDonnell began producing the F3H-2 with added
Sparrow-III Missile capability North Island was given the job to
develop a prototype installation of the Sparrow-III system in the
F3H-2N. I was a member of a team of engineers and planners who went
to McDonnell to obtain the F3H-2 Sparrow-III installation data. We
developed the prototype modification and, along with MCAS Cherry
Point, produced a large quantity of F3H-2 equivalent aircraft which
were redesignated F3H-2N/2. In the group picture in front of the
prototype F3H-2/2N, I'm the taller of the two men between our
team leader and Captain J. Bowen as they are shaking hands. That
missile is an old Sparrow-I someone dug up for the photograph.
Above, left: Howard Rundberg, 1975, Mission Systems Section
Head in F-4 Engineering Division at North Island NAS. Howard's career
in the Navy began during WW II, after which he served in many
engineering roles until his retirement in 1980.
Above, right: North Island was the designated overhaul point
for the E-2 and the early warning radar system. An antenna test range
was constructed for testing the Rotodome Antenna. I was on the range
design team and wrote the test and adjustment procedures for the
antenna. The procedures were so extensive that I worked overtime
evenings until they were completed. One evening I took a break and
walked around the building shown in the picture. I saw a person in
camouflage crawling on the ground. He gestured and said: "Shhh,
I'm a Navy SEAL lieutenant and we're invading North
Island". Okay, I went inside and back to writing my procedures.
