[ARC5] HF/VHF Documentation

[Geoff]

Excellent presentation Dave, concise and very readable.

There is no mystery to the later move to VHF and even UHF....technology 
improved considerably as did the reliable range once civilian R&D and 
production resumed.
OTOH HF is still in use if the monster log periodic on the FAA center in 
Nashua NH is an indication. Likely for over the Atlantic heading to Boston, 
NYC, etc. I'll have to see if I know any hams that still work there.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Stinson" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
To: "ARC-5 List" <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 9:11 AM
Subject: [ARC5] HF/VHF Documentation


> Work and family issues have been pressing very hard.
> I haven't had time for many long emails and am behind on
> reading some as well.  Apoligies to friends- I'll get there ;-)
> Clock is ticking right now, so I will summarize a couple of
> subjects on which I had intended to deliver more data.
> Perhaps later.
>
> I've been combing USAAC sectionals for CONUS and
> Central-South America from 1943, 44 and 45.
>
> Summer of 1943, the War had been going-on
> in Europe for four years and in east Asia, for ten.
> That's a big chunk of WWII, and a whole lot of
> aircraft radio went on in that time.
> Most Towers were TX on MF/LF RX on HF,
> with a few RX/TX on HF.
> All Air-to-Ground comm and Direction Finding was HF.
>
> Here is a sample of radio resources available in typical
> "rural" and "urban" CONUS and Canadian flight
> sections, showing the total number of radio communication
> facilities (including Tower, Air-Ground, direction-finding
> freqs and what we would now call "Unicom,"
> but not beacons or ranges):
>
> All of southern Canada:  12 facilities, 1 VHF-capable.
> Bismark, ND:  6 facilities, no VHF.
> Oakland, CA:  25 facilities, 8 VHF capable.
>
> Most section radio facilities without any VHF capablility:
> Nashville:  29 facilities, No VHF.
>
> Most VHF capable section:
> New York:  51 facilities, 17 VHF capable (including
> additions made in pencil by a radio op, so some of these
> may be from a later date).
> The few VHF channels were Tower or "Unicom".
> All Air/Ground and Direction Finding channels were HF.
>
> Sample section from 1943
> http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/Section/1943Section.jpg
>
> In August of 1945,  the situation for Tower freqs had very
> much reversed.   Nearly all USAAC Towers were VHF
> capable and most "unicom" stations were VHF,
> but retained their MF,LF and HF channels.
> About 2/3 to 3/4 of Naval Air Stations also had
> VHF Tower or "unicom" channels.
> Most retained their LF/MF/HF channels.
> There were still very few VHF stations in Canada.
>
> With a very few exceptions,
> Air to Ground and Direction Finding channels
> remained on HF.
> Summer, 1945.... HF... lots of it.
>
> Sample Section from 1945
> http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/Section/1945Section.jpg
>
> Big surprise:  Summer 1945 document shows 50+
> Army Airways Communications Stations and
> no VHF channels listed among them.
>
> Most aircraft that were in service with HF rigs
> retained those rigs, unless they were
> in individual commands where USAAC
> ordered otherwise.
> This is why 99.9% of  towers and
> the other comm boys kept HF on line:
> they had lots of aircraft using it.
> I have documentation here of Navy F4U fighters
> in *October of 1944* with ATA/ARA installed.
> I'll be posting on that later.
>
> Were there exceptions to all this?  Certainly- many.
> In a hot war, "the book" is only for the REM*S
> and inspections ;-).
>
> The flight sectionals are solid documentation:
> As late as Summer of 1945 (even into December)
> over most of the world, HF was very much an active system.
> In Summer 1945, there were *5* VHF "radio range" stations
> in the entire U.S., all in the northeast.
>
> This idea of a fixed date where "VHF replaced HF",
> or that "HF wasn't used" just isn't so, guys.
> The whole thing was a slow, "flowing river" of change
> that took a long time, with lots of "eddys and backwashes"
> along the way.  VHF didn't even become paramount until
> long after the guns fell silent.
>
> More later... got to get to work.
>
> 73 Dave AB5S
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