AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Burroughs AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group was a United States Air Force air defense command, control, and coordination system, part of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment system. It was intended to replace vacuum tube IBM AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Centrals. Developed under Electronic Systems Division's 416M Program, in 1962 Burroughs "won the contract to provide a military version of its D825" modular data processing system for the AN/GSA-51 to be used at "BUIC II radar sites" (follow-on to the initial Back-Up Interceptor Control System, BUIC) BUIC II was 1st used at North Truro Z-10 in 1966, and the Hamilton AFB BUIC II was installed in the former MCC building.
The first D825 computer was originally built for the Navy Research Laboratory with a designation of AN/GYK-3(V). The D825 contained between one and four 48 bit central processor/arithmetic units, up to 16 memory modules and up to 20 IO modules. The BUIC systems used "two computer modules, six memory modules and three input/output modules". The computer was designed for high availability and could still operate if any one of its modules failed.
In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "AN/GSA-51" designation represents the 51st design of an Army-Navy electronic device for ground special auxiliary system. The JETDS system also now is used to name all Department of Defense electronic systems.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group” is open-knowledge reference entry. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through GSA-51, Radar and Course, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “open-knowledge reference entry” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 6, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q16954613. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1962 and 1966.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group primary sources, AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group archive and GSA-51 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “AN/GSA-51 Radar Course Directing Group” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.