[MRCA] Fwd: Project WASHTUB comms

[Tim]

Hi Rob - Well Project WASHTUB comms planning is an interesting thought
exercise.  Yep, at TBW/RBM or similar MW setup would be useful there.

My personal guess (and personal favorite !) would be an RS-1 (later to
become the GRC-109), or even an RS-6 set.  One of those sets, in capable
hands, is capable of doing anything - and everything - according to me
HaHaHa.  A GRC-9 would also be a good candidate in the early 1950's.  Up to
the task, supported in the Federal supply system for logistics support,
hand-powered etc.  Would be a logical choice.  IMHO

So I got curious and dug up the actual FOIA reference that the AP new
article was quoting.  It is here at the top of the New Releases list:
 http://www.governmentattic.org/

PDF document page 53 states that the "principal" (presumably the cell Ops
Officer or Commander) would need comms good for 1000 miles, his agents
would need something in the order of 200 miles.  These comms would be to a
submarine, aircraft or a base station in a "secure area".  Or via drops,
messenger etc. This plan, like many contingency operations plans are pretty
vague, especially with regards to communications details....

It goes on to state that "the "*principal" should have a "long range, heavy
duty combination receiver - transmitter type radio that will be battery
operated.  In addition, the principal shall be furnished with a small
concealable pocket type receiver and transmitter similar to the "Gibson
Girl" for the purpose of communication with agents.  This latter equipment
should have a transmission range of 200 miles, with a fixed-wave
transmission*." etc...

It goes on to state that the dry cell batteries for these radios will be
resupplied by air drop.

Hopefully someone other than the staff officer who wrote that stuff gave it
a 5 nanosecond sanity check and planned for something that would actually
be usable.  A Gibson Girl?  Holy cats....

Later on in the document it describes the training and candidate-type
recommended.  (hams, duh)...The use of One Time Pads is mentioned.

PDF page 178-9 has some additional comms details.  Including a reference to
a "UT4" radio recommended for Ground-to-Air comms.  I assume the author
actually meant a URC-4?

It's a pretty interesting, long read.  Lots of background material for
training potential stay-behind personnel on how the Soviets successfully
used partisans against Germany in WWII (and later liquidated them as
security risks).

One interesting entry is "The problems of communications will be so
difficult to solve that preoccupation with them will considerably hamper
agent operations."

Indeed, with the recommended stuff.

Enjoy,,,
Tim
N6CC


On Sat, Sep 6, 2014 at 4:13 PM, Rob Flory <farmer.rob.flory at gmail.com>
wrote:

> A challenge to say the least.  Long distances to cover, lots of auroral
> absorption(although early 1950s was more towards a solar minimum.
>
> Small sized units like GRC-9 or its predecessor would be easy to use and
> stash, but something more powerful and with a MF capability like TBW/RBM
> might give better results.
>
> RF
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 8:46 PM, Tim <timsamm at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Probably many of us have heard about the recently declassified Project
>> WASHTUB which hit the news today.  It was an effort to recruit, equip and
>> train Alaska residents in the early 1950's to act as "stay behind agents"
>> in the event the Soviet Union attacked and occupied Alaska during the early
>> days of the cold war.
>>
>> http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/09/01/military-trained-alaskans-as-stay-behind-agents.html?comp=7000023435700&rank=2
>>
>> Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to specify the type of
>> radio equipment that might be available in the early 1950's to be used in
>> this effort.  You would design the training program for operators and
>> assist in specifying communications components for the supply caches
>> containing this radio equipment.  What radio equipment would be best suited
>> for this task?
>>
>> You have as much time as Ivan will allow...
>>
>> This E Mail will self-destruct in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
>>
>>
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