[ARC5] Command and Liaison Sets for Tanks

[Robert Eleazer]

I have been reading the Haynes M4 Sherman Tank Owner's Workshop Manual.  Despite its name it is not on how to change the oil in a Sherman tank but provides a detailed history of the vehicle as well as extensive information on its construction.

The book has very little on the radios, but what is there is interesting.  It says the SCR-508/528/538/608B type radios were used, as you would expect, but also mentions that command tanks had additional radios, such as the SCR-193, SCR-245, or SCR-506.

So it appears that the tanks had the low band VHF radios for local "Command" use in a manner similar to the SCR-274-N in aircraft, while the Command tanks also had the HF radios for use in Liaison functions, in a manner analogous to the BC-375 and BC-348 in aircraft.  The Liaison radios used BC-312's receivers for the SCR-193 and SCR-245 while the SCR-506 used the BC-652-A, a fine example of which I have in my bedroom and one that does a good job of stubbing my toe on occasion.

Anyway, this clears up a mystery for me!

Wayne