[Milsurplus] Spares boxes

[Hue Miller]

The YG and ZB both had spares kits. I would assume the YG had its
individual kit, and maybe the ZB spares were in a 1:5 ratio, something
like that.
I long wondered what happens if the squad leaders are shot down and
the rest have to find their way ZB-less. Also how did the Japanese find
their way back, in bad weather? Unless the carrier had some kind of DF
equipment. ( Very very few Japanese planes had RDF, many in fact only
had low-vhf equipment - from what i have been able to determine. )
Somewhere i have some "coding sheets" for ZB which i have promised 
to a couple people, since divesting of all my ARR/ZB equipments, but i
don't recall the format used on those (approx.) 5 x 7 plasticized sheets.
I am sure the ZB cw was slow enuff that you could look it up on a 
look-up table, just like some used when dealing with LF RDF. 
Of course the squad leader could make a fatal mistake too. Not a ZB
story, but recall the story of the loss of "Flight 7" in ye olde Bermuda
Triangle - apparently - as i sorta recall reading - the ill-prepared flight
leader basically got them lost to death.
I happen to think the ARR-1 / ZB, outside of valves, must have been
very reliable indeed. NO oscillators, basically just a vhf TRF receiver.
-Hue