[ARC5] USAF usage of the A.R.C. R-22 BCB receiver

[Jack Antonio]

First, when I say A.R.C. I am referring to the Aircraft Radio
Corporation, *not* the JAN AN/ARC designations.

There was some discussion about 4 years ago, of this receiver, and
why the USAF wanted to purchase them. And I've seen no answer to
the question, just some speculation. Until now.

The R-22 was a late 50s Type 12 receiver that specifically covered
the AM broadcast band from 530 to 1600 kHz. It used an A.R.C. C-57 
control head.

Over on the Army-Radios list, a gentleman from Europe asked about
this receiver, and posted some scans from the Pilots Manual for
the F-86L Sabre. And the R-22 was a part of the avionics for this
aircraft. Yes, no mistake.

The pilots manual states that the receiver is not for navigation, but
is used to monitor the AM broadcast band.

The F-86L was the F-86D Sabre Dog, with upgrades to work with the
SAGE system.

So why would an F-86L interceptor pilot need to monitor the AM broadcast 
band? Is there any documentation out there that explains this?

Jack Antonio
WA7DIA