[Boatanchors] KWM 1 History Question

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Thanks Nick -

I'll have to look around for the source of the photo, was pretty sure
it was in that book but perhaps it's in one of the other Collins pubs.
Might even be in one of the CCA mags or newsletters.

Meanwhile, Alex AI2Q is having trouble posting to the list and asked
me to post the following on his behalf. It's a response from a friend
of his who flew the U2 and has no recollection of the KWM-1 being
used. So, we clearly have both sides presented from those who were
there. Sounds as though the M-1 may have been used as a stop-gap
measure until newer SSB avionics were available?

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4

On behalf of Alex, AI2Q:

> Todd, for some reason I can't post to boatanchors anymore.

In any case, I'm pasting in a reply from one of my plas who was a U-2
pilot. If you could QSP to the liust that would be great. Tks.

Vy 73, AI2Q, Alex
Member: ARRL, FOC, RSGB, CWops, QRP-L, Antique Wireless Association,
Wide Area Amateur Radio Network
http://home.roadrunner.com/~alexmm

SNIP====================>>>

Hi Alex,

Good to hear from you!

    Tom, what's your take on the following message (below)?

------------

    > I heard a story that the KWM 1 transceiver was used on the U 2
spyplane > in
    > the past.  The pilot operated the radio by looking into a mirror at the
    > KWM 1 mounted behind his head.  These KWM 1's were manufactured with
    > reversed letters and numbers in order to reflect properly to the pilots
    > eye.
    > Is this story true or an urban legend?
    > Thanks
    > Greg
    > WA7LYO
    > Kinston NC
    > new KWM 1 owner

-----------

Well Alex, I can tell you point blank that just wasn't so.

The only thing behind the pilot's head in the U-2 was the ejection
seat headrest.  And behind the headrest was a pair of rails the
seat rocketed away from the cockpit on.  The rails were mere
inches from the canopy. (One can't say "up" or "down" here
because that is all relative to the attitude of the airplane (level,
banking, diving, climbing, inverted, etc.)  Behind the seat rails
was the fuselage.  Again, mere inches to spare.

We did have an HF set aboard.  Not the KWM-1,  however.
(I've seen that model at hamfests and - once - aboard Gen
Curtis Le May's KC-135 back in the late 50's. Also saw it later
on standard line KC-135's at various squadron locations.)  I
believe the HF set we used was made by Collins.  My best
guess is that it was a standard issue Collins  618-S, with the
control head on the lower right side panel (not in forward view)
well aft, but reachable.  I've seen this control head in the ancient
C-124, the C-130 and maybe one or two others. The actual HF
"rig" was somewhere in the equipment bay, which was just
forward of the wing root and center of gravity, with whatever
cameras we had on board.  Sometimes the camera configuration
for a particular mission required the HF rig be removed.  The
antenna was a horizontal "spear" jutting forward out the top of
the rudder or vertical fin. A later modification to the tail put the HF
antenna inside a fiberglass portion of the rudder.

[Lockheed was superb at keeping costs down by using whatever
was already proven and available for other aircraft.  "Off the shelf"
was the way to go.  They'd modify a piece of gear to lower its
weight and get it to fit in as needed. When Ben Rich took over from
Kelly Johnson, he followed this same tradition. Made good sense.
Still does.]

It is possible that an initial test flight with an HF on board might
have had something rigged like that.  But only for test purposes.
I've seen photos of some weird external configurations, one-of-a
kind deals.  But our standard HF setup was as I've said above.

As a former U2 pilot, I can tell you that we had enough on our hands
just flying the airplane and navigating.  (Sometimes using a hand-held
sextant! Later, thankfully, light weight inertial navigation systems
became available.)  Screwing with an HF set rigged like that would've
been a safety-of-flight issue.  A no-no.

HF communication in the U-2 was as close to radio silence as one
could get without shutting it off.  Well...if the mission didn't require it,
we'd leave it off.  We'd transmit a single code word in the blind, three
times,  to indicate mission complete (or other status).   Ground stations
would copy the word and relay it on-air for expediency - which is how
we pilots knew we'd been heard.  (In those days it was quicker than
secure land lines.) We'd monitor the HF for certain code words to
abort a mission if ordered.  And that was it.

I'm sure the KWM-1 was / is a fine piece of radio gear.  Collins made
the best there was.  Rugged and reliable.  Their gear was in many
of the airplanes I flew.

Thanks for the chance to reminisce a bit Alex.  Still a pleasure to
reflect on those years of service.  Sounds like I've gotten a bit
carried away here.  Hope this helps.

Likely the gentleman above was echoing a bit of a myth.  It happens.


73s Tom <

On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 10:26 PM, Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com> wrote:
> p.100 of Jay Miller's book has a story but I didn't see a photo.
> There was also an article on U-2/KWM-1 in Jan 2007 QST but I don't
> have that issue
> And finally - an old quote from the BA list...
> "   Note I still had the F. G. Powers U-2 autograph 516E2 28V supply in
>   running shape w. 2 car batteries.  Anyone else ever even seen
>   that 28V supply?
>
>   Everyone here DOES know 1st U-2s had KWM-1s, don't they?  If not,
>   this disclosure may mean 100s of folks now know they inadvertantly
>   own "spy radios."  Notice the echo  when you say "spy radio"
> "
> from who else but the late great Marty Reynolds AA4RM
>
> cheers,
> Nick
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 7:22 PM, Todd, KA1KAQ <ka1kaq at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> If the book turns up tonight, I'll post whatever info is in there
>> about it. I recall one very clear shot of the cockpit showing the
>> KWM-1 sitting right up behind the seat facing forward. No recollection
>> of any mention of mirrors.
>>
>> ~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4
>>
>