[Milsurplus] Nippon Key

[Hue Miller]

Re the aircraft key we recently discussed, if the switch is really for 
front/ rear operating
position, I think after seeing the 96-2 schematic and reading a "review" of 
it in
Electronic Industries, May 1944, that the switch gives pilot push-to-talk 
voice, the other
position gives the radio-gunner, rear seater, break-in CW control.
BTW, this article clearly written by engineers -not EEIS or ONI people - who 
would have
known better: it speculates that Japanese used crystal control so widely 
because of the
long Pacific distances, while Germans rarely used crystal control due to 
shorter
operational distances in the North Europe- English channel theater. Is that 
wild or what?
This reminded me of something I read in Oct. 2010 "Flight Journal" ( I 
think...) , that
stated U.K. analysts speculated that German bombers contained flight crew in 
closer
proximity to each other, compared to more spread out Allied bomber layout, I 
suppose,
for reasons of, uh, "morale", if you can believe that - while the closer 
proximity actually
paid off in better crew coordination (claimed. )   -Hue Miller