[Milsurplus] DU-1 DF Loop

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hue Miller" <kargo_cult at msn.com>
> Flying
> the long oversea stretches of the WW2 Pacific, you would probably want
> both - not all island fields had the YG set, i'd say.  If i recall
correctly, from
> scrutinizing a China facilities list,  most fields there did not have YG
> facitlities - maybe similar situation for Pacific islands.

I agree, speaking before mid-1945.  According to sectionals of the time,
HF DFing and communications was dominate until about mid-1944,
so you'd need something like the DU.
Even as late as December of 1945,  you still needed HF for many
fields/islands
and if you needed to call for a DF fix,
or if you had to ditch between the states and Hawaii or
over other empty streaches  (rescue ships monitored 4 MC).
But by August of 1945, every major airfield and most minor ones
had a YG navigation beacon, along with at least one VHF comm channel,
usually 116.1 MC.  Most of the major fields also had
a RACON radar beacon for navigation.
They certainly moved fast with the upgrades;  if I can trust the
sectionals, the change from domination by LF/HF comm and DFing
to a mix of HF/VHF/YG took about six months to complete.
That's a lot of ground to cover in a short time.
You couldn't get the environmental impact statement for
*one* site done in that time, today.

D.S.