[ARC5] USN Airships (and Some Radio)

[Mike Morrow]

Dave wrote:

> I found some photos of the interior of the K-airship gondola.
> They are indeed equipped with:
>
> GP-x / RU Liaison
> GF / RU Command
> LM Freq meter

Mike Hanz's website has an excerpt from a 1943 training publication
called "Aircraft Radio", published by Naval Air Technical Training
Center, Ward Island, Corpus Christi:

 http://aafradio.org/docs/Navy-radio-gear-1943.pdf

The very last line from this document lists K-Type airships with
this:

GP-7  and RU-19  Liaison
GF-12 and RU-17  Command
DZ-A             RDF
ZB-1             Homing Adapter
LM-7             Frequency Meter
--               NAF Filter (Beam)

The original text (not included at the web site) states
that the radio information in this table is from 1942.

> Plus IFF and Radar.

Does anyone recognize the electronic gear used by the
crewman on the port side, forward of the engineer's
panel?  http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/Kairshipinter.jpg

I've never seen this explicitly listed anywhere, but
the ABK-* Mark III IFF would make sense, I guess.  Perhaps
an ASB-* surface search radar too, but I've never seen such
an item listed.  I don't recognize what's shown in the
photo above.

> This has me questioning the TCS video.

It would be very difficult to understand why a TCS-* would
be used in this application.  It would be a departure from
expected, for no apparent good reason.

> http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/KairshipRadio.jpg

These and other related airship photos are shown at

  http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-134AirshipPhotos.htm

These are said to be from November 1942.

There's a very interesting and well-written history of the
USN's lighter-than-air program that is accessed at 

  http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/lta-m.html

There are photos of the 1931 USS Macon available, including radio
gear, at:

 http://www.moffettfieldmuseum.org/photos/showimg.php?file=/Macon/Interior/macon_inside11.jpg

This almost looks like a shipboard radio installation, though I'm
unfamiliar with the equipment shown.  The interior images at this
site appear to have been made before the Macon was completed.

There's a fantastic 20 minute video at

  http://oceanslive.gso.uri.edu/past-events-video-gallery#
  (then select the "Mission to find the dirigible Macon" image)

This has many minutes of actual filming of F9C Sparrowhawk launches
and recoveries from the Macon.  In addition, there are some radio 
shots at minute 13:10 of what I believe is a 1934 RU-2/GP or RU-3/GP-1.
At minute 13:35 there's a better shot of the radio installation in
service that Nick cited above, along with the radioman who was one
of the two casualties of the loss of Macon in February 1935.

There's no certainty that the RU-2/GP or RU-3/GP-1 installation shown
in the above film was the one aboard the Macon, but it does appear
from the image surroundings that it is from some airship.  The 1933
under-construction installation of what I theorize was an RU-2/GM is
shown at

 http://www.moffettfieldmuseum.org/photos/showimg.php?file=/Macon/Interior/macon_inside13.jpg

The GM is discussed briefly at the top of page 68 in this interesting
1935 document found on Mike Hanz's site:

  http://aafradio.org/docs/1935-Navy-Radio-Gear.pdf

That page states that the GM was used with the RU-2 for VF (fighter)
and VB (bomber) squadrons, so an installation on an airship wouldn't
be too unexpected.  SHIPS 242A says that the GM covered 3000 to 452
and 6000 to 9050 kHz (A1, A2, A3) and was made by National in 1933.

Perhaps this had been replaced by a RU-3/GP-1 by early 1935.

Mike / KK5F