RADIO, WWII
A Working Bibliography
Childs, Harwood L., and Whitton, John B., eds. Propaganda by Short
Wave. Princeton, NJ: Univ Press, 1942. 355 p. D810P6P76.
Meo, L.D. Japan's Radio War on Australia, 1941-1945. London:
Melbourne U.P., 1968. 300 p. D810P7J362.
Rolo, Charles J. Radio Goes to War. NY: Putnam's, 1942. 293 p.
D798R6.
U.S. Army. 2d Mobile Radion Broadcasting Co. History - Second
Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company, December 1943-May 1945.
n.p., n.d. 89 p. 2101-2MRB-1945, UHRm.
_________. Signal Corps. Walkie-Talkie-Past, Present and Future.
Ft. Monmouth, NJ: Sig Corps Engr Lab, 1951. 10 p. UG610U6.
U.S. War Dept. German Radio Communication Equipment. TM 11-227, Jun
1944. 55 p. TM.
_________. Radio Set SCR-593-A. TM 11-859, 2 Mar 1943. 83 p.
TM.
_________. Signal Communication Equipment Directory, Radio
Communication Equipment. TM 11-227, 10 Apr 1944. 124 p. TM.
USAMHI Commo - Radio
RefBranch
dv 1985
NOTE: RADIO MINIATURIZATION & TRANSISTORS, WWII
A search of sources uncovered no indication that the 82d Abn Div used
miniaturized vacuum tubes or other small-scale radio components
during Operation MARKET-GARDEN. The signal equipment of US abn divs
at that time appears standard and non-miniaturized, even though the
pertinent technology existed, having already been proven in the
proximity fuze program.
Published and unpublished histories of the 82d and 101st Abn Divs,
XVIII Abn Corps and First Allied Abn Army contain no details of
actual signal equipment used; instead, they concentrate on operations
and combat. The same holds true for the pertinent published memoirs
and biographies. Even the microfilm records of the 82d Div on file
here lack detailed reports of the G-4 and Signal Section.
The radios used by the airborne divisions are listed in General Board
Report No 16, pp. 8-9, 30 & 32 (D769A5no16). See also Technical
Manuals 11-242 (Feb 1946), 11-235 (May 1945), and 11-615 (Apr 1945),
which reveal ordinary tubes in several of those standard radios. No
hint of miniaturization appears in the descriptions and illustrations
of the radio sets in pertinent articles, from Signal Corps Technical
Information Letter No 23 (Oct 1943), pp. 37-38 & 42-45, and No 30
(May 1944), pp. 25-28.
Miniaturization of some electronic equipment did occur during the
war, most notably in the British-initiated variable time or proximity
fuze, which was, in effect, a miniaturized radar set and included
miniaturized vacuum tubes. However, commensurate miniaturization did
not apparently take place in other wartime electronics. Although the
war's radios progressively became more lightweight and small, no
tactical model appears to have been sufficiently reduced to be
considered miniaturized.
Furthermore, a monograph by William Stevenson, "Miniaturization and
Microminiaturization of Army Communications-Electronics, 1946-1964"
(US Army Material Command, 1966) asserts that wartime mimiaturiza-
tion technology was limited electronically to the proximity fuze.
(The monography is not on file here, but its contents were reported
by Archivist Simchick, Historians Office, Communications-Electronics
Research Command, Ft Monmouth, NJ). In short, radio miniaturization
awaited postwar development.
Miniaturization p.2
SOURCES:
Baldwin, Ralph B. The Deadly Fuze. San Rafael, CA: Presidio, 1980.
UL400.71P7B34.
Baxter, James P. Scientists Against Time. Boston: Little, Brown,
1947. pp. 226, 232-233, & 241. Q127U6B34.
Johns Hopkins Univ. Opns Research Office. Effectiveness of
Miniature Radios in Small Infantry Units. Chevy Chase, MD,
1956. pp. 7 & 97. ORO-T-338.
Smith, Merritt Roe. Military Enterprise and Technological Change:
Perspectives on the American Experience. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press, 1985. UL170M55.
See Chap 6 on transistor development.
Thompson, George R., and Harris, Dixie R. The Signal Corps: The
Outcome. In the USAWWII series. Wash, DC: OCMH, 1966. pp.
504-505. D769A533v6pt5v3.
U.S. Army. Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories. Walkie-Talkie:
Past, Present & Future. Ft Monmouth, NJ, 1950s. UG610U6.
Although no US tactical radio became miniaturized during the war, the
SCR 695 was indeed a lightweight model. It replaced the SCR 284 in
the abn divs. One can compare the two radio sets in the War Dept's
Radio Communication Equipment: Technical Manual 11-227, (Apr 1944),
pp. 58 & 115. The SCR 694's tubes themselves appear standard size,
as seen in depictions of its internal components in TM 11-230c, (Aug
1944) pp. 51, 53, 63, & 66. The 694 model appears to be little more
than a compressed version of the 284.
We can be reasonably certain that the 82d Abn Div actually used SCR
694s during opns in Holland. According to the div's G-4 Journal (on
microfilm WWII Docs, Box 2041, item 2063) such sets were items of
resupply.
Incidentally, the British B mk II wireless, which was used during the
war by SOE for clandestine opns, appears to be about the same weight
but more compact than the US SCR 694. The British set is described
on p. 102 of Foot's SOE in France (London: HMSO, 1966; D802F8F6).
Could it be that British lightweight radio technology was borrowed by
the US Signal Corps to develop a lightweight tactical radio, such as
the SCR 694?
Miniaturization p.3
Incidentally, no info was found in sources on file here of any
significant radio communications problems experienced by US abn divs
during MARKET-GARDEN opn, which contrasts with those that plagued the
British 1st Abn Div. See:
Galvin, John R. Air Assault: The Development of Airmobile Warfare.
NY: Hawthorne, 1969. pp. 188-189. UD480G3.
Golden, Lewis. Echoes from Arnhem. London: Kimber, 1984. 197 p.
D759.6G65.
Participant focuses on signal aspects.
Hibbert, Christopher. The Battle of Arnhem. NY: Macmillan, 1962.
pp. 95-97. D763N4H48.
MacDonald, Charles B. The Siegfried Line Campaign. In the USAWWII
series. Wash, DC: OCMH, 1963. D769A533v3pt6.
See index under "Radio."
Ryan, Cornelius. A Bridge Too Far. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1974.
D763N4R9.
See index under "Operation Market-Garden: Communications
Problems."
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"