[ARC5] T-30 throat mic.

[Robert Eleazer]

The T-30 could be keyed by a PTT switch designed to be hung around the pilot's neck, part of a cord that adapted the two pin connector of the T-30 to a PL-68 plug; I have one of those, somewhere, but I modified it to work with a modern headset.  Fighter aircraft had PTT buttons on the stick or built into the throttle handle (e.g, P-51).

Early in the war the standard USAAF oxygen mask was the A-8.  It was designed to fit around the nose and left the mouth free and had a rebreather bag (balloon).  I suppose it could be used with either a T-17 or a T-30. 

Later the A-14 mask came into use; it was soft rubber, fit over the lower face and chin, snapped onto a cloth helmet or could be strapped around the head, and could be equipped with a built in microphone.  Versions of the A-14 were used for decades thereafter.  The later MBU-5P was a similar arrangement to the A-14 but had an hard outer shell and was designed to clip into a jet pilot type helmet.  The old A-8 was used for many years after WWII on board medivac aircraft since it could be used if required on personnel who had mouth and jaw injuries - but of course they did not need a mike.

My first job out of college was in the AFLC organization that had responsibility for those masks and other things.  The guy who set next to me was the mask expert.

Wayne