[Milsurplus] [MRCA] SCR-288 - MI-8751 - BC-474
Hubert Miller
Kargo_cult at msn.com
Sun Oct 1 23:06:20 EDT 2017
Al, I tend toward skeptical about the radio being brought back from Army. I just don’t see how that would pass the 'souvenir' vetting.
Even when stuff was destroyed or deep-sixed, it wasn't permitted to just help yourself. So I have to wonder about this.
You know, we have learned here to 'never say never', but I so far have not seen any hard evidence that the BC-654 was used in the
Pacific War, or Europe, for that matter. The book on Rangers ( I think I reported on this book, but I don't recall name of it right now )
I think mentions they trained on it and BC-611, but that these proved too limited-range and were replaced shortly by SCR-300 and
SCR-694.
The book "You're No Good To Me Dead", mentions some radio this Philippine observer group considered deficient, kind of "left over"
set. I have wondered if that meant BC-474.
You know, some years back, maybe around 1980, Tony Grogan told me this TBY bag was sent back to the states when its carrier, a
Marine radio op, was wounded. Tony said his buddies sent back, I think, the whole radio in its bag. ( I think this is maybe a bag I have
now, but not sure....) Anyway that seemed unlikely as hell then and it still stretches my credulity today.
That said, I know it was MUCH easier to disappear non-pocketable equipment from the military once back in the states.
I think BC-654 production was around 55,000. Would you guess BC-474 at around 5,000 ? And the RCA MI, you wouldn't think Sweden
would be buying more than a few hundred at most?
-Hue
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