[Milsurplus] GO-9, ATC, ATD, RAX-1, ARB Remarks

[Mike Hanz]

On 9/6/2012 10:19 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
> Dave wrote:
>> I have an ATD in the winter project que.
>> Probably going to pair it with RAX.
> There's a mid-WWII USN training manual that has a section in the back that
> lists the radio equipment on most USN aircraft.  In every instance, the ATD
> has the ARB is its companion.  Mike Hanz has a copy of this section at
>   http://aafradio.org/docs/Navy-radio-gear-1943.pdf .
>
> Which brings up another remarkable item.  In this 1943 training document
> there is *no* listing for the Collins ATC.  The ATD shows up in four places
> and the ATC in none. I've always doubted that the ATC was available until
> the late-1943 to early-1944 era.  Its omission in this 1943 listing lends
> some evidence for that.  I don't believe there's any likelihood that the
> ATC was deployed in 1942, or even by mid-1943.

That's an excellent question, Mike.  Let me add a couple of data points that lend weight to your supposition.  BTW, I cautioned the reader of those Navy aircraft equipment compliment charts in that training manual that they seemed dated, but I have never seen a later list like it.  Moreover, in the preface of the manual, it says, "This pamphlet [ha..it is an inch and a half thick, double sided printing!] was compiled and written by L. L. Leftwich, ACRT, U.S. Navy, and is the second revision of the original.  The original was compiled in December 1942 while the writer was Chief Instructor at A.R.T.U. (Aircraft Radio Training Unit), Fleet Air Wings, Atlantic Fleet."  Sadly, there is no date of this actual revision...only my assumption that it was sometime in 1943, but could potentially have been into 1944.

It goes on to acknowledge assistance for certain sections of this manual. Here is one of the four entries:  "S.F. Meyer ACRT for ATC technical information and proof reading."  Mr. Meyer was the SK in Vienna, Virginia whose estate yielded this training manual.  The ATC section comprises 40 pages of the manual!

The ATC was "introduced" to the fleet in the April 1, 1943 (Number 10) issue of "Radio and Sound Bulletin", an official publication that discusses maintenance and operation of Navy equipment associated with the title.  (One might wonder if the date format was a subtle reference to April Fools Day, since standard, immovable military protocol would render it 1 April 1943, but *all* of the R&SB issues I have here use the same curious civilian format...)  To be fair, equipment usually didn't make it into the Bulletin until some time after contract signing.  There is a similar article on the ATB/ARB dated 1 October 1942 at http://aafradio.org/docs/atb-arb.html


> It's likely that the listed aircraft actually wound up with the ATC instead
> of the ATD, once it was finally available.

I think that's a good bet.

73,
Mike  KC4TOS