World War II Radio Communications - 29th Infantry Division
Radio Communications During World War II
World War II was truly the first conflict in the 20th Century that stressed mobility and speed, which in turn proved the necessity for wireless radio communication.
World War I
Experience in World War I had showed the tremendous problems posed with maintaining control of a huge army over large distances. With the onset of the war in 1914, the organization and efficiency of the armies varied greatly. As the war progressed, the fact that commanders could not control, coordinate, and direct huge modern armies without efficient signal communication quickly became apparent to both the Allies and the Central Powers. A growing appreciation of the need for improved electrical communications of much greater capacity for the larger units and of the need within regiments for electrical communications, which had heretofore been regarded as unessential and impractical. Field telephones and switchboards were soon developed, and those already in existence were improved.
Despite efforts to protect the wire lines, they were frequently cut at critical times as the result of the intense artillery fire. This led all the belligerents to develop and use radio (wireless) as an alternate means of communication. Prewar radio sets were too heavy and bulky to be taken into the trenches, and they also required large and highly visible aerials. Radio engineers of the belligerent nations soon developed smaller and more portable sets powered by storage batteries and using low, inconspicuous aerials. Although radio equipment came to be issued to the headquarters of all units, including Battalions, the ease of enemy interception, the requirements for crypto-graphing or encoding messages, and the inherent unreliability of these early systems caused them to be regarded as strictly auxiliary to the wire system and reserved for emergency use when the wire lines were cut.
Inter-War Period
One of the war lessons learned by most of the major nations was the compelling need for scientific research and development of equipment and techniques for military purposes. Although the amount of funds devoted to military development during the period from World War I to World War II was relatively small, the modest expenditures served to establish a bond between industry, science, and the armed forces of the major nations.
Of great importance in postwar radio communication was the pioneering by amateurs and by industry and science in the use of very high frequencies. These developments opened the armed services the possibilities of portable short-range equipment for mobile and portable tactical use by armies, navies, and air forces. Military work in these fields was carried out actively in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.
Another major communication advance that had its origin and early growth during the period between World Wars I and II was frequency-modulated (FM) radio. Developed during the late 1920s and early 1930s by Edwin H. Armstrong, an inventor and a major in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I, this new method of modulation offered heretofore unattainable reduction of the effect of ignition and other noises encountered in radios used in vehicles. It was first adapted for military use by the U.S. Army, which, prior to World War II, had under development tank, vehicular, and man-pack frequency-modulated radio transmitters and receivers.
However, the military had invested a lot of resources into AM equipment. Companies like the Radio Corporation of America - known today simply as RCA - and Bell Laboratories were opposed to FM's development, primarily because of their heavy investment in producing AM sets.
After the Army successfully experimented with sets the small-business Fred M. Link Company built for the Connecticut state police in the 1930s, the idea arose from the military grass roots that FM radio was the wave of future communications technology. The Signal Corps began investigating FM with the possibility of adapting it to the Army's needs. Using the new phase-shift patents of Edwin Armstrong (a former signaler and major in the World War I corps), Radio Engineering Laboratories at Long Island City, N.Y., built 28 FM sets for use in the Army's 1940 summer maneuvers.
Demands from the field came quickly. The field artillery, infantry and coast artillery wanted to service-test sets. Soon the cavalry and armored force wanted them, too. Earlier an opponent of FM, Western Electric - then owned by AT& T - received the contract to build the Army's FM sets.
The Link police sets became the prototypes of the SCR-293 and SCR-294, the compact, short-range vehicular sets which were to go into the tanks of the 1st and 2d Armored Divisions in North Africa. They were, in fact, the Army's first FM radios - actually, the first FM radios used anywhere in combat. The SCR-293 and 294 signaled the Signal Corps and Army's commitment to FM radio. Armstrong, who spent most of his career as a civilian scientist, generously donated his equipment, time and use of his patents to speed the Signal Corps' development of FM.
The Signal Corps' short-range vehicular FM sets gave American soldiers voice-communications capabilities, free from interference, beyond anything either the enemy or other allied nations possessed. By the end of the war, whole new avenues were opening for using FM.
World War II
FM crystal-controlled sets elevated radio usage, making FM radio the equivalent of wire telephone communications - reliable, easy to use, usually easy to understand. Then, upon applying FM radio to radio-relay techniques, the inherently short range of VHF FM was extended, in 30-mile hops, to whatever distance circuits might be desired. This was done by relays of truck-mounted equipment, able to provide in a matter of hours long-distance, highly reliable multi-channel circuits - much faster, much easier and less costly than erecting miles of wire lines.
