[Milsurplus] Merrill's Marauders unique HF radio

[Mike Morrow]

>> I am sort of shocked as to how much of the AN/RPC-1 I no longer  
>> remember. As I stated the radio was a special design for the  
>> Marauders. Lt Bright was involved with the company that designed it  
>> and built it in about 3 months from September 1943 – December 1943.  
>> We had serial numbers 1 – 12, no one else had the radio before us. I  
>> know that we still had them when the 475th Inf. continued on into  
>> Central Burma and we no longer used the hand generator. We advanced  
>> to a gas powered one. I have no ides as to what happened to them  
>> after I was rotated back to the stated. It is possible no others  
>> were built. The radio did have the brackets that enabled the four  
>> legs like the 284, and a shelf used for the key.  I believe in the  
>> movie series “War In The Pacific” there is a shot of me cranking the  
>> hand generator, I am sure the radio is also shown. I searched for a  
>> photo, without any luck, there may not be any for it was secret.

Dennis wrote:

> Hmmm,  custom design and SECRET?  Seems unlikely given the short time  
> frame, logistic support problems, Army conservatism, etc., but  
> nything can happen in wartime.  Note that during the latter part of  
> the campaign an SCR-177 was put into operation, which radio came in a  
> chest with four lags, fold-down shelf and a companion gasoline  
> generator........

There is another possibility...the AN/TRC-10.  The main unit of this
set is the RT-46/TRC-10.  It's a 2 to 12 MHz 20 to 30 watt output
set whose transmitter is A1 only.  It may be supplied by the
G-4/TRC-10 hand-crank generator.  The RT-46 lives in the same type of
water-resistant case as the SCR-288/BC-474, only a little larger.

The two heaviest components in a hand-crank installation are the
RT-46/TRC-10 (15 lbm) and the G-4/TRC-10 (26 lbm).

This set has no "rounded corners" (except the G-4), nor "multiple units"
(except the RT-46 and G-4).  It does support the use of four support
legs.

There's a copy of the manual where all this may be seen at: 

 http://www.scribd.com/doc/103343927/TM11-636-Radio-Set-AN-TRC-10-1945

Although the manual available here is classified RESTRICTED, I have
an earlier version of the manual that is classified SECRET.  I believe
that's the only WWII-era communications set manual that I've ever seen
with so high a classification...equivalent to TOP SECRET today.  There
seems to be no good reason for that.

Anything related to the AN/TRC-10 is very rare.  It seems like a very
light system, for one generating up to 30 watts output in 1944.

Mike / KK5F