[Milsurplus] Question for our UK and Australian Friends

[Mike Morrow]

> A number of us here in the US have been curious about the radios used  
> by the 5307th Composite Group (Provisional), popularly known as  
> "Merrill's Marauders" in their operations in Northern Burma,  
> 1943-1944. ...  Discussions with Marauders veterans at the Marauders 
> website http://www.marauder.org/ further describe the radio as a multi  
> component unit mounted in metal boxes with lids and "rounded corners."
>
> The mystery here is that the only equipment in the US inventory at  
> that time carrying the PRC-1 designator or anything close to it was a  
> suitcase spy radio used by the OSS that doesn't come close to matching  
> that description (or being suitable for that mission).
>
> Question: Does the above description of the "PRC-1" sound like  
> anything in the UK or Australian inventories of that period.   
> Something Wingate might have used in his earlier operations in that  
> theater for ex?

I'm not in the target audience in the message subject line, but what it
sounds like to me is the AMC-145 set supplied to some US forces.  I have
the original manual for this set.

The AMC-145 is a version of the famous Austrailian 3BZ set.  The website
at http://www.qsl.net/vk2dym/radio/3BZa.htm has this remark:

"The 3BZ was used by the Australian armed forces as a low power portable HF
 set and was supplied to US forces as the SC-CD-317-44 and the AMC145 and
 comprised the Receiver Type 15C6770, (Figs.4 and 5), Transmitter Type
 1J50062, with a Loudspeaker Type D13503."

Mike / KK5F