[ARC5] Airplane radios in tanks

[Robert Eleazer]

I believe it was Robert Downs who recently mentioned he had assisted in installing some SCR-283 equipment in an M3 Stuart tank restoration.  This makes a lot of sense, but I wonder how common that aircraft equipment use in tanks and ground vehicles was - and for that matter the reverse situation, ground radios in aircraft.   I know the SCR-522 was used as a ground vehicle radio for FAC use.  And I know that the L-4's in Europe were at first fitted with light aircraft HF gear and then were equipped with gear such as BC-1335, BC-659, or BC-620.  Were any 274-N used that way?  They would seem to be naturals for that.

Also, I have always been fascinated by the fact that the No. 19 set had a separate UHF transceiver built in.  This sounds like a great idea, to have a short range set for talking just among the tanks of a unit, so that the enemy would have trouble monitoring it.  But I wonder how common such use was. I guess the No.29 set had this feature as well.  Anyone know about the use of that feature?  Typical postwar amateur conversion info on the No.19 seemed to say to take that UHF set out and throw it away.

Regards,

Wayne, WB5WSV