[Milsurplus] Interesting 2010/02 "Naval History" Article - Honda Point Naval Disaster

[Mike Morrow]

February 2010 "Naval History" magazine has an interesting article
about the 8 September 1923 Honda Point, CA, grounding and loss of seven
USN destoyers in a ten-minute span due to navigation error.  That was
a greater loss of U.S. Navy vessels than occurred in combat in all of WWI.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/ev-1920s/ev-1923/hondapt.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Point_Disaster

Within the article much is made of the new RDF technology that was
available, but mistrusted, misused, or ignored by the principal
navigator leading an endurance run of three destroyer divisions.
Within the discussion some mention is made of radio communications
limitations, especially with the shore RDF station.  One of the
three destoyer divisions involved in the run moderated its speed
and properly utilized RDF input.  It arrived safely...the other two
divisions did not.

It would be intriguing to know what equipment was being used in the
radio rooms of these three-year old (in 1923) destroyers.  The RDF
gear was shore-based.  I suspect that vacuum tube technology had
made significant inroads into the USN radio room of 1923.

We don't get much discussion here of military radio gear that is earlier
than about 1930.  The only thing I have earlier than that is a BC-14-A
crystal set (500 to 1500 kc) from 1918.

Mike / KK5F