[ARC5] Turkey Shoot Radios

[Robert Eleazer]

I have been reading a book that is the definitive work on the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot of June of 1944. It says that the U.S. force involved, Task Force 58, was at the time in the process of changing over to newer radio equipment, leaving the ships with only two channels that they all had in common. And while those two channels were over badly overworked they managed to do a superb job of fighter direction.

Would this be the changeover from HF Command Sets to VHF ARC-5?

Note that when the inbound Japanese carrier aircraft were spotted TF58 had 82 Hellcats airborne, launched another 140 Hellcats right away, then recovered dozens of others that had been attacking Guam and launched them at the attacking Japanese too. And those are only the fighters; they had some Helldivers and Avengers aloft as well.  That's a lot of airplanes to control, even with 6 fighter directors, and doing it with only two channels that worked with all the airplanes must have be a challenge, to put it mildly.

Wayne

WB5WSV