[ARC5] Navigation Use of Low Freq Command Sets

[Mike Hanz]

I have no records of any WWII fighters carrying the *heavy* Bendix DF 
rigs (SCR-269 and its predecessors/successors like the ARN-7), probably 
because of weight concerns.  Even the MN-26 was no lightweight.  The 
ARN-6 came along at the end of the war, but was still pretty hefty 
compared with one of the earlier Bendix loops like the DW or DU family 
and their commercial brethren.  Those earlier manually steered loops 
pretty much had to have a separate operator in the back seat, though 
there are certainly photos of them in single seat open cockpits, 
probably for publicity purposes.  I can't imaging trying to navigate 
with one and still fly the plane.  The radio range receivers and the 
Navy's ZB-*/ARR-1 homing system were about all that was available to a 
fighter pilot until after the war.  By 1950, aircraft engines had become 
more powerful and capable of carrying more weight, so an automatic rig 
like the ARN-6 was a godsend in smaller aircraft.

73,
Mike

On 4/29/2011 2:22 PM, Bob Macklin wrote:
> I was wondering? I have some cockpit photos of some early fighters and I see
> no RDF gauge.
>
> In Korea (1950/1954) we had ARN-6 radio nav sets in our aircraft. In the
> fighters the loop was in the canopy behind the seat.
>
> But they were not used during the war except for flights to Japan. All
> flights were VFR!
>
> > From sunup to sundown we had 2 aircraft on strip alert except during bad
> weather. No one flew then in bad weather!
>
> We also had 2 M-16 antiaircraft halftracks at each end of the runway. But
> they were not manned at night.
>
> "Bed Check Charlie" came through most evenings right at sundown!
>
> Bob Macklin
> K5MYJ
> Seattle, Wa.
> "Real Radios Glow In The Dark"
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert Eleazer"<releazer at earthlink.net>
> To:<arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 11:04 AM
> Subject: [ARC5] Navigation Use of Low Freq Command Sets
>
>
>> For fighter aircraft the 190-550 KHZ sets were used with the AN ranges and
>> for receiving control tower instructions and thus needed no directional
>> display or loop antenna.  And while the BC-453's were not installed in the
>> fighters equipped with the SCR-522 in Europe it appears that the "Detrola"
>> (generic name for the Detrola Model 438 and BC-1206-B and C sets) were
>> used for LF beacon navigation there, based on pilots' description of
>> navigation techniques.
>>
>> Wayne
>> WB5WSV
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