[ARC5] "Command Set" vs. "Liaison Set"

[David Stinson]

Re:  WWII Aircraft Radio "Command Set" vs. "Liaison Set"

We assume everyone knows this,  but I've recently gotten
two requests for this information.  New members do 
come along and we should not take them for granted.  
So, copied here for general information:

 The WWII Aircraft "Command Set" mission was to be used 
by the pilot/copilot both to send/receive commands and 
information to the rest of the aircraft in the flight and also 
to talk with control towers / ground controllers. 
The Radio Op set them up at the start of the flight and, 
as long as there was no malfunction or loss
of his "Liaison" set (SCR-287, AN/ARC-8 etc.),
did not mess with or use them; they were for the pilots.
Command Sets were used on CW only in an emergency
when phone wasn't possible, or when the Liaison set
had been knocked-out or, in a fighter,
to "lock down" the CW key so the ground
could take a directional bearing- a function 
provided by a Liaison set in a larger aircraft.

The "Liaison" set (BC-375, ARC-13, GP-7 and associated
receivers etc.) were used by the Radio Operator to 
communicate with headquarters, send strike reports,
get/send weather reports, take radio bearings,
 answer and/or send distress reports- 
in short, all the radio stuff that the pilots 
and nava-guessers didn't mess with.
Liaison sets were rarely used on AM.

Late in the war when the AN/ARC-8 was more
widely installed, the line between the two sets
began to "blur" and you start to see a "pilot's control box"
that selects air/ground channels on the ART-13 for
the pilot to use.  This was quite late in WWII;
for most of the war, the distinction between the 
two sets held.

Take care of yourself, 
73 DE Dave AB5S