[Milsurplus] Naval Aviation Navigation

[Michael Tauson]

Hi, Mike,

> How did Naval Aviators find their way back to the
Aircraft Carriers? They could have used beacons but
constant beacon operation would have exposed the
carrier location to enemy forces. I know some of the
patrol planes had a second crewman who may have
performed navigation duties but figher pilots went it
alone.

This is where the ARR-1 and ARR-2 came in.  The
carriers did, in fact, have a coded beacon but
relatively low power and in the 234-258 Mc/s range
(keeping the era correct <G>) which was modulated by
an HF signal.  The aircraft using the ARR-1 (which was
only a converter) also had a receiver in the 520-1500
Kc/s range.  The output of the ARR-1 was fed to the
antenna terminal of the second receiver which, in
turn, provided the beacon signal for the pilots.  The
ARR-2 greatly simplified this by combining both
functions in one box.  

The combination of low power and use of VHF made it
difficult if not impossible for the enemy to capture,
let alone track, the signal.  

Okay, pickers of Nits ... have a blast!

Best regards,

Michael, K3MXO

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