Furthermore, all this superlative radio communications could be, and eventually was, interconnected into wire-line systems. As a result, wire and radio became married; their circuits were integrated, providing high-quality communications irrespective of whether signals traveled by wire or by radio, and alternatively over links of each.
In tactical combat, armored-force and artillery operators (also infantrymen using the walkie-talkie SCR-300) could talk and clearly hear over their FM sets, which remained free of the static and interference that bedeviled the other combatants' AM radios.
One American veteran of Siegfried Line combat wrote, "I know the fighting would have lasted longer if we hadn't had FM on our side. We were able to shoot fast and effectively because we could get information quickly and accurately by voice on FM. "He added, "FM saved lives and won battles because it speeded our communications and enabled us to move more quickly than the Germans, who had to depend upon AM."
The first units developed that more or less conform to our present day expectations for handheld devices were the SCR-511 and the SCR-536. The SCR-511/BC-745 (HF-AM) was designed to be used while riding a horse. However, the cavalry was abolished at the beginning of WW II, so it would seem it was a bit awkward to use on foot. It was, however, a marvelous example of good applied engineering, i.e. how to design a radio that was operable with just one hand while riding.
Nevertheless, the honor must go to the SCR-536/BC-611 (along with the SCR-585/BC-721 glider version) paratrooper sets for being the first true handheld Transceiver, Radio Set. (All of the above units were made, in the beginning, by Galvin Mfg. Co, which is now Motorola.) Packing a walloping 36 milliwatts of transmit power, and subject to all the interference the HF AM band musters, it was still more or less a success. The Navy's MAB and DAV paratrooper sets were also fairly small units that operated in the same AM frequency band, but were not quite handheld. Instead, they were what we might call "shoulder strap" radios, a style that has, overtime, not been too prevalent here in the US.
FM radio made U.S. mobile forces the envy of our allies and enemies alike during World War II. But it didn't come about without some major changes of attitude by the Army and the communications industry.
Use in Army Divisions
US infantry divisions used brevity codes in all of their communications. This kept on-air time to a minimum, made the most efficient use of air time, prolonged battery life, and negated the need to transmit a lot of duplicative information.
Each major element in a US Infantry, armored, airborne, or cavalry division was assigned a name that started with the first letter of the Division. In World War II for instance, units within the 101st Airborne used the letter "K", the second Armored Division used the letter "C," and the 2nd Infantry Division used the letter "I." The 29th Division used the letter "L" and was organized as depicted in the following table:
|Unit |Radio Call Sign |Unit |Radio Call Sign |
|Division Headquarters |LATITUDE |110th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm) |LARKSPUR |
|Division Artillery (DIVARTY) |LAVENDER |111th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm) |LASSO |
|Division Special Troops | |224th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm) |LEGISLATE |
|115th Infantry Regiment |LAGOON |227th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm) |LILAC |
|116th Infantry Regiment |LEMON |29th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)| |
|175th Infantry Regiment |LIMESTONE |729th Light Ordinance Maintenance Company |LANTERN |
|121st Engineer Combat Battalion |LINOLEUM |29th Signal Company | |
|104th Medical Battalion |LAKE |29th Quartermaster Company | |
|Heavy Tank Battalion (Attached from | |Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion |VASCULAR |
|Corps - this was the 743rd Tank | |(Attached from Corps - this was the 110th AAA | |
|Battalion from 17 May - 14 Jun 1944) | |Gun Battalion (Mobile) from 17 May - 7 Jun | |
| | |1944) | |
At lower echelons, each infantry Battalion within a particular regiment was assigned a color: red (1st Battalion), white (2nd Battalion), and blue (3rd Battalion). Additionally, each staff element within the Battalion was assigned a unique number, corresponding to their role or function.
o One: S1 (Personnel)
o Two: S2 (Security)
o Three: S3 (Operations, Plans, and Training)
o Four: S4 (Supply)
o Five: Executive Officer
o Six: Commander
o Seven: First Sergeant/Sergeant Major
Phonetic letters were also used in conjunction with a call sign. "Able" was the radio operator, while "Baker" was, most times, the element's leader.
For example, the caller would say:
"Lemon Red 6 Able this is Lagoon White 3"
Which means:
"Battalion Operations Officer, 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment is calling for the Radio Operator for the Commander, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment."
