[Milsurplus] SBD-5 Douglas Dauntless with BC-375

[Marty R's GI-stuff haunt]

Dave...

'375 in SBD.  Wow.  Radioman oughta be good reference.  Like my B17 
corrollary here, PFC (~3/45) Bill Johnson the '522 over-channel 
repeater proponent.

I sure don't consider this an opening to upstage ya.  I just
can't resist opportunity to send the following around again though

Do bring on more fm ur contact!

   Marty

----fm ~10 mo.s back--->

There's one ex-USN Capt. Dusty Banks out here that flew  SBDs.
I got him aside one day to ask him about radio &, in particular, the
ASB radar

Early '43 he was off carrier & rest of year off land.  Then taught @
Pensacola for 2 years & spent 3 more dragging targets off Fla. and ditched
a F4F & an AD during Fla TDY.

Back to '43.  Off land, he took his radio/gunner man up weekly for ASB 
tests.  He considered ASB "his gunner's toy & it never produced a lick of 
value and the test flights were to humor him." 

He did say ASB indicator was bungeed in front to rear-dash above.  
If gunner got engaged, indicator dropped vertical for more room 'back 
there.'  This info valuable to CAF to who so-rigged an ex-aa4rm ASB 
indicator in their running SBD.*  And they have fony 5 elt. 500mc 
yagis underwing now too.

Stuff like this NOT in either Douglas SBD book or "ASB instruction
book."  Yep it's called that.  Seems every ASB install was, in detail,
local unit's perrogative.  Dovetails w. D. Simpson's "anything goes 
theory"

On radio.  He recalls off land a 4 channel switch in cockpit & long 
black box 'with the guts.'  Off carrier they "used hf" with wire antenna 
& gunner did all radio.  Info passed with to pilot on interfone.

Sorta says ARA/ATA on-ship & vhf on land.  I suspected 'long  black box' 
was ARC-4 & asked if he'd recognize one again.  Came 

  'expletive deleted,' just getting that heap airborn, keeping
  it there, & getting back took every'expletive deleted'thing you had.  
  Hard to remember many details.

After that I more timidly asked if, off carrier, the YG homer served.  
He said quickly "yea sure, YG/YZ was widely used & aboard his plane."
A knee-jerk - he sure knew THAT system.

He did say he's been trying to find his radioman for 45 years & if he gets
lucky he'll connect us - he'd have lots more.

Dave ask ur man if he flew with or knew Lieut (then) Dusty Banks.  Unlikely
because LDB didn't mention "Marianna Turkey Shoot" and LDB believes 
his "radioman disappeared in New Jersy", not NW.  But then again....

*traded display for a Christmas Present SBD ride for one of my kids