Dauntless SDB question

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring two
Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a bunch
of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the wings. Both
wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or simple yagis. It
doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF or navigational
antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct answer? Oh, it's not an
exam to be graded. I sure don't know the answer and won't be grading the
replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom

In article ,
"Beachcomber" wrote:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring two
Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a bunch
of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the wings. Both
wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or simple yagis. It
doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF or navigational
antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct answer? Oh, it's not an
exam to be graded. I sure don't know the answer and won't be grading the
replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[Image]

Tom, They are NOT SDBs, but SBDs! SBD = "Scout Bomber Douglas"

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article ,
"Beachcomber" wrote:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring two
Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a bunch
of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the wings. Both
wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or simple yagis. It
doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF or navigational
antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct answer? Oh, it's not an
exam to be graded. I sure don't know the answer and won't be grading the
replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[Image]

Tom, They are NOT SDBs, but SBDs! SBD = "Scout Bomber Douglas"

Surely you mean, "Slow, But Deadly"?

Regards

Syke

On Sun, 17 May 2009 10:02:23 -0500, "Beachcomber"
wrote:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring two
Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a bunch
of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the wings. Both
wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or simple yagis. It
doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF or navigational
antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct answer? Oh, it's not an
exam to be graded. I sure don't know the answer and won't be grading the
replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom


They are most likely antrenna for a RADAR called ASB. If that is what
they are then they did swivel within limits. However there is an
outside chance that they could be for an AN/APA-48 homing
installation. Though this set was comparatively rare so I think it
rather unlikely.

Waldo.

Thanks to all for responding. No, I don't have dyslexia. I can't type well
but that's not the reason I called the acft an SDB. I didn't know the
difference. Thanks to Orval for making me smarter.
Now that I've got an idea what questions to ask I'll go to the research
library at the museum and look for the answer. Then I'll post something in
the group to explain what they say, Tom


"Waldo.Pepper" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 May 2009 10:02:23 -0500, "Beachcomber"
wrote:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring two
Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a
bunch
of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the wings.
Both
wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or simple yagis. It
doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF or navigational
antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct answer? Oh, it's not an
exam to be graded. I sure don't know the answer and won't be grading the
replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom


They are most likely antrenna for a RADAR called ASB. If that is what
they are then they did swivel within limits. However there is an
outside chance that they could be for an AN/APA-48 homing
installation. Though this set was comparatively rare so I think it
rather unlikely.

Waldo.

"Syke" wrote

Surely you mean, "Slow, But Deadly"?

Or like a big stinky fart, "Silent, but deadly." g
--
Jim in NC

"Beachcomber" wrote in
:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring
two Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a
bunch of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the
wings. Both wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or
simple yagis. It doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF
or navigational antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct
answer? Oh, it's not an exam to be graded. I sure don't know the
answer and won't be grading the replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom




MAY be ASB longwave radar

http://www.vectorsite.net/avsbd.html

the 58 cm (515 MHz) "ASB", originally "XAT", which was fitted to the
Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. Like ASE, it featured a Yagi antenna
fitted under each wing, skewed 7.5 degrees from the centerline, and
presumably used lobe-switching. Peak power was 200 kW and pulse width
was 2 microseconds. It was the first operational US carrier-based
aircraft to be fitted with radar. The ASB was very popular, with 26,000
units built.

http://www.vectorsite.net/ttwiz_04.html

My buddy Rich Dann did a "Walk Around" book on the Dauntless and I'll look
at the pix and see about the question...
"Beachcomber" wrote in message
...
Thanks to all for responding. No, I don't have dyslexia. I can't type
well but that's not the reason I called the acft an SDB. I didn't know
the difference. Thanks to Orval for making me smarter.
Now that I've got an idea what questions to ask I'll go to the research
library at the museum and look for the answer. Then I'll post something
in the group to explain what they say, Tom


"Waldo.Pepper" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 May 2009 10:02:23 -0500, "Beachcomber"
wrote:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring
two
Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a
bunch
of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the wings.
Both
wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or simple yagis. It
doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF or navigational
antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct answer? Oh, it's not
an
exam to be graded. I sure don't know the answer and won't be grading the
replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom


They are most likely antrenna for a RADAR called ASB. If that is what
they are then they did swivel within limits. However there is an
outside chance that they could be for an AN/APA-48 homing
installation. Though this set was comparatively rare so I think it
rather unlikely.

Waldo.

Yagi radar antennas!

"John Szalay" wrote in message
42...
"Beachcomber" wrote in
:

Right now the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is restoring
two Dauntless SDBs that were recovered from Lake Michigan.
One is in parts and being prepared for the restoration. I've taken a
bunch of pictures of it. I have a question about antennas under the
wings. Both wings have what look like tv antennas, df antennas or
simple yagis. It doesn't look like the antennas rotate. Are they DF
or navigational antennas? Who wants to be first with the correct
answer? Oh, it's not an exam to be graded. I sure don't know the
answer and won't be grading the replies.

Here's a picture of one of the two antennas, Tom




MAY be ASB longwave radar

http://www.vectorsite.net/avsbd.html

the 58 cm (515 MHz) "ASB", originally "XAT", which was fitted to the
Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. Like ASE, it featured a Yagi antenna
fitted under each wing, skewed 7.5 degrees from the centerline, and
presumably used lobe-switching. Peak power was 200 kW and pulse width
was 2 microseconds. It was the first operational US carrier-based
aircraft to be fitted with radar. The ASB was very popular, with 26,000
units built.

http://www.vectorsite.net/ttwiz_04.html