Another example is Latitude 6 would always be the commanding general of the 29th.
|Model |Year |Frequency |Maximum Range |Echelon |Mounting |
| |Introduced | | | | |
|EE-8/ EE-8A/EE-8B Field Telephone |1942 |Not applicable |5-14 miles depending |Platoon/Company/Battalion |Portable |
| | | |on wire used. | | |
|Used in defensive positions. Used with dry batteries and capable of being hooked up, via WD-1 field wire, to BD-89 switchboard |
|SCR-177A Portable Radio Set (BC-306A Antenna Tuner, BC-189 |1932 |AM voice, CW morse, 0.4 |15 miles |Battalion/Regiment |Portable |
|Radio Receiver, BC-191 Radio Transmitter, PE-49 Dynamotor for | |-4.5 MHz | | | |
|transmitter, BB-46 Battery for receiver) | | | | | |
|Carried in a vehicle but operated on the ground, providing continuous wave, tone, and voice. Uses crowfoot antenna 0.4 MHz and 1/4 wave inverted L with counterpoise for 1.5 -4.5 MHz. TR 11-232. |
|SCR-178 - High Frequency Field Radio Set (BC-186 Receiver, |1941 |AM voice, CW morse |15 miles |Battalion/Regiment |Portable |
|BC-187 Transmitter, BC-188 Modulator, GN-37 Hand generator for| |2.4-3.7 MHz | | | |
|transmitter, 4 ea BA-2 Batteries, 4 ea BA-23 batteries, 2 ea | | | | | |
|BA-27 batteries)/ SCR-179 High Frequency Field Radio Set, | | | | | |
|Cavalry Saddle Version | | | | | |
|Sets carried in a vehicle but operated on the ground; operating in continuous wave only. Powered by dry batteries and LV/HV generator. This was replaced by the SCR-284. TM 11-231. |
|SCR-193 Vehicular High Frequency Field Radio Set (BC-191 and |1941 |AM voice, CW morse, |> 60 miles |Regiment/Division |Vehicular Mounted |
|BC-189 or BC-312, 15' whip) | |Transmitter 1.5-6.2 MHz,| | | |
| | |Receiver 1.5-18.0 MHz | | | |
|Basic 12V vehicular unit, used for communications between stationary or moving units. Transmission range; stationary, CW 60 miles, tone 40 miles voice 20 miles; moving, CW 30 miles, tone 20 miles, voice 15 miles. TM |
|11-273. |
|SCR-284 Radio Set |1944 |AM voice; CW morse, |> 30 miles |Battalion/Regiment/Division |Portable |
|(BC-654 Receiver transmitter, GN-45 Hand generator, PE-103 | |3.8-5.8 MHz | | | |
|Dynamotor, J-41 Hand key, RM-29 Remote control unit) | | | | | |
|Made by Crosley; many versions - pack; ground; transportable; and vehicular. Operated by two men, one of whom operated the generator. Provides both continuous wave and voice; rather heavy, weighing complete about 250 |
|pounds. 25 watt CW, 12 W AM. For Parachute, Airborne and Mountain Troops, AM; med range. CW tone or voice; transmission range while stationary CW 30 miles, tone 20 miles, voice 15 miles; vehicular use, CW 15 miles; tone|
|10 miles, voice 7 miles. Transmitter output 5 w voice or tone to 20 w CW. MO crystal calibrate of choice of either of two crystal freq by means of switch selection. Power supplied by Generator (hand) GN-58 and Battery |
|BA-48 or 6 V, or 12 V, 24 V vehicular battery w/Vibrator Power Supply PE-237. Receiver may operate approximately 20 hrs on Battery BA-48. Uses whip antenna and counterpoise of 1/2 wave sloping wire antenna. TMs 11-230, |
|-630, -694. |
|SCR-300/SCR-619 (BC-1000 Receiver-Transmitter, BA-70 Battery |1943 |FM voice, 40-48 MHz |20 miles |Platoon/Company/Battalion |Portable/Manpack |
|or BA-80 Battery, HS-30 Headset, AN-131 Antenna or AN-130 | | | | | |
|Antenna) Radio Set, Backpack "Walkie Talkie" | | | | | |
|In early 1943 the Signal Corps introduced the first infantry FM backpack radio, the SCR-300, which weighed 18 kilograms (40 pounds), had a range of 16 to 32 kilometers (10 to 20 miles). This replaced the SCR-194/SCR-195|
|radios, and first went into combat during the landings at Anzio in Italy in January 1944, and proved itself in battle during the rest of the war as a reliable and effective piece of equipment. The renowned walkie-talkie|
|built by Motorola replaced the SCR-194. |
|Galvin Manufacturing Co./Motorola of Chicago, Illinois produced approximately 50,000 SCR-300 units during World War II. |
