[ARC5] More on the "No HF" Myth

[Paul H. Anderson]

On Fri, 25 Jan 2002, Mike wrote:

> Todd Bigelow - PS wrote:
> 
> > I realize it's long after the fact and things could have been changed
> > since the 1940s, but I've been through two B-17s in the last decade and
> > both had BC-348/BC-375/SCR-274N gear installed. I looked the aircraft
> > over pretty well(spent two days in one) to see if anything was
> > missing(any large gaps, patterns of holes where shockmounts could've
> > been mounted, etc), didn't see anything to indicate any other gear had
> > been installed.
> 
> I have read that *very* few B-17s and B-24s were returned from the UK
> back to the US following the war.  Apparently they weren't worth the
> effort and cost to reclaim.  The B-29 had come on the scene for Pacific
> Theater use.  I wonder how many of the surviving B-17 and B-24 airframes
> now in the USA actually served in the UK.  This would be critical,

I agree: from what I've read, only one or two of the surviving B-17's on
the airshow circuit were used in WWII combat.  The history of most B-17
airframes indicates they were produced, sat around in the US for awhile,
then were purchased by either government agencies for transport or
research use, or were sold directly to commercial interests, who
presumably used them as fire bombers.  I've got some books (commonly
available) that talk about the history of the airframes in detail, and
this might shed some light on the subject.

If it is true that aircraft were produced new without radios (which I
_though_ was the case), then the first, apparently stock installation in
many of these airframes would be whatever was most appropriate for thier
immediate use.  If the survivors were mostly US based govt research and
firebomber use, then the choices might well be more skewed in that
direction rather than what was used in the ETO.

Returning the aircraft really would be difficult to do.  It was hard
enough to get them over there in the first place (i.e. landing midway in
Greenland at a relatively small airstrip).  Dunno if the B-17's all
stopped over or not - just remembering the story of the Lost Squadron.

Hope this helps... I'm very interested in reading all these observations
and theories.

Paul