[ARC5] History of VHF in WWII

[Robert Eleazer]

The Book "The Oxford Companion to WWII" (would have been a good companion in a war, thick enough to stop a pretty big bullet) says that the RAF made the decision to develop VHF radio in 1937 and that by September 1940 sixteen RAF fighter squadrons had been equipped with VHF, but that the Battle of Britain was fought mainly with HF sets.

Just how crowded the HF channels could get was illustrated by a description by a Hurricane pilot of one interception very early in the Battle of Britain. Some BF-110's were attacking a convoy. He got there and discovered that his unit and the Germans were using the same frequency. He could hear the German commander singing "September in the Rain" as he gave orders to his fighters to attack the ships. Considering how the Germans had terrible communications problems during the Battle, with their fighters and bombers never able to talk to one another, the fact that on occasion they could talk to the RAF is rather amusing.

Wayne

WB5WSV