Re: U.S. Navy taking on pirates, sort of
- From: Jack Linthicum <jacklinthicum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 07:38:26 -0700 (PDT)
On Apr 1, 9:19 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 1, 9:01 am, Vince <fire...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
On Apr 1, 4:51 am, Vince <fire...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
let me also express my complete personal respect for all those with
opposing views, we are working on an historical puzzle
And you are debating whether certain aircraft did or did not have
radio sets?
no, radio direction finding
Vince
Anybody have access to this group?
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/communication/japanese-radio-directi...
Requires registration but doesn't seem to want new members.
This says Fuchida used the 1-3 system, if you don't believe what he
told Prange I doubt you will accept his statement. Have you ever
noticed that you are not using reason this question, Vince?
http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/gregspringer/radios/radio_systems.htm
The control box for the Type 1-3 RDF was mounted above and between the
two Type 96 sets. The control for rotating the RDF antenna was
directly to the rear of the control box. The directional loop antenna
was mounted in the fuselage deck beneath the canopy behind the
rollover pylon. It consisted of two round stamped-metal frames with a
center post. The actual antenna was made of insulated wire wrapped
around and between the frames. Cloth was then applied over the wire
and doped. This gave the assembly the appearance of a thick loop with
a center post. The photo-etched 'twin loop antenna' found in many
aftermarket detail sets today is in fact only the support frames which
survived after the cloth and antenna wire disintegrated. These frames
are seen in a number of restored aircraft that no doubt led to the
error. Credit goes to Ryan Toews and James Long for discovering this
fact. The drive motor for rotating the loop antenna is contained in a
box inside the fuselage just below the antenna and the large central
unit for processing the radio signals was housed in the rear fuselage
behind the rear cockpit bulkhead. The dynamotor power supply for the
RDF system was likewise located in the rear fuselage. A visual
indicator for flying along a directional radio range signal was
mounted in the lower left corner of the instrument panel. The face of
this instrument has an arc painted on it with characters for 'right'
and 'left'. A needle indicated the relative position of the aircraft
to the signal. One further control is a round switch box mounted next
to the pilot's right shoulder. This was for switching the antenna's
reception function between the communication radio and the RDF
system. This was to allow the RDF operator to use the antenna to
monitor AM radio broadcasts. Commander Fuchida used this feature on
December 7 1941 as he approached Oahu. The regular music broadcast
from Honolulu assured him that the American forces were unaware of his
impending attack. I am informed that many pilots still engage in this
practice to fight boredom on long flights.
The interesting thing about the Type 1-3 is that it was a copy of the
Fairchild Aero Compass, manufactured in New York by the Fairchild
Aerial Camera division of Fairchild Aircraft Company. The Zero coded
AI-154, which was shot down at Fort Kamehmeha during the Pearl Harbor
attack had a Fairchild-built direction finder Model RC-4, serial
number 484 installed in it, as did the Zero, which was captured in the
Aleutian Islands seven months later. Illustration 4 (see below) shows
the faces of the Fairchild control box and one manufactured by the
Naval Aerial Navigation Technical Depot. The dimensions of these
units are tentative ones made by comparing them with known dimensions
of airframe components in photos. The control box appears to be 140mm
long by 108mm wide by 80mm deep. According to the TAIC manual these
units operated in the 160 to 385 kilohertz range, which is in the Low
to Medium Frequency bands. The selector switches on a captured unit
are labeled from 170 to 1200 kHz, however. In the IJN the Type 1-3
was known as the 'Kruesi' after its designer, Geoffrey Kruesi of
Dayton, Ohio.
The direction finding function works as follows. When the axis of the
loop antenna is pointed at the transmission source it will receive no
signal. When the plane of the loop is pointed at the source it will
receive the strongest signal. The pilot finds the angle at which he
can hear no signal and sees that course on his 'route meter' on the
face of the control box. He uses his compass to bring his aircraft to
that heading. However there is a drawback to the system. When the
area of no signal is found, it is on a bearing both towards and away
from the source. If the pilot has good weather conditions he may be
able to tell from the position of the sun the general direction in
which he needs to fly. If overcast or darkness is prevailing he may
inadvertently fly a reciprocal course away from the source. This
occurred many times with frequently tragic results.
.
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