Electronics in the Pacific and European War

[old_pop2000]

We been discussing (for want of a milder term) the effect of aircraft radios on air combat and the Pacific war, so I thought it would be good to begin a more detailed discussion of the electronics of WWII in both the Pacific and Europe.

Let's not restrict ourselves to just hardware, but also the use of the hardware in tactics and strategy. How the various pieces fit together and how it evolved.

Some areas to discuss are ground and airborne radar, radios, navigation systems, bombing systems, Homing beacons, IFF, etc.

Those of you without a background in electronics, jump in and ask questions about what you have read. There are many on this forum with good to excellent electronics backgrounds who will assist in understanding the complexities of the subject. Tactics and doctrine are important.

[Ed Rotondaro]

We been discussing (for want of a milder term) the effect of aircraft radios on air combat and the Pacific war, so I thought it would be good to begin a more detailed discussion of the electronics of WWII in both the Pacific and Europe.

Let's not restrict ourselves to just hardware, but also the use of the hardware in tactics and strategy. How the various pieces fit together and how it evolved.

Some areas to discuss are ground and airborne radar, radios, navigation systems, bombing systems, Homing beacons, IFF, etc.

Those of you without a background in electronics, jump in and ask questions about what you have read. There are many on this forum with good to excellent electronics backgrounds who will assist in understanding the complexities of the subject. Tactics and doctrine are important.

Dennis:

One thing that comes to mind immediately is signals intel in both theaters. Radio communications meant you could intercept the other guys messages and with enough effort decode and use it to your advantage. And of course for locating the enemy things like Huff Duff certainly made a difference in the war in the Atlantic.

[Warship NWS]

Dennis:

One thing that comes to mind immediately is signals intel in both theaters. Radio communications meant you could intercept the other guys messages and with enough effort decode and use it to your advantage. And of course for locating the enemy things like Huff Duff certainly made a difference in the war in the Atlantic.

I would break that up a bit. Remember, there were various methods of transmitting messages via visual, voice, and telegraphy and different methods of attempting to keep those messages from giving too much information to the enemy which in turn required various methods of decryption, deciphering, information extrapolation, etc.

Thanks.

[old_pop2000]

Dennis:

One thing that comes to mind immediately is signals intel in both theaters. Radio communications meant you could intercept the other guys messages and with enough effort decode and use it to your advantage. And of course for locating the enemy things like Huff Duff certainly made a difference in the war in the Atlantic.
Radio messages could be intercepted and decoded on the carriers. At the start of the war, Hypo setup teams and sent them to the carriers to perform that work.

Air to ground communications were usually sent in the clear, not encoded. US carriers could intercept messages from snoopers on the fleet and tell whether they had discovered them or not.

The carriers also received messages from Hypo at Pearl Harbor concerning naval activity discovered and decoded.

As I mentioned, the use of short sentences with code words was vital to aircraft communications to prevent radio direction finding by the opponent. This is one of reasons that radio chatter was discouraged.

[old_pop2000]

Some information about the SCR-270 installed at Guadalcanal. It was landed on the third day and installed on the hill top near the Pagoda. Depending on altitude, it could detect enemy aircraft out to 150 miles; somewhere near New Georgia Island. Terrain prevented any detection within 25 miles. Coupled with the coast watcher system, it gave cactus, at least, a one hour notice of incoming aircraft.

There were three warning levels, red; yellow; green. Green flag signalled all clear. Yellow was 30 minute warning and all pilots headed to their aircraft and took off to rendevous. Red or black flag, was everyone to his shelters and take cover.

FD was from a truck with a transmitter/receiver removed from a wrecked F4F. Plotting was done on a pilots board. Henderson later became the bomber field, with two more fields created for the fighters. All were orientated NE-SW into the prevailing winds.

AAA was from four 90mm antiaircraft guns brought in the first day by the Marines. Accompanying those guns were light AA guns and searchlights.

[Kyle Holgate]

I wonder if "electronics" ins't too broad a brush to paint with? Maybe we aught to discuss one piece at a time? Just a suggestion...

Personally I think it would be intersting to look further into what B Deinst was doing early in the war. I am aware that they were getting information on convoys, but the means by which they were and how they got the Allied/RN naval codes (or decoded them) is laregely a big gapping hole in my knowlege base. I know quite a bit about enigma and magic and the Pacific theater code breaking - but the Germans managed a bit of "reading the enemies mail" too, at least for a while.

[old_pop2000]

I wonder if "electronics" ins't too broad a brush to paint with? Maybe we aught to discuss one piece at a time? Just a suggestion...

Personally I think it would be intersting to look further into what B Deinst was doing early in the war. I am aware that they were getting information on convoys, but the means by which they were and how they got the Allied/RN naval codes (or decoded them) is laregely a big gapping hole in my knowlege base. I know quite a bit about enigma and magic and the Pacific theater code breaking - but the Germans managed a bit of "reading the enemies mail" too, at least for a while.
It is possible, I was just attempting use a broad stroke. But we could move into cryptography and signal intelligence. I think it would be a good adjunct to a electronics-communications discussion. They go hand in hand.

[old_pop2000]

For those of you interested, here are some quick definitions:

"Friendly"--for friendly air or surface contacts
"Bogey"--for unidentified air contacts
"Skunk"--for unidentified surface contacts
"Bandit"--for enemy air contacts
"Robber"--for enemy surface contacts.

[old_pop2000]

Another piece of electronics on Guadalcanal that was brought in on the transports was the SCR-268 Mobile Long Wave Searchlight control set. This was tied to the 90mm M1A1 AA guns.

http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/radar-5.htm


This set, along with the AA guns, manage give the level bombers some real fits. On occasion, blowing two to three out of the sky after two or three well directed shots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Scr-268_radar.jpg