[Milsurplus] RBK-13 question

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 2:49 AM, Dave <davprin1 at optusnet.com.au> wrote:

> Had a good look at these today and there is no indication of any black paint
> on these at all. Even the inside of the front panel is grey as well as under
> the ID plates ( rivetted ) and under the schematic plate under the lid on
> the cabinet. I guess these must be a couple that were stripped and
> resprayed.

I think you're correct, Dave. Since the US was also in the war up to
their ears and productions lines were screaming 24/7 to keep up with
demand, it probably wasn't practical to custom paint different batches
for different allies. Sadly, all of the Hallicrafters production and
sales records hit the dumpster several decades ago, so we'll never
know a lot of the more intricate details.

> As these are in Australia, I guess the question is whether they were done by
> the U.S. Navy, the Australian Navy or some other organisation afterward. As
> rust is coming through the grey paint, I think I'll strip and return them to
> black after treatment.

That's a judgment call only you can make. Some might see these as
early transitional examples, though the date below is interesting. I
can say that there are already a lot of black ones around.

If you do decide to take them back to black, keep in mind that the
stamped lettering is actually silver, not white. Not a shiny chrome
silver, just a plain old dull silver. Front panel is either semi gloss
or gloss black, cabinet is a very fine wrinkle.

> Both are dated as being accepted by the U.S. Navy in March of 1945.

Interesting. Are they stamped over the gray paint, or on the
tag/schematic/chassis? If there's a U.S. Navy acceptance stamp over
the gray paint, that sure would indicate an earlier date for the
change to gray over black. It would also indicate who did the paint
jobs.

Thanks -

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4