[Boatanchors] Re WW2 German Tank Frequency

Wed, 23 Apr 2003 11:30:55 -0400

Todd, 	

Take a shot at it with a Tank? (grin)   	

It was a farm in PA. The military used it for two years to monitor the Tanks in
Africa, and other places. Or so I am told by historians. 	

One of the grandsons of William Halligan has contacted us by mail and by
telephone. Some very interesting conversations and discussions, indeed. I do
know that Hallicrafters produced a lot of equipment for the military, much of
which is still classified today. Some products did not bear the name of
Hallicrafters or any other markings to identify the manufacturer. how many were
made, how many still exist, where they are, nobody knows, or is saying. 	

Perhaps one day, when, or if, this is no longer classified, I will be able to
relate some fascinating stories. For the present, let it suffice to say, that
much of the known history is not as it seems. 	

Duane W8DBF 	

----------
From: Todd Bigelow - PS <[email protected]>
To: Duane Fischer, W8DBF <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Re WW2 German Tank Frequency
Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2003 11:11 AM

I'll take a shot at this, even though I can't remember the details off 
the top of my head. Frequencies were in the 25 or 27-30 mcs range. Some 
site in Massachusetts called Telegraph Hill or Signal Hill was a site 
used for receiving these signals. I thought it was discovered down 
there, but I could be wrong. Apparently it was a good year in the 
sunspot cycle and signals were coming in clearly from the Afrika Corps. 
Today it would be called 'skip'
on the CB band.

Somewhere I have an article on this from the late 70s/early 80s 
sometime. Think it appeared in PopComm or a similar publication. 
Interesting article.

No idea if they Hallicrafters made a special rig for listening to tanks, 
but the earlier S-27 (later the S-36) was snapped up in whatever 
quantities the Brits could get them for early countermeasures work 
against Germany. The germans used a system called 'Knickebein' (which 
translates to something like 'crooked leg' or 'break leg') which 
utilized 2 radio beams to guide bombers over targets in England. The 
S-27 was placed into small aircraft and used to locate these beams. The 
beams were then jammed, some stories claim the beams were 'bent' to 
misdirect bombers into dropping their bombs over open fields and the 
like. Very interesting reading for sure. It's really incredible how 
radio was used in WWII and how many things that gained fame much later 
were actually discovered during or even before the war.

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ

Duane Fischer, W8DBF wrote:

>	
>An elderly Ham, licensed since the thirties, told me that he thought it was
>William Halligan, Sr., founder of the Hallicrafters Co., that discovered the 30
>Mcs frequency being used by German tanks during WW2 could be heard here in the
>USA with the right receiver. 	
>	
>Question: Is this the correct frequency used by German tanks?   	
>	
>Question: Was it William Halligan, Sr. who made this discovery?   			
>	
>Question: Did Hallicrafters develop a special rx for the military to monitor
>German tanks?  	
>	
>Thanks.   	
>	
>Duane W8DBF 	
>  
>