Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Radio Telephone and Telegraph Transmitting and Receiving Equipment
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MkDorney
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Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Post by MkDorney » Tue Oct 18, 2022 5:41 pm

I understand that some aircraft sets did find their way to be mounted in ground vehicles during WW2, especially in the Pacific. Considering the US Navy was still in the process of converting aircraft electrical systems from 12 to 24 volt when the US entered WW2, this does not surprise me. I am currently working on a 1941 RU/GF US Navy Fighter Bomber radio ( one of the types used on some US Carrier based aircraft at Midway) that is powered by a dynamotor that need a 12 volt input. The 12 volts sets were more than likely available at least until the end of 1942, and perhaps into late 1943, so the proposition of using a aircraft radio on a 12 volt ground vehicle is certainly feasible. I can't see them being used as a general practice, however. Aircraft radios are not nearly as rugged as the ground forces radios. Radio case construction tended to be light weight, easily damage aluminum.


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Re: Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Post by Radtech » Wed Oct 19, 2022 5:29 am

Aircraft radios were frequently mounted in vehicles for air support of ground troops as well as for aircraft to mobile ground units at Army air fields.

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Re: Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Post by G-Man » Sat Oct 22, 2022 8:38 pm

The BC-191, which is a 12V version of the BC-375 HF aircraft transmitter was widely deployed in vehicles as well as for fixed stations. The BC-375 was the most produced and deployed of all US bomber radios, being standard Liaison transmitters in the B-17/24/25/26 and early B-29's.

Look up SCR-193. This is the BC-191, paired with an Army receiver or two. Yes, it's a lightly built transmitter, especially when compared to the BC-312/314/342/344 receivers which they were paired with. But, lightly built or not, they were electrically robust and fairly easy to use, so they got the job done for a medium powered HF station.

Also note that these SCR-193 were general purpose HF transmitter/receivers, and were not specifically for ground to air communications. They offered roughly a 6-10 dB signal improvement (4-10 times the transmitter power and better receiver sensitivity/selectivity), when compared to the smaller and lighter SCR-284/694/178 radio sets. Thus, the SCR-193, using the aircraft transmitter, was able to fill an important gap between those low-powered portable sets, and the much larger SCR-299/399/499 sets, which required a dedicated truck and trailer. The SCR-193 was not man-portable, but it could be installed in Command Cars, half-tracks, armored cars and other smaller trucks and vehicles.

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Re: Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Post by Radtech » Sun Oct 23, 2022 5:31 am

The SCR 522 were also mounted in vehicles.

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Re: Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Post by B460FA » Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:19 am

The AN/VRC-1 was an Air Corps jeep that used the BC-191 HF transmitter paired with the BC-312 Army receiver like the SCR-193 but also had the SCR-522 VHF transceiver to talk to the P-47, P-51 patrol aircraft. It was manned by Air Corps operators. All equipment ran off of 12 volts delivered by a PTO driven generator between the front seats.
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Re: Aircraft radios in ground unit vehicles

Post by mdainsd » Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:27 am

B460FA wrote:
Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:19 am
The AN/VRC-1 was an Air Corps jeep that used the BC-191 HF transmitter paired with the BC-312 Army receiver like the SCR-193 but also had the SCR-522 VHF transceiver to talk to the P-47, P-51 patrol aircraft. It was manned by Air Corps operators. All equipment ran off of 12 volts delivered by a PTO driven generator between the front seats.
There was also a GPW modification kit that replaced the standard generator with a 55Amp 12V generator. I have a GPW so equipped.
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