Wireless Set No 52 Canadian Production

[David Dunlop]

Thanks, Bruce.

Any indication if the production number you mention was 52-set identified units or included earlier production No 9 Mk II sets as well? Seems a rather small run unless they 'hid' more complete sets in the spares inventory.

Not certain how many were still active in Canada at the time, but I have a Canadian Army publication with a date of 23 April 1963 that lists two M152Cdn vehicles with the 52-Set. One pure 52-set and the second a 19/52 combo setup.

David

[Bruce MacMillan]

The 475 were part of an order for 639 sets. The initial shipment was destined for the CMHQ but diverted to UK needs. In fact the UK wanted all they could get, see photo.

Looking at serial numbers there were a lot made, into the thousands. Where they went isn't reported as my date cuts off in 1945. The Canadian Army used them in Korea and post war Germany. The installation instructions for my M152CDN was dated 1961. I couldn't find a 52 set so settled for a 19 set and two C42s in rebroadcast roll.

I wouldn't mind one but I'm getting to old to hump these around the shack!

[Jacques Fortin]

Does any of you have clues about the serial number range of those 475/639 units ??
I am just trying to know the total quantity of Canadian WS # 52 made.
Any help you can provide will be appreciated.

Jacques

[David Dunlop]

A couple of years after Jacques’ query on this thread, regarding production numbers for the 52-Set, he started a Data Base of any known surviving 52-Set equipment to see what that would tell us. He sent me some preliminary results this afternoon.

The lowest Serial Number he has found to date is 5002 and the highest is 9006. That is a total known run so far of 4,004.

The complete number of sets so far is 11, but we are not certain if all of those have original Carriers No. 4. Further details to be determined on that.

By far the commonest item is the 52-Set Remote Receiver at 19. The ZE-12 Remote Receiver Supply is the least surviving item with a known count of only 3.

If anyone has a complete 52-Set, or components thereof, with surviving Data Plates on them, and has not provided the serial numbers to Jacques, can you please do so, and indicate if your complete set has the Carriers No. 4 with it.

Jacques is looking for Serial Numbers from the following components:

Receiver:
Supply Unit: (and if it has Workshop Rebuild stickers the Shop and year rebuilt.}
Sender:
Coil, Aerial Tuning:
Remote Supply (ZE-12):

A big thanks to all who have contributed so far!

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

I think Jacques has mine, thus explaining the high 9006 serial.

Sender 8342
Supply Unit 8253
Receiver 5824
Coil, Aerial Tuning No.2A 9006
Has the carrier

[David Dunlop]

He does indeed, Bruce, and thanks so much for contributing to this Data Base!

David

[David Dunlop]

Several decades ago, Chris Bisaillion, ordered a number of copies of microfilm reels from the Public Archives of Canada, related to wartime wireless set production, and also obtained a microfilm reader. His main interest was the Wireless Set No. 19 at the time, but reading the films was a challenge because a lot of the image quality was so poor. He eventually transferred all the microfilm to DVD’s in the hopes of improved readability via computers but eventually gave up on the project and the DVD’s sat filed away.

Chris recently sent the DVD’s to Jacques Fortin, and Jacques has been busy in his spare time in lockdown going through the reels, trying to make sense of them. A lot of the images are too poor to work with, even with the help of modern computer software: either too dark, or too washed out. Adding to the problem is nothing is grouped by wireless set. Reel contents list only what is on the reel. But information on all sets listed is randomly scattered throughout the reel and each reel contains several thousand images. Jacques is starting off by going through the reels searching for documentation on the Wireless Set No. 52. It does not help matters this set was referred to as No. 9 Mk II, Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian, 52-Set and C52. And then there is the problem of a number of different date codes applied to the Military documents that make deciphering the actual dates a bit of a challenge. This impacts getting the proper chronological order sorted out to make sense of ongoing communications between various parties.

At the end of each reel of film, there is an image of an Affidavit completed by the person who scanned the documents. Most of the files Jacques has looked at so far were microfilmed in 1954, and it has become evident processing quantity was the driving force behind the project, not quality. For example, one Affidavit showed just over 3,000 file pages scanned in just over 5 hours. To get those kinds of numbers, individual camera adjustments for each page were kicked to the curb. The camera was set to ‘average settings’ and the scanning commenced regardless of quality.

Another issue that has come to light with Jacques work so far. Many of these files contained supporting photographs or negatives in glassine envelopes. At the time of scanning the files in 1954, these images were removed from their envelopes and sent to a photographic archive. The empty envelope was then so marked and returned empty to its original file. It is not clear if the photo archive, wherever it may be, has the ability to reference back any of these images to their original files, or if that link has been lost forever.

All that being said by way of qualifying what is being done, and file size permitting, I am going to attempt posting some of these documents here, as they become available from Jacques. Some posts might be one or more individual documents. Others might be small, acceptable PDF files that are self-contained, I am still thinking about how to handle the much larger PDF files. This seemed like the appropriate thread to use as all the documents relate in some way to the production of the Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian. So stay tuned.

David

[Tim Bell]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

If anyone has a complete 52-Set, or components thereof, with surviving Data Plates on them, and has not provided the serial numbers to Jacques, can you please do so, and indicate if your complete set has the Carriers No. 4 with it.

I have a complete WS9 (Canadian)... are you interested in details for that?

Tim

[Jacques Fortin]

Originally Posted by Tim Bell

I have a complete WS9 (Canadian)... are you interested in details for that?

Tim

Yes, I am interested in the serial numbers of your WS #9 MkI.
They are supposed to be below 5000, because the WS #52 (#9 MkII) began at 5000...