[Milsurplus] CRV-46123...what it is?...

[Morrow, Michael A.]

Hi Marty,

> Now segue to the B24 "Lady be Good" that overshot it's field=20
> & ditched in the desert.  I believe it must have had the=20
> "bilateral-only" SCR-242 RDF (not ADF) based on the BC-310.

Now that would be a real surprise!

The SCR-242 came out in the late 1930's (1937, if I recall the contract =
date on my BC-310 name plate correctly), so it was ancient by April, =
1943, when the LBG was lost.  I have read many references to the "ADF" =
in the LBG.  IIRC, the SCR-242 has NO automatic DF capability.  Besides =
that, the SCR-242 uses 14 vdc, not the 28 vdc found on a B-24D.  =
Consolidated's 1942 manual set for the B-24D indicates that the SCR-269 =
was standard.

> Now the SCR-269 / BC-433.  Here, I believe, is a GREAT=20
> example of adapting the old to the new.  I contend the front of the
> '433 is a '310 because all pin-top metal tubes and the rear is a
> different TRF-style sense antenna 90 deg. phase shifter plus.

I think of the SCR-280 (BC-431) as actually a more direct "child" of the =
SCR-242.  IIRC, the SCR-280 also has only manual DF loop control, and is =
also 14 vdc input.  The older BC-310 has most of the control box =
functions built-in to the front panel, so that's sort of unique.

Indeed, the SCR-269 was a wonderfully advanced set for its era.  I know =
of no other WWII airborne DF set (except the improved SCR-269 known as =
the AN/ARN-7) that offers all the features that are still found on =
modern airborne ADFs.

BTW, my favorite book on the LBG came out in 1995, and is titled "Lady's =
Men."  It's available in paperback for a very reasonable price from the =
US Naval Institute.  The main conclusion it reached for the LBG's loss =
(on return from its and the crew's very first and very unsuccessful =
mission) was gross incompetence on the part of the navigator.  =
Supposedly, when the LBG was found in the desert, there was no evidence =
that the navigator even broke out any chart plotting instruments at any =
time during the mission.

73,
Mike M. / KK5F
(Looking for AN/ARN-6 plugs, cables, and control box.)





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