19-Set A-Set Aerial Base Assembly

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Colour was by date similar to vehicles. Brown was 1943 production and OD was 1944 to the end of the war. Before that radio colours seemed to be a dark green which doesn't quite match the khaki vehicle colour 1940-42. I've never seen or heard of a 'desert sand' (ie Light Stone) paint used on wireless equipment. The rubber 'donuts' for the No.8 'A' aerial bases are wartime.

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

My suspicion is that the colour scheme was specified in the contract, at least initially, and depended on the intended theatre of use. (Brown for North Africa, green for Europe.) As a result, later production is more likely to have been specified in green, and the brown accessories not in stores would have been fitted and probably repainted as required. I have Canadian sets in green as well as brown (though one of them has been brush-painted), likewise ancillaries. I cannot remember the colour of the wooden variometer packing piece, but I've seen them in green and brown painted wood, bakelite, rubber (with Canadian acceptance stamp) the American steel pressing that is the seating plate and packing piece in a single item, and post-WW2 Italian rough-cast alloy.

Plywood is fine, it's almost certainly marine ply with waterproof glue, and if used in a damp climate would be painted if it showed signs of damage. More importantly it would be cheaper in terms of strategic raw materials to manufacture: Canada was not short of timber. :-)>

Post-WW2 I think they switched to steel with rubber gaskets as it was simple and cheap to manufacture, especially the mounting No.1 with its threaded inserts for the retaining bolts.

Regards,
Chris.