Another perspective on the Fifth's hard-working radio technicians
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Another perspective on the Fifth's hard-working radio technicians
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27th Air Depot Fifth Air Force |
The radio repair shack of the 27th ADG depot near 7-Mile, Port Moresby. In WW2 all aviation radios and avionics had valves of course, transistors and solid state circuits not yet having been invented. Tropical heat in New Guinea and the Philippines played havoc with such radios, of which two major types were employed. HF (High Frequency) sets were used for long-range transmissions, but with varying success as atmospheric propogation in the Pacific was unpredictable to say the least, and often upset by tropical storms. VHF (Very High Frequency) sets were used for aircraft-to-aircraft and control frequency transmissions. The radios in the Fifth's aircraft were bulky and heavy. So were their Japanese equivalents, to the extent that most A6M2 pilots of the Tainan Kokutai removed their radios themsleves, using hand-signals between aircraft in preference !
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