Hello to all,

 

I do own now a ww2 EE-8 Field Telephone

 

 

To understand how it was exactly used, i do have several questions :

 

- What is the exact rank of the assigned soldier in charge of it ? I have read a Sergeant at Company level ? What is the exact dispatch for it ?

 

- Is it more a “front line” assignation or rather a HQ position ?

 

- Does he have to stick to the officers ? or is more a role for the wireless radios ?

 

- Does he have to bring with him a long and large wire roll ? Or maybe for this mission he has a Jeep for ?

 

- Is the radio wired to a Battalion / Regiment / Division central ?

 

- Were those telephones “attached” to a soldier or to a post ? who was responsible to secure it ?

 

Thanks

he handset on the EE-8 Field Telephone was not very different than contemporary phones, and the sturdy device can still work today.

The EE-8 field telephone was used by the US Military from 1935 into the Vietnam War. It used a wired line with a maximum transmission distance of 7 miles. The EE-8 uses D cell batteries to power the electric signal that carries the signal through the wire to the other phone. It has a hand-cranked dynamo to generate the charge that rings the phone on the other end of the line. The case is leather, with fabric insulation covering the cord for the receiver. During World War II the phone was preferred to the radio, and the EE-8 was much more reliable than the backpack mounted Walkie-Talkie (SCR-300) and the Handy-Talkie (SCR-536). The phone line, which could be run through a switchboard from a command center, was often run by soldiers during combat situations.

One of our EE-8s is on display in the STEM Innovation Gallery. It sits in a case with a Gibson Girl radio (SCR-578) and several hand-cranked flashlights. We use it to talk about generating electricity and the transformation of mechanical into electrical energy.

Congrats on your phone!  It's not too hard to get one working (if it isn't already - they're tough pieces of gear!).  You can also find wire and wire reels quite easily, and as soon as you have one working, you'll want another!

Here's a good place to start researching the technical side of the phone:

Radio Nerds:: EE-8 Field Phone Page

The phones were so ubiquitous and easy to setup and operate, that usually the person assigned to carry it was just an ordinary soldier.  At the infantry battalion level, the signal platoon was nominally responsible for all of the phones, but during displacements from one HQ location to another, the staff section with the phone usually just retained possession to the next HQ location.  However, the signal platoon would likely be responsible for "running the wire" and setting up and operating the battalion's switchboard.  The battalion would also be responsible for running the wire down to their subordinate companies.

Their regiment would be responsible to run wire down to the battalions.  This was a general doctrine - the higher unit was responsible to run phone wire down to the subordinate unit (although in practice, there were no doubt many exceptions to this rule in the name of expediency, i.e. just get the job done).

At the infantry company level, the phone was also just carried by whoever got tasked to do so.  The same with the phone wire.  At the company level, only enough wire was carried to set up the company's own internal phone net, so just enough from the company HQ down to each of the platoons which were usually only a couple of hundreds of yards away, at most.  The platoon would also just assign one of the riflemen to carry their phone.  They might have two phones, though, one for the platoon HQ and one for the platoon's Listening and Observation Post (OP).  The platoon would have carried its own wire for that.  In a pinch, a platoon or company would just wind their wire around a large stick or piece of wood.  In practice, usually only one platoon was tasked by the company to push out an OP, so only that platoon would get the extra phone.

(Keep in mind, too, that each infantry platoon also had an SCR-536 handy-talkie as did the infantry company.  The company also had its SCR-300, and so did the infantry battalion.  So, there was a double-layer of communications, phones and radios.  Also keep in mind that much of this tactical communication net was duplicated by the supporting artillery batteries and their forward observers and the infantry battalion's artillery liaison officer - again, via both phones and radios.  In a pinch, the infantry could get messages passed through the arty net, although each branch, infantry and arty, had its own demands and priorities.  It could be done, though.)

At the company and platoon levels, it was common to run the wire in a loop so that if one wire was cut the other side of the loop would remain connected and communication was not lost.  This was also done between the battalion and each company, if possible, although it was usual for only one company to be on one loop with its battalion HQ.  In this way, communications between companies was run through the battalion's switchboard and not directly from one company to another.

Generally at the platoon and company levels, the wire would be carried wound on an RL-3 (a small hand reel that could accommodate a couple hundred yards of wire).  At the battalion level, the signal platoon probably used something like DR-8 reel (looks like a large spool, though) which was intended to hold a 1/4 mile of phone wire along with DR-4 reels that held one mile of wire.  These last two had a number of special frames and carts for laying and recovering phone wire.

Hello

thanks a lot

Last question 

 

this is the manufacturer label. Date is gone but company name is legible for the order date.

 

does anyone has the same and could provide the date (or full contract number) ?

 

thanks

Btt

Small participation with some EE8 in my possession, model with leather and canvas case.

 

 

Thanks