[Milsurplus] Re: [ARC5] Odd ART-13

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Mike,

Like you, I always assumed, because that's what the T.O. seems to imply, that 
the T-412/ART13B was a modified T-47A/ART-13.  The T-412 schematic matches 
the T-47A schematic other than where the CDA-T installation changed it.  Whether 
the one on eBay was "upgraded" or not you can't tell from the outside.

I have a 1955 SIG 5-5, Pricing Guide for Signal Corps Equipment.  
Unfortunately, it only lists the SIG STK NR. with no indication of what's included.  But 
most of the SCR sets have stock numbers of "2S" followed by the numeric part 
of the SCR number.  2S508 is an SCR-508.  However, there are numerous suffix 
letter-number combination which I know in some cases identify the set with all 
installation items for a specific vehicle or vehicles.  The price range on the 
SCR-508 numbers is about $1200 to $2200.  SCR-399 is listed as $6892 and 
SCR-499 as $6289, the difference probably being the HO-17 shelter.  SCR-300 prices 
are $400 to $500 roughly.  SCR-694 about the same range as SCR-508.  
Unfortunately, SCR-274N is not 2S274, so I can't comment on that.  A couple of what I 
think are Hammarlund Super Pro sets (2S244 should be SCR-244) are around 
$800.00.  Marty, an SCR-177-B appears to have cost $2824.

The pricing guide says that these are the estimated replacement costs but 
doesn't make clear whether replacement would be assumed to be from existing 
stocks or new construction.  On the older equipment, I'd be inclined to assume the 
former, meaning that the prices are related to the original wartime 
acquisition costs, which could have been adjusted for inflation, although no mention is 
made of this.  

Anyway, $14,400 seems quite high for an AN/ART-13.  And I think that the 
1945-2004 dollar value spread is more like 20:1.  There was at least a 2:1 spread 
into the 60's.  And my personal experience from the 60's to the late 90's 
indicates at least a 10:1 spread over that period.


In a message dated 11/20/2004 5:08:26 PM Central Standard Time, 
kk5f at earthlink.net writes: 
> Speaking of relative dollar values and ART-13s, according to the Dept. of
> Commerce a dollar in WWII was worth about ten of today's in buying power.
> Walt Hudgens in an ER article about 15 years ago stated that his records
> showed that the ART-13 cost $14,400!  Could that be correct...an ART-13 cost
> nearly $150,000 of today's dollars???
> 
> I've seen numbers somewhere indicating that even a lowly SCR-274-N receiver
> with dynamotor cost the government about $400.  If so, then it took the
> equivalent of $4000 of today's dollars to buy one.  I seem to recall that
> the initial US Federal budget estimate to prosecute WWII was $770 billion
> 1941 dollars.  I don't know how that compares to what it actually took.
> 
> >BTW, Mike, note that the upper part of the mount has been changed to the
> >later MT-283/ART-13 from the unnumbered twin rail Navy type that became
> MT-161
> >that would have originally been on it.
> 
> I wonder if they added the control power top cover interlock switch used by
> USAF ART-13s, and changed the vernier scale on the master oscillator (dial
> A) for finer adjustment than was found on Navy ATC and T-47 (non-A) units?
> I've never seen a Navy ATC transformed into a USAF (almost) T-412 before.
> I'd have assumed they would have started with a USAF T-47A.
> 

73
Robert Downs - Houston
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