WS No 52 British Modified
 

Chris Suslowicz recently brought this particular set to our attention. A few alarming things about it I shall leave to your individual attention and curiosity, however, there are a number of things about this set that make it very interesting, as it appears to be a set that was modified early in its life to accept the 'Mailbox' style Auxilliary Supply Unit on the centre top of the Carriers No.4.

Note the mounting studs still in place for it. Also the cover plate fitted to the rear of the Carriers No. 4. Does anyone know if there is a receptacle hiding behind that plate, or was the addition of the auxilliary supply a hard wired adaptation?

Also of interest is the conversion of the Receiver and Sender panels to plain test control labels. Would this have been a wartime or post war conversion?

Related to the two modified panels is the question of the two different paint colours. Is this indicative of overhauls being done at two differnt times, when two different panel colours may have been popular for British Army Wireless equipment. Or perhaps different branches of the British Armed Forces having different colour standards.

Enough variations with the set, I thought it might be worthwhile setting it up with its own thread to document it in.

David

There's a photograph of a (1950s upgraded) WS 52 in Wireless for the Warrior Volume 2. (I hadn't looked until now.) That shows a pair of Plessey Mk.4 connectors and associated leads to the area of that screwed on plate, but it looks as though the modification was not carried out - if done there was an oval reinforcing (?) ring and alloy plate carrying the LT, a storage tube cap, and HT connectors, plus a warning label reminding the user that the brushes must be removed from the lower dynamotor and stored in the holder when using the external supply.

This carrier has no warning plate, so it appears to have been modified ready for the outboard supply but the set was never upgraded to use it.

Chris.