Wireless of the Week - week 28

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

It took until the end of the war but the British, unlike their Americans and Germans counterparts who had figured it out long before, finally realized VHF portable radios worked better on the battlefield than AM radios and began to produce their own VHF sets. One, the Wireless Set No.31 (covered earlier) was a close copy of the American BC-1000 man-pack set, and this week’s set is another. The Wireless Set No.88, is a smaller and more portable contemporary of the No.31 and followed the lines of British wartime sets like the No.38 and 46 that were worn on the breast.

The wireless set No.88 was developed beginning n 1945 and was too late to see wartime service. It was not only last in the series of British and Commonwealth portable sets ending with the number “8”, it was the last of the numbered sets before the Larkspur era. Production of the No.88 was by E.K. Cole commencing in 1947.

The Wireless Set No.88 was a man pack set for short range infantry communications. It was tropicalised and came in a waterproof aluminum case with simple to use controls on its top. The set was worn in a specialized pouch resembling a standard infantry ‘Basic Pouch’ on the left and the battery providing HT and LT voltages was carried in a similar pouch on the right. The left pouch also contained an instruction card and a sleeve for the aerial sections. A “Satchel, Signals’ was also part of a complete station and used to carry a wire aerial, headset and a spare battery. The effect of wearing the set on the operator’s front in pouches resembling standard infantry ammunition pouches was a method of protecting him from becoming a target for enemy snipers.

The set operated R/T (voice) only over a frequency range of 38.01 to 42.15 MHz however frequencies were limited to four crystal controlled channels. These four channels were marked as letters A, B, C and D on the dial of the Wireless Set No.31 which formed part of an integrated communication system with the No.88. Additionally, there were two versions of the set each with a different set of channels. Type A (40.20 to 42.15 MHz) was an infantry platoon/company level set and its face was colour coded khaki green. Type B (38.01 to 39.70) was for mortar platoons and its face as black as in the example presented this week. Set controls consisted of nothing more than an on/off switch, a channel selector switch and sockets for the handset and aerials. A cable went from the set to the battery and another ended in a strange plastic spring loaded “press to speak” contraption. Unlike earlier sets that required the operator to open it up to change valves, the No.88 set operator was warned against doing so.

The set was 5-3/4” wide by 3-3/4” deep by 8-3/4” tall and weighed 5 lbs. The battery was generally similar in size and weight and the complete station was 11 lbs. Range was up to two miles and the original British fear that FM VHF was too ‘line of sight’ for battlefield conditions was somewhat justified as the manual includes instructions for the operator to choose better locations when communication should be happening…but wasn’t.

A No.88 AVF version was also produced for tank infantry communication.

If anyone can direct me to where I might find accessories to complete this set (pouches, aerials, battery, headset, instruction card) I’d really appreciate it.