[Milsurplus] I stand corrected

[Charlie L.]

I don't know where I got the info on the Germans using FM and I am checking
my books on the subject including the Signal Corp volumes that analyzes
everything comm related from before the war until after.  But the Germans
did have a coordinated set up, where troops on the ground could talk to an
aircraft or tank to direct fire without having the request go to the rear
to be relayed, one of the things pointed out as something to be corrected
for the US  in the Signal Corp books. A little known fact was that just
prior to the war,  the Army studied ARRL procedures and ham ops in action
to learn how to relay a message from one point to another, being amazed at
how fast and accurate hams were doing it from coast to coast.   I have a
complete SCR22 station for the B17F that I have yet to restore, it is a
Canadian made copy of the British TR version and to be honest, I have not
messed with it at all and just judged from my misinformation I had about
it, it was a total British invention with no massive modulator tubes like
the 375, it was FM.   Plus it was a popular unit to put on ham band VHF, I
think modified for FM.    Guess the real issue was Brit communications on
VHF vs all the US on HF in the B17 and others .  I had one contact with a
Brit Lancaster radio op from the era that said they had some Lancasters
with BC375's installed.  On the B17 crew members could talk over the BC375
and listen to the BC348 selected  by  their individual control box at their
station set to 'Liason'  if they had too, but only pilot and copilot could
use the Command Set.  A couple WW II radio ops in contact with our B17F
project  said they did not do a lot on the BC375 voice wise, mostly CW but
rarely to never in a mission, just when they were in non-combat mode.  Even
though they carried all the TU's, the TX was set up before a mission, they
did not arbitrarily swap out a TU for another band.  There was a red faced
TU that had a goniometer in it and was used as a comm jammer, but a rare
unit today.  I have only seen one picture of that one.

Charlie in NC
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