Yuku free message boards

jlyons97 wrote:

---

I was told by David Morris of the FAA museum, responding to some colonial observation about the folly of two place fighter, that the radio(s) in Skuas were unreliable enough to require a dedicated operator. This from a Skua pilot shot down in the Norway business.

The RAF radio is (I think) the VHF crystal controlled set. This was not an issue in the design period of which we speak, I least I think it was not. It did two things: made the pilot's work load easier and, because it was line of sight, had less interference than lower frequency radios. The USAF had good radios in their fighters and they remained in service in the bombers at any rate throughout the war, but the advantages of the RAF radio for fighters could not be denied.

All of the MF/HF radios could (again, I think) be operated with a morse key; it was not a two-seater issue per se. Hellcats were oddly enough the longest-legged aircraft in a mid-war air group and were often used for search missions. Contact reports made 200-300 miles out could not be made on a VHF frequency unless there were one or more relays. Thus the pilot, using the morse key at his disposal did the job himself. The scout bombers had an radio-gunner, who could use the trailing wire antenna, encrypt and transmit the message. But the Hellcat could out reach them.

I think the 'naval' radio business is simply a matter of 'not invented here,' but others may be more knowledgeable.

If the 'naval radio' requirement is valid in the context of Seafires, could it be referreing to those Seafires used for naval gunfire support spotting as per operation Overlord?