[Doug Kibbey]

http://www.airforce....lyfortlst_e.asp

Click picture to enlarge.

Antennae on wings, mainly. Beacon device? Since used in wartime, why is this the first time I've seen on a "fort"? Maybe used only on westbound (if beacon-seeking, wouldn't that be a gift to the enemy?)


*edit: nice collection of stuff on the ramp too, BTW.

This post has been edited by Doug Kibbey: 18 February 2009 - 1928 PM

[aevans]

Yagi antennae on wings are usually indicative of some type of radar.

[sunday]

I remember seeing aerials like these in pics of Coastal Command planes of WWII. After some searching, I found this:

http://www.exreps.co...%20Dec%2006.pdf

So those aerials look like the ones of an ASV Mk I radar. See pics in pg. 5, 6 and 10.

According to the sources that radar was quite useful as navigation aid, because it could plot shorelines at 20 miles.

[Ol Paint]

Turned this up:

From [url= said:

this site[/url]:]
19 B-17Fs were supplied to the RAF Coastal Command, which designated them "Fortress IIs", as mentioned earlier. They were used with their Fortress IIA (B-17E) predecessors for antisubmarine patrol, with the designation of "Fortress GR.IIA" in this role. They were armed with depth charges, and many were later fitted with longwave "Mark III ASV (Anti-Surface Vessel)" radar, with "stickleback" aerials along the fuselage spine and Yagi antennas underneath the wings. The Fortress Mark II/IIAs proved capable at their role and were credited with sinking 13 U-boats. They were eventually replaced in this role by Liberators and Sunderlands, and were then put into service for weather reconnaissance, where their high-altitude capabilities were a definite asset.

Douglas

[sunday]

Ol Paint, on Thu 19 Feb 2009 0217, said:

Turned this up:
Douglas

But the ASV Mk. III was a centimetric set, with radomes outboard of the wing floats instead of Yagi aerials.