|
Post by Joe Connor on Sept 23, 2013 1:10:44 GMT 8
I'm a World War II buff and have studied the Bataan/Corregidor campaign over the years. I also collect and restore U.S. military radio receivers from WWII. Does anyone know the make and model of the receivers used in the Naval Interception Station, first at Cavite and then on Corregidor? I have heard speculation from other radio collectors but nothing definitive.
Surprisingly, the old WWII receivers still show up at radio swapmeets. After the war, the government dumped thousands of these sets on the surplus market. Parts are still readily obtainable and after a little restoration work, these sets work great. I see them as living pieces of history.
Thanks for your help.
Joe Connor
|
|
|
Post by Joe Connor on Sept 25, 2013 2:29:45 GMT 8
Does anyone have pictures of the interception station? Perhaps I could identify the receivers from those photos. (Of course, I understand that for security reasons, they may not have taken many photos of that station).
Thanks.
Joe Connor
|
|
|
Post by fots2 on Sept 25, 2013 18:04:57 GMT 8
Hello Joe, Welcome to the forums. This equipment list comes from a 2011 document entitled “The Navy Tunnel STATION CAST: Tip of the Lance “ written by Timothy J. Mucklow. He is a historian at the NSA. Unfortunately like many before him, another author has written about a place he has never even visited as the exact tunnel location he shows is incorrect. The article is a good read though. A search on the www should produce the document. I have never seen any tunnel photos. If you have not seen it, here is a link to a Trip Report which will show you what remains of the area in question today. The Navy Radio Intercept Tunnel
|
|
|
Post by Joe Connor on Sept 25, 2013 21:19:20 GMT 8
Thank you very much. That is a fascinating list. Here is a link to WWII military receivers so you can see what the receivers like the RAO, RAK, HRO and RAS look like: www.radioblvd.com/WWII-PostWar%20Hamgear.htm They were the top-of-the-line receivers of their day. The RAOs still show up frequently at swapmeets and hamfests and can usually be picked up for a reasonable price. The HRO is a classic and is sought by collectors today. The NC-100 is the forerunner of the RAO. The RME receivers are probably the RME-69 or RME-70. The Hallicrafters SX-25 is a little out of place because it was not even Hallicrafters' best receiver at the time. (The SX-28 was). It was probably used for a purpose other than interception. The presence of so many DB-20 pre-selectors is interesting. Radio receivers generate a signal inside the receiver. That's how they work. The Navy was very concerned that the enemy might be able to pick up that signal and home in on it as a direction-finding aid for bombers etc. Therefore, the Navy used pre-selectors between the receiver and the antenna to isolate that internal signal and prevent the enemy from detecting it. That probably explains why there are so many DB-20s on the list. Some of the later RAO had an extra RF stage built into the receiver itself to isolate the internal signal. Were the people who manned the interception station aware of the Navy's code-breaking activities? Were they captured or evacuated? I've often wondered if those who knew of the code-breaking activities fell into Japanese hands. Given the importance of the code-breaking activities, that would have been quite a risk. On the other hand, only so many people could be evacuated by plane or sub so I guess hard choices had to be made.
|
|
|
Post by fots2 on Sept 25, 2013 22:27:41 GMT 8
That is an interesting web site, thanks.
Along with the other intercept stations, the people who manned CAST were the guys doing the code breaking so were well aware of what was going on. Upper brass realized their vital importance to the war effort and had them evacuated to Australia although it did take several trips as you mention.
There are lots of books and articles available on this subject if you are interested. I do not memorize this stuff so can’t quote specifics. Good luck with your hobby.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Connor on Sept 26, 2013 3:33:02 GMT 8
Thank you, I wonder if any of the CAST personnel are still alive? It would be fascinating to talk to them and get their recollections.
Thank you for the article you referred me to. It's very informative. I posted the link on a military radio-collectors mailing list and have gotten a positive response.
Just a quick story: about five years ago, I got a broken and beat-up BC-348, which was the receiver used in the heavy bombers like the B-17, B-24 and B-29. I had it on my workbench, diagnosed the problem and repaired it. This radio hadn't worked in decades. As I gave it its first test run on the shortwave bands, what do you think the first station I received was? Radio Nippon.
|
|
|
Post by westernaus on Sept 28, 2013 13:26:27 GMT 8
Howdy Joe Connor and welcome to this web site . Would you or any of your radio buddies have any knowledge of what type of radios where used by the Army Signals on Corregidor Island in the early 1900's up to WW2 . I am thinking that you may have some contacts with people from army signals , who may be able to throw some light on what equipment was used on Corregidor back in those days . If you can help that would be great . Thank you . Westernaus .
|
|
|
Post by Joe Connor on Sept 29, 2013 23:05:23 GMT 8
I'll see what I can come up with. However, there seems to be quite little information on what sets were used before WWII.
|
|