Wanted: 524 radio set-up for museum display

[rob love]

I have been approached by one of the Winnipeg reserve museums to see if there is a RT524 available to them for a Command Post display in their unit museum. They are on limited financial means (aren't all museums) so would be happy with a gutted or unserviceable radio. So if anyone is sitting on some spares, or knows of a source here in Canada, please contact me and I'll put you through to their H.Col who is the one looking.

[chris vickery]

And to think, the CF had thousands of these which rumour has were bulldozed into a hole in the ground...

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally Posted by rob love

I have been approached by one of the Winnipeg reserve museums to see if there is a RT524 available to them for a Command Post display in their unit museum. They are on limited financial means (aren't all museums) so would be happy with a gutted or unserviceable radio. So if anyone is sitting on some spares, or knows of a source here in Canada, please contact me and I'll put you through to their H.Col who is the one looking.

I've got one which is cosmetically OK but gutted internally so it's considerably lighter.

Ask the HCol if $100.00 would be agreeable.

[rob love]

Jon

That sounds like exactly what they are looking for. I'll shoot you a PM so we can figure out how to proceed from here.

Chris, you are likely right that the sets and their accessories were disposed of. I doubt it was by burial...more likely by smelter. They were controlled goods, so in general civilian sale would not have been approved by the US state department. There were the "legacy" radios though, which were part of the checklists on things like the Iltis, LSVW etc, and these did not show on charge, and as such generally were not sent back to depot. As a result, much of that equipment did find it's way out in local disposal. Were it not for colectors, many types of equipment when it leaves service and is just "old" would not be around for the museums in later years. The military had gotten better by using some foresight but there will still be gaps.

I know in Shilo the unit I was with ended up having scrap containers come in to the ols warehouse the legacy stuff was stored in, and they went off to the metal recyclers. I have seen a lot of the junction boxes there partially driven into the ground where the container was emptied.