|Power supplied by either Battery BA-70 or Battery A-80. Uses 10 ft 8" WHIP antenna, or 33" whip antenna end loaded. Short whip gives less distance range than 1.2 wave whip. TM 11-242. |
|SCR-506 Vehicular Radio (BC-653 Radio Transmitter, BC-652 |1944 |AM voice, CW morse, 2.0 |>30 miles Voice |Regiment/Division |Vehicular |
|Radio Receiver, DM-42A 12 VDC Transmitter Dynamotor, DM-43A 24| |- 6.0 MHz |100 miles Morse | | |
|VDC Transmitter Dynamotor, DM-40A 12 VDC Receiver Dynamotor, | | | | | |
|DM-41A 24 VDC Receiver Dynamotor, AN-24 22.5 Foot Wire | | | | | |
|Antenna) | | | | | |
|Built by General Electric, this was the standard medium range vehicular set designed for vehicular installations for communications between vehicles, airplanes, or base stations. Crystals calibrate control; 5 preset |
|channels one of which is tunable. 126 available channels spaced 20 kHz apart. Vehicle supplies 12 V power. Uses 15 ft whip antenna, optional in fixed location or 25 ft whip or 22 1/2 ft auxiliary wire antenna. This |
|radio had 18 tubes and weighed 377 pounds. TMs 11-630, -4007. |
|SCR-508 Radio Set (BC-603 and BC-604 Radio Transceivers) |1942 |FM voice, 20 - 27.9 MHz |10 miles |Regiment/Division |Portable/ |
| | | | | |Vehicular |
|The first US military FM radio to go into operation was the SCR-508, which was big and heavy and so only used on jeeps, tanks, and other vehicles. |
|It was based on Link Radio Corporation designs, with development performed by Bell Laboratories and Western Electric for the Army Signal Corps. The SCR-508 was followed shortly after by the SCR-608, which was almost |
|identical except that it operated in the 27 to 38.9 MHz range. |
|These would have been found in the M-8/M-20 armored cars assigned to the Reconnaissance Company. |
|SCR-509/SCR-709 Portable Radio Set (BC-620 Transceiver, AN-45 |1943 |FM voice only, 20-28 MHz|5 miles |Company/Battalion |Portable |
|Antenna, BA-39 Battery, BA-40 Battery, BA-41 Battery) | | | | | |
|Low-power pack radio. An 80-crystal controlled (any two frequencies preset) push-button FM radio; version SCR-709 had fewer crystals. Power supplied for transmitter by Battery BA-39, for receiver by Battery BA-40 and |
|BA-41. Uses 8 ft telescoping whip antenna. TM 11-605. |
|SCR-510 Vehicular Radio Set (BC-620 transceiver, PE-97 power |1943 |FM voice, 20-28 MHz |5 miles |Company/Battalion/Regiment |Vehicular |
|unit, PE-120 vibrapack, AN-45 antenna), | | | | | |
|Similar to the portable SCR-509 but designed for vehicles only. SCR-710 had fewer crystals. Provided 1 watt of output power from dry batteries, 6 V, or 12 V vehicle power. TM 11-605. |
|SCR-536 Radio Set (BC-611 Receiver-transmitter, BA-37 1.5 Volt|1941 |AM Voice, 3.5-6 MHz |> 1 mile |Platoon/Company |Portable |
|battery, BA-38 103.5 Volt battery) "Handy Talkie" | | | | | |
|The very short range "Handie-Talkie;" smallest of Signal Corps radio transmitter and receiver sets, was developed initially by Motorola. The SCR-536 was about 30 centimeters (1 foot) long, weighed about 2.7 kilograms (6|
|pounds). Self contained 2-way set with a transmission range of 100 ft to 1 mile, though it might have several times that range under good conditions. The SCR-536 was a neatly self-contained unit, containing electronics,|
|batteries, microphone and earphone, and a collapsible antenna. The handie-talkie was often the first radio ashore in amphibious operations, where it was carried in a sturdy waterproof bag by the first assault wave to |
|provide situation reports and call in naval gunfire support. The SCR-536 was first used in Allied landings in Sicily in 1943. |
|The SCR-536 was a two-way, portable radio used extensively by United States armed forces during World War II. Production on the SCR-536 radio began in July of 1941, and approximately 130,000 of them were built by Galvin|
|Manufacturing Co./Motorola of Chicago, Illinois. |
|The SCR-536 was waterproof and could be submerged for a period of time without affecting its performance. The radio was turned on by pulling out its antenna, and turned off by collapsing the antenna. Power supplied by |
