[Milsurplus] Nippon Key

[Al Klase]

Thanks, Hue,

That's helpful and dove tails with the following comment I received fro 
Taka Doi in Japan:

  "Purpose of switch on the key is not certain. Around 1930, Imperial 
Navy large bombers had two radio seats in front and back places. Thus, 
presumably the switch selected transmitters. However, after that, this 
switch was abolished though they still had two radio seats in the plane."

This makes better sense when I substitute your term "operating position" 
for "radio seat."

What are my chances of getting scans of those documents?

Here's the link for anyone playing catch-up:  
http://www.skywaves.ar88.net/mil/J-key/J-key.html

Best Regards,
Al

On 8/20/2010 11:55 PM, Hue Miller wrote:
> 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
>
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-- 
Al Klase - N3FRQ
Jersey City, NJ
http://www.skywaves.ar88.net/