[Milsurplus] Fwd: {Collins} Collins MRC-108 at AF Museum

[Nick England]

maybe of interest to this list

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jim Jones <jonesjames at imonmail.com>
Date: Sat, Apr 25, 2015 at 1:21 PM
Subject: {Collins} Collins MRC-108 at AF Museum
To: collins at listserve.com


I suggest Dayton Hamvention attendees visit the AF Museum at Wright
Patterson AFB.  The Museum as recently included a Collins MRC-108 comm
system mounted on an M-151 Jeep as part of their SE Asia exhibit.

The system includes a Collins 618T-3 HF rig along with antenna system and
control known as the MRC-95, ARC-51BX UHF radio and 618M VHF radio and
PRC-25 FM low band vhf (not Collins) as well as PRC-47 HF manpack and PRC-41
UHF manpack.

The system was used to support FAC activity in SE Asia as well as Korea.

Collins supplied a kit to allow the radio operator to turn the passenger
side seat around to better operate the radios.  It appears that the kit was
never considered as "AF Official" but were installed by the operators in the
field.  The radio operators were known as ROMADs (Initially Radio Operator
Maintenance And Driver, but later Recon Observe Mark And Destroy), a
courageous group who put the Jeep very close to enemy lines and then used
the manpacks to get even closer.  They were known as Motar Magnets because
they became very high value targets for the enemy.  With the 108s radios,
they could communicate with air and ground assets as well as Over The
Horizon command posts using HF.

My hope is that this will be the beginning of more exhibits including
ARC-190, HF-80, URG Collins gear and other gear used by the USAF.  Besides
the new exhibit, only other Collins gear I know about is a sorry looking
ART-13 in the B-29 fuselage walkthrough and an ARC-27 in an F-86.

The MRC-108 exhibit is difficult to find on the AF Museum website, but
images can be find by doing a search.  Collins is not identified as the
supplier for the system.  A little disappointing because I was assured when
we delivered the gear in 2010, that Collins would be credited. (Collins
didn't donate the gear, but it was hoped that the Collins role would be
recognized.)  Likely some rules would be violated.

Admission to the museum is free for the most part.  Really great stuff, but
there is lots of ground to cover both inside and out.  I try to get there
every year or so and there is always lots of new material.

73
Jim w0nkn