[Milsurplus] AN/GRR-5

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

I'm not sure where some of the members of this list got the idea that the 
SCR-593 (BC-728) and AN/GRR-5 had anything to do with gas.  Possibly during the 
30's when the requirements for the SCR-593 were written by veterans of the 
First World War, this may have been their intent.  But by the time US Ground 
Forces entered Europe in 1944, they were the receiving end of air (raid) warning 
nets.  There was never any serious probability that the Germans would employee 
chemical weapons in significant quantities.  Chemical weapons were the early 
version of MAD.  Only effective in the long run if your opponent has none (just 
ask the Kurds).  

The Air Warning concept carried over into the Korean War.  Remember that with 
very few exceptions (a few ships, mostly under construction at the end of the 
war, like Valley Forge and Princeton, and a few new aircraft available in 
small quantities), we started Korea with equipment that we had on VJ Day.  You 
will find a system diagram of a "Typical Air Warning System" in most of the 
AN/GRC-3..8 family manuals.  Most common was probably AN/VRC-10 tied in with 
AN/GRA-6 and AN/GRR-5.  Whether they were still needed by that time or not, there's 
no sense heaping scorn on the military when all other human organizations 
(religious, political, economic and family) have just as much inertia.  Next 
weeks war or political or sales campaign will almost always be started with last 
weeks ideas.  Excellent example this past Tuesday.

The actual usage of the RS-6 and RS-6A agent radio has been correctly 
reported here several times.  B-47 E&E was the cover.  The later ruggedized and 
somewhat better documented and "uncovered" version, AN/GRC-109, served through 
Vietnam.

In a message dated 11/5/2004 11:49:01 PM Central Standard Time, 
cosmoline at ba-watch.org writes: 
> The chuckled response was, "why a replacement for the BC-728 GE gas 
> receiver"
> 

Robert & Susan Downs - Houston
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