Re: [MV] References for WWII US/British Walkie Talkies

From: Richard Notton (Richard@fv623.demon.co.uk)
Date: Wed Oct 24 2001 - 15:39:50 PDT


----- Original Message -----
From: "aussierob" <aussierob@odyssey.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] References for WWII US/British Walkie Talkies

> Richard hello:
>
> It was very interesting reading your posted information. I enjoyed it
> immensley. So much that I probably wont need to buy the two expensive
books.
>
They do have the service and alignment data for all the wartime and just
after radios, essential if you have a unit to service.

> However, it would be nice to see those books too.
>
The in-service vehicle pictures alone are an interesting source.

> During the war, I wonder if both sides would rush captured communication
> radios back to some designated field headquarters (or wherever) so they
> could be copied and used to gain access to the other sides transmissions.
It
> would always great to know what the Germans were thinking and vice versa
> eh?
>
I very much doubt it, radio was radio and there was no real technical
intelligence to be gained from army equipment, unlike airborne radars and
our use of the then top secret magnetron.

Both sides were generally operating across HF and the low VHF bands, voice
messages followed a strict procedure generally that wouldn't give anything
away, the US of course used Navajo code-talkers in the Pacific theatre. CW
(morse code) medium/long haul traffic was encoded first before being sent,
here the Germans would use the Enigma machine and make great use of
semi-fixed long haul radio links thus supplying a lot of grist to Bletchley
Park's mill.

Veering a bit further off-topic, the immediate tactical messages need only
low security as the movements become obvious in the short term, apparently
boring logistical orders are far more informative; a HQ message requiring
the movement of tons of detailed stores, like rations, ammunition and types
thereof, fuel, vehicle spares for trucks and tanks all to a certain point
are very meaningful. Front line platoon and company sets are quite low
powered with intentionally limited range, both sides are more concerned with
their own signals tasks and at this level it was impractical to have a
signals intelligence unit.

The Wehrmacht used captured vehicles and equipment in quantity, such was the
level of stuff left behind at Dunkirk some British types were actually
re-worked to German specifications, the Morris Commercial PU was totally
re-bodied as a Kubel and many other types re-painted and lightly modified.
(See the three part article by Paul Hocking in Windscreen). Those fitted
for radio and left at Dunkirk mostly had the ageing but reliable and
effective No.11 set which the Wehrmacht used extensively, the referenced
books carry a reprint of the German operating manual for these.

Richard
Southampton - England



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