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The SCR-299 was a U.S. Signal Corps mobile
military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from '' Jane's Military Communications'' include text, audio, facsimile, tactical ground-based communica ...
unit used during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


History

The SCR-299 "mobile communications unit" was developed to provide long-range communications during World War II. The
US Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...
sought improvements of range, flexibility and durability over its existing SCR-197 and SCR-597 transmitters. In 1942,
Hallicrafters The Hallicrafters Company manufactured, marketed, and sold radio equipment, and to a lesser extent televisions and phonographs, beginning in 1932. The company was founded by William J. Halligan and based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. I ...
Standard HT-4 was selected as the SCR-299's transmitter, known subsequently by its military designation as the
BC-610 The BC-610 was a radio transmitter (radio), transmitter based on the Hallicrafters HT-4 and was used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. History In the early 1940s, the U.S. military sought a high-powered radio transmitter capable ...
. The SCR-299 was first used on 8 November 1942 during
Operation TORCH Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...
involving companies of the 829th Signal Service Battalion establishing a radio net that could exchange messages between beach-landed forces and bases in
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
. Despite initial problems unloading the sets from convoy ships, the SCR-299s served until the installation of permanent Army Command and Administrative Network stations. According to US Army military historians, "General
Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
credited the SCR-299 in his successful reorganization of the American forces and final defeat of the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
s at Kasserine Pass."''The SCR-299, United States Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, GA''
 The range of the SCR-299 exceeded original specifications, sometime establishing contact over . The SCR-299 provided reliable communications with
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
during the
North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
, and in Normandy on
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
, served as a connection between two airborne divisions with
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. The SCR-299 was also used in the
invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis forces (Kingdom of Italy ...
and the
Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...
. War correspondents and press reporters frequently made use of the SCR-299 and SCR-399. Access to the sets was provided to them by US Second Army and
US Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army that saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...
Group Communications Teams, and in one instance, the SCR-399 became the only means of getting press copy direct to London. In 1944, a
short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...
film was produced by the
Jam Handy Organization Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the metho ...
and sponsored by the Hallicrafters Company that showed the construction of the SCR-299 and dramatized its use during World War II. Hallicrafters Company advertising of the period sometimes used illustrations of the shelter-mounted SCR-399 to describe the achievements of the SCR-299.


Specifications

*Transmitter:
BC-610 The BC-610 was a radio transmitter (radio), transmitter based on the Hallicrafters HT-4 and was used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. History In the early 1940s, the U.S. military sought a high-powered radio transmitter capable ...
plus BC-614 (speech amplifier), BC-729 (tuning unit) and BC-211 (frequency meter) *Transmitter output power: 350
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
s. *Receivers: BC-312 and
BC-342 The BC-342 was a World War II U.S. Army Signal Corps high frequency radio receiver. It was used primarily as part of field installations such as the SCR-188A, but could be used with mobile sets such as the -ton mounted SCR-399. First designed ...
*Frequency coverage: HF from 2 to 8
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
(and 1–18 MHz using conversion kits) *Power supply: 2000 watts, with additional 1500 watts for heater and lights supplied by PE-95 (power unit) on K-52 "Ben-Hur" style trailer. Optional 12 volt storage battery, or 115 volt 60 cycle AC commercial power and two spare 6 volt storage batteries *SCR-299 housing: K-51 van truck *SCR-399 housing: HO-17 shelter mountable on 2-ton trucks. *SCR-499 housing: air-transportable *Frequency Conversion Kit MC-503: coverage down to 1 MHz. *Frequency Conversion Kit MC-516: coverage to 12 MHz *Frequency Conversion Kit MC-517: coverage to 18 MHz. *Antennas: whip antenna (receiver), whip antenna (transmitter). Optional whip antenna while stationary or auxiliary wire antenna for 2.0 to 4.5 MHz coverage. *Remote control: field telephones, control boxes and cable.Fort Gordon Museum
/ref>


See also

*
ARC-5 The AN/ARC-5 Command Radio Set is a series of radio receivers, transmitters, and accessories carried aboard U.S. Navy aircraft during World War II and for some years afterward. It is described as "a complete multi-channel radio transmitting an ...
*
BC-348 The BC-348 is an American-made communications receiver, which was mass-produced during World War II for the U.S. Army Air Force. Under the joint Army-Navy nomenclature system, the receiver system became known as the AN/ARR-11. History The BC-3 ...
*
BC-654 The SCR-284 was a World War II era combination transmitter and receiver used in vehicles or fixed ground stations. History The Crosley Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio manufactured the Signal Corps Set, Complete, Radio, 284 (SCR-284) that con ...
*
BC-610 The BC-610 was a radio transmitter (radio), transmitter based on the Hallicrafters HT-4 and was used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. History In the early 1940s, the U.S. military sought a high-powered radio transmitter capable ...
*
Collins Radio Rockwell Collins, Inc. was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio ...
*
Hallicrafters SX-28 The Hallicrafters SX-28 "Super Skyrider" is an American shortwave communications receiver that was produced between 1940 and 1946 that saw wide use by amateur radio, government and military services. History In July 1940, the Hallicrafters Co ...
*
M-209 In cryptography, the M-209, designated CSP-1500 by the United States Navy (C-38 by the manufacturer) is a portable, mechanical cipher machine used by the US military primarily in World War II, though it remained in active use through the Korean W ...
*
R-390A The R-390A /URR is a general coverage HF radio communications receiver designed by Collins Radio Company for the United States Armed Forces. History The R-390A military shortwave radio receiver was the result of a project undertaken by the United ...
*
SCR-300 The SCR-300, designated AN/VRC-3 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, was a portable frequency modulated (FM) radio transceiver used by US Signal Corps in World War II. This backpack-mounted unit was the first radio to be nickna ...
*
SCR-536 The SCR-536 was a hand-held radio transceiver used by the US Army Signal Corps in World War II. It is popularly referred to as a walkie talkie, although it was originally designated a "handie talkie". History The SCR-536 is often consider ...
*
Signal Corps Radio Signal Corps Radios were U.S. Army military communications components that comprised "sets". Under the Army Nomenclature System, the abbreviation SCR initially designated "Set, Complete Radio", but was later misinterpreted as "Signal Corps Radio ...
*
Wireless Set No. 19 The Wireless Set No. 19 was a Second World War mobile radio transceiver designed for use by Armoured warfare, armoured troops of the British Army. First introduced in 1940, the No. 19 began to replace the pre-war Wireless Set No. 11. Two modifie ...
*
List of U.S. Signal Corps Vehicles This is a list of vehicles used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps from World War I through World War II. Designations Vehicles specifically designed or adapted for the Signal Corps were initially designated by a "K" number. The K-number was later ...


Notes


References


TM 11-227
10 April 1944 * TM 11-280-B
TM 11-487
Oct. 1944, page 406


External links




The SCR299, Army Communicator United States Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, GA

SCR and BC list

US Army training film featuring K-55 trailer and SCR-299

Directory of Communications Electronic Equipment

BC-610 data sheet

Voice of victory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scr-299 Military radio systems of the United States World War II American electronics Military electronics of the United States Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944