[ARC5] Navy LM Use

[J. Forster]

It may have to do w/ how the aircraft were used.

My understanding is Army aircraft pretty much left home base to go to a
predefined target, as part of a group, dropped their bombs and (hopefully)
returned to home base. A Liason function was secondary to the mission and
may have been used only sparsely.

The Navy aircraft were used on maritime patrol missions and were generally
more on their own. Their mission was to spot the opposition and report
back. Because recon was the primary mission, the Liason function was
essential to mission success. Hence the LM-xx

FWIW,

-John

==================



> Dave's latest excellent pictures bring up the question again of why the
> USN included an LM frequency meter with essentially every large aircraft
> radio installation.  This continued postwar, with the Navy version of the
> C-119 having an LM installed.
>
> Of course the USAAF had the BC-221 and theoretically, at least, the unit
> of issue was one with every B-17 and B-24 and perhaps other aircraft as
> well - but it is rarely seen in photographs.
>
> Obviously, the BC-221 was battery powered, and with internal batteries,
> and thus more suitable for hauling around from aircraft to aircraft.  In
> fact, the only wartime picture of a BC-221 I have ever seen is on
> Guadalcanal, where a technician is standing in front of a P-400 Airacobra
> with a BC-221. The caption says that the "cheap" radios in the aircraft
> required a daily retuning to keep them on frequency.  It appears the
> radios were SCR-283.
>
> So why did the USN place such emphasis on having an LM freq meter on
> board?  Were their radios more prone to getting off frequency or was there
> some operational need, such as the type of use of the radios?
>
> Wayne
>
>
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