|Battery BA-37 & BA-38 batteries. Uses 39" telescoping whip antenna. Followed by tropicalized and disguised versions, AN/PRC-4 and 6 respectively. TM 11-235. |
|SCR-543/SCR-593 Fixed or Vehicular Radio Set (BC-669 |1944 |AM Voice only, 1.68-4.45|20 miles |Company/Battalion |Portable (Vehicular and Ground) |
|Transceiver, PE-108 Dynamotor or PE-110 Dynamotor, RM-21 | |MHz | | | |
|Remote control) | | | | | |
|Manufactured by Hallicrafters. SCR-593 was portable being the receiver portion only. Ground, transportable and vehicular command set for use in vehicle or as field station. Transmission range 20 miles stationary, 15 |
|miles moving. Transmitter rated output 45 w/crystal control; 6 pre-set channels. Power supplied by Power Unit PE-108 (including 12 V storage battery) and Power Supply Unit PE-110. Receiver may be operated from storage |
|battery when engine generator is not operating. Transmitter and power unit may be controlled from a distance of 18 ft w/Remote Control Unit RM-21, supplied. Uses 15 ft whip ant and a 7 ft radial counterpoise added for |
|non-vehicular use. TM 11-625. |
|SCR-583 Vehicular Radio Set (BC-603, BC-605 and BC-604,) |1944 |FM voice, 20-28 MHz |20 miles |Battalion/Regiment |Portable, Vehicular |
|Pack, saddle, vehicular, and ground set designed to replace the short range set SCR-203. 40 watts output power. TM 11-600. |
|SCR-694 High Frequency Portable/ Vehicular Radio Set (BC-1306)|1944 |AM voice, CW morse, |15-30+ miles |Battalion/Regiment/Division |Portable/ |
| | |3.8-6 MHz | | |Vehicular |
|Radio Set SCR-694 is a HF two-way radio Receiver / Transmitter and radio telegraph unit which can provide communication between moving or stationary vehicles, or as a portable field radio set. This radio was the |
|successor to the SCR-284 to whose crystal control it added two preset frequencies. This was a VERY popular radio, as it could receive civilian news and music programs. The SCR-694 can operate with the BC-611 |
|walkie-talkie. |
|The radio set can provide communication for up to 15 miles on voice (AM) and 30 miles on (CW) between moving vehicles, and a much longer range if used in stationary position with a long antenna. Power output is 20 watts|
|CW, 7 watts AM. Powered by 6, 12 or 24 Volts DC. TM 11-230C. |
Bibliography
1. Website, World War II - Life as a SCR-300 Radio Operator, B. D. McKay
2. Website, National Army Security Agency Administration (NASAA)
3. Article, Military Communications. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 29, 2003, from Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service.
4. Article, Overview: the Signal Corps in World War II, George Raynor Thompson, Regimental Division, Office Chief of Signal, United States Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, GA
5. Article, History of Communications Equipment, Regimental Division, Office Chief of Signal, United States Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, GA
6. Product Catalogue, Army Radio Sales Company, Army Radio Sales Co. 109 Booth Road, Colindale, London NW9 5JU England.
7. Website, U.S. Military Portable Radios, Alan D. Tasker, WA1NYR
8. "Spearheading D-Day: American Special Units, 6 June 1944," Jonathan Gawne, ISBN 2-90818-2793, September 1998, Histoire & Collections, Paris
9. "1944 Americans In Brittany: The Battle for Brest," Jonathan Gawne, March 2002, Histoire & Collections, Paris
10. "Army Signals through the Years" and related articles on Signal Corps. Army Info Digest 18 (May 1963): pp. 40-77.Per (Soldiers).
11. U.S. War Department. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. Signal Corps Information Letter. Quarterly, 1934-1941 (Nos. 1-25). Continued Dec 1941 (No. 1) to Dec 1944 (No. 37) as monthly and became Signal Corps Technical Information Letter. Per Coll.
12. Signal Corps Radio (SCR) - American Designator for Radio Equipment, JED - The Military Equipment Dictionary.
13. Website, Military Equipment List Part 23, Bill Beech, NJ7P, January 1998
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