[Milsurplus] Older USAF airborne receivers?

[Mike Morrow]

Jason asked:

>what sort of receivers were employed in the SAC era USAF aircraft? I'm thinking
>specifically about the HF range.

As has already been mentioned, the RCA AN/ARC-65 (RT-400/ARC-65) 2 to 24 MHz 400W USB set was used in some SAC aircraft, often paired up with the today rarely-encountered RCA auxillary HF receiver AN/ARR-36, and the AN/APN-70 LORAN A set.

I believe most AN/ARC-65 sets were eventually replaced by the Collins AN/ARC-58 2 to 30 MHz 1000W LSB/USB/ISB set.  That's what was in most of the SAC aircraft at Blytheville AFB (BAFB) by the late 1960s.  (Except the base commander's old C-131, which still in 1970 had a WWII-vintage AN/ARC-8 (BC-348 and T-47A/ART-13).)

The AN/ARC-58 was the first modern military aircraft radio set that I'd ever seen when touring through the base avionics repair shops at BAFB in the late 1960s.  I was impressed by its complexity.  In terms of 2007 dollars, I believe an AN/ARC-58 cost about $150,000.  Now you can get the major units for next to nothing surplus.  I've got most of one, except for racks, cabling, and a hefty 400 Hz AC power supply.  The R-761/ARC-58 is the receiver and the transmitter exciter.  The T-605/ARC-58 is a 1000W PEP amplifier and 400 Hz power unit for the rest of the set.  Sometimes you can find either on ebay for as low as $50!

Another thing that surprised me at that time was that SAC aircraft were using the old AN/APX-25 IFF set, which was just a modified AN/APX-6 of the type that had been on the surplus market for a decade by the time I saw them in the repair shops at BAFB.

The commonly encountered USN Collins AN/ARR-41 was not a USAF set, except in a few USAF aircraft that had earlier in life been USN aircraft.  The AN/ARR-41 is the auxillary HF receiver for the USN AN/ARC-38 2 to 25 MHz 100W AM set (USN's closest equivalent to the USAF's AN/ARC-21).

Mike / KK5F