[Milsurplus] New York Times mentions SCR 584

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

The Signal Corps nomenclature system prefixes did all have defined word 
names. 

SCR            Set, Complete, Radio
SCS            Set, Complete, System
BC              Basic Component
RC              Radio Components
AN              Antenna
I                  Instrument
IE                Instrument Equipment
ETC.           Et Cetera...

So did the AN (Later JAN) system.

The Navy system used two or three letter for sets or systems and five 
digits for all components thereof.  The component number, officially the Navy 
Type Number, was prefixed by a two to four letter Contractor Code dating from 
around 1915.  The first letter is always "C".  The second and subsequent 
letters were mostly assigned in alpha sequence but there are numerous cases 
where they relate to the Contractor's name.  For example:

CW             Western Electric
CG              General Electric
CGG            Galvin
COL            Collins Radio

The Signal Corps, for some reason, sometimes used the codes on nameplates 
instead of printing the contractor's name.  

As to the Navy hull numbering system, all that I can do is guess that 
someone decided, perhaps because some other navies used single letter prefixes, 
that the letter prefix would be a minimum of two letters.  But that is just a 
guess.  

BB              Battleship
DD              Destroyer
DL               Destroyer Leader
DM              Destroyer Minesweeper
CL               Light Cruiser
AO              Auxiliary, Oiler
AKA            Auxiliary, Cargo, Amphibious (also Attack)
APA            Auxiliary, Personnel, Amphibious (also Attack)
PT               Patrol Torpedo
...

A Boat is something that you pick up and put on a Ship.

In a message dated 10/02/2011 07:17:59 AM Central Daylight Time, 
whitaker at pa.net writes: 
> de WB2CPN
> When I got into the Army AF, (and then later the USAF), in 1946, SCR was 
> just an
> acronym, and didn't mean anything.   Historically it would be Sig Corps 
> Radio.
> We had SCS-51 ILS, so what do you suppose that was?   I suspect that
> the acronyms were assigned first, then later on people started hanging 
> names
> on them.   Where did the Navy ever get BB for battleships?  (Big Boat ?)
> The whole JAN system as we know it came about long after SCR's etc.
> 73  Clete
> 
> 

Robert Downs - Houston
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