B-set antenna bases
 

I picked up a couple of the regular B set antenna bases today, along with one of the taller ones. What are the tall ones used on?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps05e7e396.jpg

At the same surplus yard were about 50 or so of these panels. Some are in red, some are in yellow. I assume they have something to do with sigs. Any ideas? I believe they are post war american.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1ec99667.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1b708013.jpg

Looks like I was able to ID the signal panels through a google search (AL-140-B). They are allied signal panels, and were used to either ID friendly vehicles or positions to aircraft, or else were used to mark landing areas for airborne troops. They could be wartime, or postwar. I'll have to fold one completely out and look for dates.

The tall one is for a Sherman tank and likely other uses too.

Thanks. I went through the Canadian manual of installations for the WS dated 1944, and this mount was not shown. The installations shown were all the typical Cdn...it did not include the Sherman.

Guess I gotta buy a Sherman now. :confused

Ron, the Grizzley is listed in that manual, not used on that?.

Sherman uses the short one, M10 used the taller.

The grizzly installation shows the regular one.

I won't doubt you on the M10, Adrian, but that is a bit odd in that there were no M10s in this area, but there were Shermans. There were about half a dozen of these taller posts where I found these, which would somewhat correspond to the number of Shermans in Wpg back in the 60s.

I got a bunch of parts from a Sherman installation kit and the tall one was with them.

The short one is "Aerial Base No.9, Mounting No.1" and general use. The taller one is Mounting No.2 and was for installations where there was a lot of "clutter" on the turret (or other mounting point) that the antenna needed to be clear of. There's also a "Mounting No.3" that is very tall indeed (about 2' 6" IIRC) and has a rubber (US/Canadian) or coil spring (Australian) base.

I got a No.2 in a Pershing tank install kit (not that that is any help to you as they never went into British service - trials only, then the war in Europe ended).

Chris.

I suspect the no 2 was standard on the 76mm Shermans, much more common in post war Canadian use than ever in British use.

I think so too; the Sherman in the IWM (London) had a No.2 mount on the turret roof (with the remains of a sheared-off Base No.9 still attached).

(Not quite as irritating as the Daimler Armoured Car with the "fabricated from conduit and tinplate" base, mounting and protector. Or Monty's tank that had been reversed under the balcony too far at one point, wrecking the A set aerial base.)

:-(>

Chris.

[QUOTE=rob love;200449]At the same surplus yard were about 50 or so of these panels. Some are in red, some are in yellow. I assume they have something to do with sigs. Any ideas? I believe they are post war american.

QUOTE]

The cases are definitely not WW2 pattern... so am sure the panels are not as well... what is the material of the panels - is this a rubberised canvas, and how red/yellow are they?

Cheers

Tim

I was able to google the panels via the part numbers on the case. They came in a few different colours and were used for recognition by friendlies in the air. They could be on vehicles, but were also used for drop zone indication. I saw red and yellow at the store, but I think there was another colour there as well.

Here is a lonk to more info on the panels: http://www.airborne101st.com/pathfinders.html