"Skyking"- question
person11
I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
callsign is usually used in this manner:
"Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. alpha, foxtrot, 2,7, lima" etc.
This is usually repeated 3 times then followed by a message.
Any information appreciated.
Al
Mark J. Fine
person11 wrote:
> I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
> know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
This is a part of the early warning preparedness activity of the USAF,
basically "checking in." Had it been an actual emergency (and
hopefully we never will), you would hear a much different message.
73,
[ Mark J. Fine -- FineWare * Smart R8 Control * TTY Reader ]
[ 11252 Cardinal Drive * SWBC Interval Signals ]
[ Remington, VA 22734-2032 * Smart Audio Control ]
[ United States of America * ---- mf...@crosslink.net ---- ]
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[ FineWare WWW Page --- http://www.crosslink.net/~mfine/ ]
Fritz Anderson
person11 <pers...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
> know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
> callsign is usually used in this manner:
>
> "Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. alpha, foxtrot, 2,7, lima" etc.
>
> This is usually repeated 3 times then followed by a message.
SkyKing is the general callsign to all USSTRATCOM (Stategic Command,
formerly SAC) alert forces. These are drill/filler Emergency Action
Messages. Keeps the crews accustomed to dealing with war orders, and
prevents potential enemies from detecting war orders just from the break
in routine.
--
Fritz Anderson fri...@tezcat.com <http://www.tezcat.com/~fritza/>
I don't do .INI, .BAT, or .SYS files. I don't assign apps to files.
I don't configure peripherals or networks before using them.
I have a computer to do all that. I have a Macintosh, not a hobby.
Nick Marsh
In article <318BF9...@ix.netcom.com>, person11 <pers...@ix.netcom.com> says:
>
>I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
>know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
>callsign is usually used in this manner:
>
>"Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. alpha, foxtrot, 2,7, lima" etc.
>
>This is usually repeated 3 times then followed by a message.
>
>
>Al
Hi Al, this is a broadcast used by the U.S. Air Force, I used to send them
back when I was an air/ground radio operator. I believe the intent was to send
an instruction or test message to SAC aircraft that monitor the GHFS
frequencies. I remember when things were really hot in Vietnam some nights
we sent a bunch, other nights were just a regular scheduled broadcast.
The person on the receiving end presumably could de-code it to mean something
and to be sure it was an accurate message an authenicator followed that had to
be looked up in some top secret code book. I don't even know if they still
use the same callsign but "LOOKING GLASS" was the SAC airborne command post.
There was always a cp bird in the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Since the end of the cold war I'm sure they have cut back. There are some books
advertised in Popular Communications that give all the freqs and what some
of the traffic is about.
Hope this helps...
Nick
WB4SQI
Rob McLean
Mark J. Fine wrote:
>
> person11 wrote:
> > I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
> > know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
>
> basically "checking in." Had it been an actual emergency (and
> hopefully we never will), you would hear a much different message.
>
> 73,
>
> [ Mark J. Fine -- FineWare * Smart R8 Control * TTY Reader ]
> [ 11252 Cardinal Drive * SWBC Interval Signals ]
> [ Remington, VA 22734-2032 * Smart Audio Control ]
> [ United States of America * ---- mf...@crosslink.net ---- ]
> [ 3834N 07751W * ----- m.f...@genie.com ----- ]
> [ FineWare WWW Page --- http://www.crosslink.net/~mfine/ ]
I remember seeing something like this in Pat Frank's post-nuclear war
book "Alas, Babylon"...
RMc
Bryan
> person11 <pers...@ix.netcom.com> writes:
> I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
> know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
>
> "Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. alpha, foxtrot, 2,7, lima" etc.
>
> This is usually repeated 3 times then followed by a message.
I believe these are transmissions from SAC (Strategic Air Command) ground
bases to planes in the air. The Air Force used to keep command and control
planes in the air around the clock (military version of 747). I think bomber
squadrons (B-52s) were also kept up. The end of the cold war has certainly
lead to a huge down scaling from the kind of military activity found ten or
twenty years ago. The 'do not answer' means to maintain radio silence.
Bryan
mail...@pop.net
Jeff Pleines
In article <4mkdv0$o...@news.vic.com>, nickw...@wwd.net (Nick Marsh) says:
Anybody heard of the callsign 'Darkstar"? What does this refer to?
>
>In article <318BF9...@ix.netcom.com>, person11 <pers...@ix.netcom.com> says:
>>
>>I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
>>know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
>>callsign is usually used in this manner:
>>
>>"Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. alpha, foxtrot, 2,7, lima" etc.
>>
>>This is usually repeated 3 times then followed by a message.
>>
John Kolb
Mark J. Fine (mf...@crosslink.net) wrote:
: person11 wrote:
: > I often hear the (military?) callsign of "Sky King" and would like to
: > know what type of aircraft or activity is associated with it. The
: This is a part of the early warning preparedness activity of the USAF,
: basically "checking in." Had it been an actual emergency (and
: hopefully we never will), you would hear a much different message.
Didn't hear it directly but some years ago, I understand there
was a drill that went wrong, and the test message did not start
this is a drill. Heard that you could really hear the stress
in the announcers voice as they garbled the copy, thinking it
was the real thing.
Hugh Stegman
>Didn't hear it directly but some years ago, I understand there
>was a drill that went wrong, and the test message did not start
>this is a drill.
This was something else. Somehow, I don't know how, the CONELRAD alert
wire got triggered from NORAD and all the bells and whistles went off in
the broadcasting stations. It's said that surprisingly few actually left
the air. They didn't believe it, or they were just scared speechless.
This isn't the EAM/Foxtrot/SKYKING which is an internal signal to assets of
USAF or STRATCOMM.
-hugh
