Spitfire R/T Installations, Masts, Aerials

[Crimea_River]

Nice little synopsis for those who want to get the Spitfire antennas right:

A Guide to Spitfire and Seafire R/T Installations, Masts & Aerials by Jeff Webb

 

[fubar57]

Thanks for this Andy

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Hmm. Error 404, Page Not Found.

 

[Crimea_River]

Hmm. Error 404, Page Not Found.

Odd. Just checked and it worked.

 

[Wurger]

Same here.

 

[fubar57]

Just now, A-OK. I do find several 404s in the HS reference section though

 

[Airframes]

Still getting 404.

 

[Wurger]

Still getting 404.

Terry, do you have an another net browser installed on your comp? Which one do you use and get the error? If you have the another one please try to use it.

 

[Crimea_River]

Airframes Terry, here's the article in PDF Format:

 

[EwenS]

Some additional information here, with input from the RAF Signals Museum.

The Burning Blue, Research page 3

It is interesting to note the range figures for the HF TR9 sets - 35-40 miles normally. Particularly relevant in discussions about controlling and guiding carrier aircraft in the early war period.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Andy - saved and filed.

 

[MIflyer]

Very good! I had no trouble downloading it. The USAAF aircraft used the AN104 antenna, similar to the RAF version, with a wood core and a metal covering. If anyone wants to see what an SCR-522 looks like inside that box, I have one in my hangar. The SCR-522 was used as the basis for the development of the ARC-3 VHF radio that came into use at the end of WW2 and was widely used in both the USAF and USN aircraft after the war. It separated the transmitter and receiver into two separate boxes.

Note that the TR9D is said to have been battery operated. This was common for civilian light aircraft in the USA in the 1930's and 1940's but not for the military.

In the book "Corsair KD431" they point out that for fleet use the fighter had to have the VHF equipment removed and HF gear installed.

 

[SaparotRob]

Very good! I had no trouble downloading it. The USAAF aircraft used the AN104 antenna, similar to the RAF version, with a wood core and a metal covering. If anyone wants to see what an SCR-522 looks like inside that box, I have one in my hangar. The SCR-522 was used as the basis for the development of the ARC-3 VHF radio that came into use at the end of WW2 and was widely used in both the USAF and USN aircraft after the war. It separated the transmitter and receiver into two separate boxes.

Note that the TR9D is said to have been battery operated. This was common for civilian light aircraft in the USA in the 1930's and 1940's but not for the military.

In the book "Corsair KD431" they point out that for fleet use the fighter had to have the VHF equipment removed and HF gear installed.


View attachment 792328View attachment 792329View attachment 792330View attachment 792331

So that's what's inside them.

 

[MIflyer]

Note the hole in the tip of the AN104? Just like the Spit antenna, that was to enable it to be used as a mast for holding the HF antenna wire that ran from the mast to the tip of the tail.

 

[NZTyphoon]

I'm appreciative that people have found my article to be of some use: as a follow up, I'm writing an article about the associated IFF and beam approach equipment, plus (hopefully) other equipment, such as batteries (accumulators, in 1940s British parlance)...right now, family matters means that writing it has to take a back seat, for now.

I'm not claiming that my article is "definitive" and any constructive comments and additional information will be useful: TIA.

For interest, I bought this original factory drawing of the Spitfire's mast and aerial arrangements off the AirCorps Library which is a valuable and ever expanding source of information on many types of American and British aircraft, including (in many cases) factory blueprints and drawings, as well as aircraft and aircraft equipment manuals.

 

[Crimea_River]

Excellent NZTyphoon thank-you. I didn't know you were a member here. Kudos for the article and I hope that you are able to share your planned additional articles with us soon. It's a topic that I always interested me and yet I've found very little dedicated coverage of it so thanks once again.