[ARC5] Command Sets for Longer Range?

[releazer at earthlink.net]

KK5F:  "It's amazing how much more versatile and useful the above 1944 AN/ARC-5> was compared to the above 1942 SCR-274-N for similar size and weight."

Recently I got to wondering if HF ARC-5;s were used for longer range than what we normally think of.  Early in WW2 an important mission for Scout Bomber Douglas and Scout Bomber 2 Curtiss as well as Grumman TBF's was scouting.  The Japanese used floatplanes launched from cruisers for scouting for the fleet but the USN mainly used carrier aircraft.  Those Scout Bombers had substantial radio installations, such as the ART-13 in the TBF.  But by 1944 the USN was using F6F's for scouting.  I presume that reflected better navaids, such as the ARR-2, but I wonder if an ARC-5 installation, with 5 channels of VHF and one of HF, could have been used to report back to the fleet.

Wayne
WB5WSV