Johnny .45
Airman
For example, a Bristol Beaufighter, they stick a man in the back to operate the radio system (I'd have made him navigator as well...or did they?). Is he the only one who can communicate with others, or can he "patch" the pilot in, and the pilot does the talking while the RO just finds the proper channels? What happens if the RO gets hit: is the pilot SOL and stuck without a radio until he gets home? And from what I've seen, although aircraft could communicate verbally at closer ranges, for longer ranges, the operator had to use Morse code. Did the same apply to single operator planes like fighters, or were there radios so limited in range they could only speak to those in the vicinity? And what the hell does he do for the majority of the trip...the only plane that would need to transmit long distance is the commander's. If the RO doesn't do all the talking for the aircraft, what does he do? Monitor the stations in case there's a mission abort?
And while I'm thinking of it, did RO's transmit in the clear, or were they given codebooks? You see the scenes in Germans propaganda films were the He 111 successfully sinks a British ship, and the RO is tapping out a message to home base...seems like transmitting in the clear "we just sank an enemy vessel at X location. Returning to base" is a bad idea. I don't know if anyone has answers to any of these questions, but I figured it was worth a shot; it's on the long list of little details that I don't know and which drive me nuts when I'm trying to visualize the operation of the aircraft.
Edit: BTW, yes, I'm aware that the RO operates the radar system when applicable. And oddly, I just realized that the Beaufighter appears to lack a DF aerial, which is kind of odd for a aircraft that spent so much time on over-sea patrols. Maybe they figured it'd sap performance. Interesting to note, too, that the Beaufighter's RO wasn't even given a rear gun, except in rare torpedo bomber versions. Must suck to just sit there in the back of the plane while people shoot at you! (Although I guess that was a problem for a lot of crewmembers in a lot of aircraft types)
And while I'm thinking of it, did RO's transmit in the clear, or were they given codebooks? You see the scenes in Germans propaganda films were the He 111 successfully sinks a British ship, and the RO is tapping out a message to home base...seems like transmitting in the clear "we just sank an enemy vessel at X location. Returning to base" is a bad idea. I don't know if anyone has answers to any of these questions, but I figured it was worth a shot; it's on the long list of little details that I don't know and which drive me nuts when I'm trying to visualize the operation of the aircraft.
Edit: BTW, yes, I'm aware that the RO operates the radar system when applicable. And oddly, I just realized that the Beaufighter appears to lack a DF aerial, which is kind of odd for a aircraft that spent so much time on over-sea patrols. Maybe they figured it'd sap performance. Interesting to note, too, that the Beaufighter's RO wasn't even given a rear gun, except in rare torpedo bomber versions. Must suck to just sit there in the back of the plane while people shoot at you! (Although I guess that was a problem for a lot of crewmembers in a lot of aircraft types)
