[Milsurplus] R-26M/ARC-5 autotuned receiver

[Michael Tauson]

Hi, Hue,

On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 12:58 AM, Hue Miller <kargo_cult at msn.com> wrote:

> Michael, this site has a photo with the R-26M AND the ARB
> with the ART-13.  The doc seems to say that there would be
> a standby receiver besides the one working with the ART-13.

The R-26* covered six channels for the ART-13 while the ARB handled
the remaining four.  Receiver selection was via the C-188 control box.
 The document in question refers to some of the initial bench and
flight testing prior to acceptance.

> Is this correct, your spot tuned receiver does NOT have an "M" suffix?

Yep.  It is M-less.  It also has a black ID tag.  I wonder if it's
pre-M or post-M.

> Mike (Hanz), i (mis)read ahead the same doc referenced above. The field
> trials in the last week of WW2 indicate this combo never actually saw action.

Actually, the docs were from 1944 which gave them ample time to join
the fray.  The TBM was still in service after WW II, some serving
until 1960 or so.  With the military approach of only putting new
equipment in new construction (unless there was a dire and pressing
need to upgrade older equipment such as swapping out the ARC-1 for an
ARC-12), the radios would have remained pretty much "run what ya
brung" until they got retired.

> So there was a somewhat shortened span of time this receiver would have
> been used, the constraining factors being the decreasing numbers of TB- and
> SB- aircraft in the postwar period, and the arrival of the ARR-15, when, 1948?

The SBD and SB2C pretty much ended their service shortly after WW II
as did their AAF counterparts, the A-24 and A-25, neither of which
gained any particular favor.  The SBD was obsolete and the SB2C ...
well, the Beast had issues that hadn't been resolved by V-J day.
(Pretty much rounding out the group, the TBD didn't make it much past
Midway.)

BEst regards,

Michael