[Milsurplus] What can you tell me about the acorn?

[Hubert Miller]

I sent this preliminary response to Dick Karman. I will forward any of  your replies to him.
-H M 

Westinghouse announced the "HR" radio in 1940, which was a VHF backpack set and used 1.5 volt acorns 958 and 959 among other 1.5 volt battery tubes.
I think maybe the "HR" meant "Handy Radio" and it was intended for fire departments, police, and so on.
It was adopted by the Navy, given expanded frequency coverage, and named the TBY. 
After the invasion of Tarawa, the TBY was seen to be too vulnerable to water entry and also probably too complicated, too many knobs for good practicality,
and from around 1943 on in combat roles it was replaced by the Army's FM radio BC-1000. 
There is a well known Marine Corps photo of a Native American "code talker" with using a TBY with it on his back.

From classified U.S. military lists of Japanese radars I see that they copied the tube also, and apparently kept the same tube numbers. I recall seeing "955"
mentioned in the lists of Japanese radars. These were of course all VHF or UHF radars, non microwave, as I recall. 

I don't know anything about German use of the acorn.