[ARC5] VHF versus HF

[Robert Eleazer]

I believe that the RAF switched to VHF primarily due to crowding of the HF channels. After all they were not the only one using 3-6 MHZ. The RAF pilot Robert Townsend even described a case in which his Hurricane squadron was scrambled to intercept Me-110's attacking a British convoy and arrived to discover that the RAF and Luftwaffe units were using the same frequencies. The German squadron leader was singing "September in the Rain" as he gave directions for the attack. 

VHF was a necessity for the USAAF in Europe because the consequences of U.S. fighters not being able to talk to the same ground control that was scrambling RAF fighters for intercepts was unacceptable. As for emergency navigation, one approach they adopted was to take SCR-584 autotrack gunlaying radars and use them to find the range and bearing to lost aircraft who came up on VHF "Channel D." 

By the way, when the RN got modified Spitfires for use on board carriers as Seafires they had to take the VHF gear out and put HF gear in to make them compatible with the Navy's communications.

In any case, the advantages of VHF versus HF notwithstanding, if you were flying a P-38, P-40, P-47, or P51 you either had one or the other. There were no dual installations that I know of, Europe or Pacific. Of course it appears that at least some of the VHF equipped fighters also had BC-120's or Detrolas for picking up beacons and tower communications.

In Burma the USAAF P-51A's retained 274-N while the RAF was using VHF. The result was the RAF was less effective in performing close air support than the USAAF, whose fighters could actually talk to the ground troops. Part of this was basic philosophy. For the most part the air forces were of the opinion that they could do their missions without being bothered by chatting with the ground troops; some senior officers were even horrified by the very idea of some Army private overruling the briefed instructions provided by the staffs at home base. The Air Commandos in Burma operated on a different principle: talk directly to the guy you are supporting. This was later adopted in Europe, except they used pilots on the ground as FACs using VHF radios.


As for British B-17's and B-24's the RAF used them for airborne ECM, especially jamming. Both those airplanes had much better altitude performance than did the British bombers, by virtue of their two stage superchargers. It gave better coverage, and besides that, when jamming its nice to be able to fly higher than the enemy interceptors.

It really must have been complicated in the Pacific, with the local situation determining whether you had HF or VHF.

Wayne

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