[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

From time to time during WW2 the British asked the Americans to use their mighty industrial capacity to build key pieces of war materiel. Bren carriers are one example. The radio for this week is another. And whereas the American T-16 built in response to the British order for Bren carriers bears virtually no resemblance to carriers other than in the most basic form, the American made Wireless Set No.48 barely resembles the British No.18 set it was supposed to copy. And even if you think the 48 and 18 sets are cousins, wait until you see what those damned Yanks did with the generator set they built to power them.

The 48 set was built by the Emerson Radio & Phonograph Co. beginning in 1943. The first versions had problems with locking the frequency dials and a correction for this plus other modifications were incorporated in a Mk.1* version. 48 sets were issued to Commonwealth troops on operations in Italy and the Far East. I have no evidence they were issued to Canadians, however a vet from the Irish Regiment of Canada recalls testing them against the No.18 set in Italy some time in 1944. A small number of 48 sets hit the Canadian surplus market in the 1970's which suggest they were available to Canadian forces, perhaps only in Canada, during or possibly after the war.

The set has a receiver unit (top) and sender (bottom) carried in a steel case. The sender and receiver faces, unlike the 18 set ones which were grey or black, are lime green, which may be either for visibility or, as I like to think, an inside American joke on British radio operators. The rear of the case has a web harness and waist belt for the operator to carry the set on his back. The front side has a folding canvas waterproof hood to protect the sender and receiver. There was provision to store aerial segments on the right and an adjustable aerial socket on the left. A hinged compartment on the bottom held the battery and plug to connect the set to the battery or hand generator. Removing the sender and receiver was accomplished by unscrewing large knurled nuts on the rear of the set. A T17 mic, earphones, CW key and spares valve box was carried in 'Satchels, Signal'.

The set operated on a frequency range between 6 and 9 MHz and had a range of 5 miles (voice) and 10 miles (CW). It was 17-1/2" tall, 11-1/2" wide, 10-1/2" deep and weighed 29 lbs. The set required the sender and receiver to be individually tuned and the dials were clamped with locking screws once they were set. All the radio controls and plugs for the accessories were on the radio face which meant the set had to be operated by a second person or removed from the wearer's back to be adjusted. Once set, however, a single operator could send and receive on the march.

Power for the set was supplied by a static battery providing L.T. and H.T. voltages. Alternatively, a 'Generator, Hand, 10 Watts Mk.II' could be used. Unlike the British hand crank 'Generator No. 5' used to power 18 sets and which came in a large steel box with a single crank, the American generator was a smallish metal case with two crank handles set on a collapsible tripod with a bicycle style seat for the operator. It had a protected switch on the side that could be set to power either the 48 or the 18 set.

The 48 set is an elusive one that rarely shows up in wartime photographs.