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Looking for information on WW2 era Backpack radio gear


huntssurplus
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huntssurplus

Hello,


Looking for information on the types of backpack radios used by the US military during WW2, and more specifically the type of packmount used to hold the radios.. I'm not familiar with their specifications or anything of these items, but hope someone can help me out here or point me in the right direction of a good resource for the backpack radios.

Thanks

Hunt

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For the Army:

Early war was the BC-322.

Replaced by the BC-1000.

Which was to be replaced by the BC-1306 mid 43 but it didn't fully happen.

 

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huntssurplus
39 minutes ago, robinb said:

For the Army:

Early war was the BC-322.

Replaced by the BC-1000.

Which was to be replaced by the BC-1306 mid 43 but it didn't fully happen.

 

 

Thanks for the specifications, now on to some more research on the forum. If anyone could give me some information on the packboard the radio was attached to when worn as a backpack, would appreciate some info on that too.


Thanks!
Hunt

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huntssurplus
13 hours ago, robinb said:

There was no pack board. They each had their own harness.

 

Okay so the radio attached directly to the web gear then? Did any later Army radios use a packboard during the Korean War and later?

Could you show me an example of the USMC Standard QM Packboard?

Thanks for all the help so far! From the pictures I looked up of the BC-1000 I can see it has connections directly to the standard web gear!
Hunt

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The BC-1000 has its own harness. It does not connect to any other field gear. 

By QM pack board I meant the standard Army plywood pack board. As far as I know there are none that were USMC marked.

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huntssurplus
49 minutes ago, robinb said:

The BC-1000 has its own harness. It does not connect to any other field gear. 

By QM pack board I meant the standard Army plywood pack board. As far as I know there are none that were USMC marked.

 

Okay, got it!

Any idea when the army used the plywood packboard? Did it have any use among Army troops? 

 

Hunt

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huntssurplus
29 minutes ago, robinb said:

Adopted in Oct. 43.

 

Thanks for all of your help Robin! 

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Here's some info from the USMC MAY radio set manual. It tells us that the pack board, while an integral part of the radio set, was not supplied with it, but procured from the Army quartermaster. 

pb1.jpg

pb2.jpg

pb3.jpg

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pararaftanr2

Hunt,

The SCR-300 / BC-1000 had its own web harness (waist belt and shoulder straps), which attached directly to the radio, independent of the operator's web gear, as Robin mentioned.

 

ONSV1045__14.jpg

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huntssurplus

Robin-

Thanks for the extra information, as well as the book diagram. Makes everything easier to understand. Another question though, its mentioned there are two packboards needed to transfer all the parts, one for the Transmitter-receiver, and one for the auxiliary battery pack. Would these be carried by two different marines? And what is the "Attachment, Packboard" mentioned, and how is it different from just the plywood packboard? I'm guessing it's some sort of part that attaches to the packboard, but what was its function?

pararaftanr2,
Thank you for the photo, I see now how the radio had it's own web gear. My questions: it looks as though the suspenders are detachable, was the web belt detachable as well? It looks like the suspenders are a different model as well from the standard suspenders issued, were they used specifically for just the radio, or did they have another purpose as well? And last, I'm guessing additional field gear items were added to the radio web gear such as ammunition pouches, entrenching tool, etc. But where would the radio operator keep their personal items? it looks like there may be a pouch for some personal items attached to the radio, but the radio operator would need to carry things like extra socks, a blanket, etc where would he keep that stuff? It looks like the belt has less room as well so I'm guessing he would need some sort of other bag/satchel. 

 

Thanks guys for all the help!
Hunt

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pararaftanr2

Hunt,

Yes, the belt and suspenders were detachable and specific to that radio set. They did not replace the operator's individual web gear. The web pouch you are seeing was for radio accessories like the handset, antenna, etc. (see images below)/ I'd guess additional personal items could have been carried in a gas mask bag, or musette bag with strap if needed, or carried by another squad member. The radio set, with battery, weighed between 32-38 pounds, depending on which battery was used. I'm no expert on the subject, so I would suggest you employ your Google skills for some more in-depth research. There are some excellent web sites dedicated to this piece of Signal Corps equipment, this being just one: http://www.scr300.org/

 

100413-F-1234S-001.JPG

Scr300.png

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huntssurplus

Alright, thanks for the additional info. Will go and look for some more information on google. Thanks though, this has answered all my questions for the most part!

Hunt

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