1952 IBM Card Programmed Calculator - CPC Computer History Archives; WWII, Plugboard, vacuum tubes

080523 Like and subscribe. This is an archive, check the link in the end if you are. A vintage glimpse of the IBM Card Programmed Calculator used by the U.S. Army in Germany. Footage of the CPC is very brief. We left in surrounding material for content & historical value. Nice shot of instructor removing and explaining program control board. “Old School” or vintage computer lovers might appreciate this little tease from the past. The “war dog” training school is just a bonus for us dog lovers. Hope you enjoy. (see details below)

Details:
In 1949 IBM released the Card Programmed Calculator (“CPC”) which combined the model 604 calculator with the 402 (or later 417- 418) type Electronic Accounting Machine and a 521 High-Speed Card Punch. The CPC sold over 2,500 units.
The CPC, also called the “Card Programmed Electronic Calculator” was the first digital computer used in the space program and was instrumental in the development of the U.S. Army Redstone missile which carried the first US satellite into orbit, and launched the first US astronauts and their Mercury capsule into sub-orbital flight in 1961.
The CPC was a versatile general purpose computer designed to perform any predetermined sequence of arithmetical operations coded on standard 80-column punched cards.
The CPC was popular with U.S. Government agencies, laboratories and aircraft manufacturers.
References:

IBM Archives
https://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/vintage/vintage_4506VV2198.html

John Sheldon & Liston Tatum article:
http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/xxx-ibm-cpc.html

IBM Docs at Bitsavers.org
http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/punchedCard/Training/A24-1010-0_IBM_Operators_Reference.pdf
Thanks to PublicResourceOrg, the full version of the film “Big Picture: Army Technical Schools in Europe” can be seen at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsByes3Ni7w

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