[Milsurplus] Real radios in surplus airplanes B 24, PV 2 Harpoon

[Hue Miller]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Todd, KA1KAQ" <ka1kaq at gmail.com>

> Sabotage? Hmmm....i have to sorta doubt that...

>>That's what most people say, but the official findings said something
about significant amounts of carborundum or some specific abrasive
found in each engine, enough that it wasn't some residual amount
leftover from building the engines. Wish I had a copy of the report,
it was read or referenced at the dedication of the marker on Fish Hill
Road years back. IIRC, there's even a reference to it on the marker.
They lost all engines, not just one or two, and crashed with 3 crewmen
killed. June 27 1943, tried to goggle it but only get a few tidbits
about Memorial Day services from the local paper. If nothing else, I
can drive over and take a look at the marker again.

>>I've read articles somewhere about actual confirmed acts of sabotage
on US soil during WWII, albeit few and isolated...

Todd, i'm still sorta underconvinced about the sabotage. Just my own
opinion and opinion only, but i feel it could go either way,  50/50.
I have seen some articles on waterfront sabotage and i just don't
believe the exploding coal story.  In the airplane case, i still suspect
"no sabotage" no matter what the official report stated. I always have
to think of the reasoning that said, German subs were listening for
American ship's radio receivers, or for example, the straight-faced
Navy radio operator's written memoirs that stated that Japanese 
sympathizers fired at his ship offhshore Hawaii AFTER Pearl
Harbor.

Has anyone read any documentation or seen photos of the type of radio
gear WWII axis spies inside the US used? I've seen reference to it in
numerous documentaries, but never any actual pictures or nomenclature.
~ Todd,  KA1KAQ

I wish we did have this, Todd. Seems unduly difficult to come up with,
doesn't it? In two cases i am aware of, near Quebec city, and second,
in Gloversville, NY USA, the equipment used was the R-3 receiver
and transmitter RS-20/M.  I have here the receiver abandoned by
the fleeing crew at Gloversville, receiver slightly bashed where it
landed when dropped. Both sets about size of Halli S-38 but
heavier, after all, they're German. 20 watts output on CW. I still
don't really understand how the 20 w, with makeshift antennas
devised by not really technically topnotch radio people, could
have been expected to reach home, unless it was relayed by
someone??? Where?? Carribean? South America?  Mexico, no,
too close to USA, and Mexico sent some pilots and such to help
us in Europe. Was reading a U-boat memoir in "Sea Classics", 
think it was, recently, where the crewman stated that news of
convoy sailings was received by Germany from spies in USA and
then relayed from U-boat HQ to individual subs.  The spies had
to have been using radio, you'd think, because microdot + US 
mail or such would have been too slow probably. The Goversville
location apparently had an indoor antenna in the attic. That 
wouldn't be too great for reliable circuit into Europe, would it?

Tony Grogan knows something about German radios captured
in USA and maybe he'll post something on this. I think one of
Kahn's books talks vaguely about radios captured in So. 
America and may even have a photo or two. I think the situation
there was more "wide open" and bigger more powerful radios 
could be more easily smuggled in and set up.

What i've long wondered is what model Hallicrafters, Col.
Abel preferred.  Thought i recalled that the NKVD or
whatever letter group, was a little tight with the money
and only paid for an S-40 or something like that.
-Hue Miller