Includes hundreds of period photos covering all the details of the
trucks, vans and trailers vital to maintain the communications of the
U.S. Army in WWII.
The Signal Corps was at the forefront of the technological development
of communications throughout World War II. Tasked with coordinating all
American military activities, the Signal Corps initially had to rely on
a communications landline network covering some 1 300 000 km. This
network together with radio communications provided President Roosevelt
with a global overview of military operations down to battalion level
updated hourly for nearly five years.
Technological evolution was so rapid that radio communications soon took
over from the landline network, however adaptation remained a priority
within the US Army Signal Corps for when landline networks were
unavailable or radio silence had to be observed; signallers also
maintained older communications methods including homing pigeons.
Almost every large piece of Signal Corps equipment required wheeled
transport. Early in the war the Model "K" vehicles, designed for the
Signal Corps' needs, quickly proliferated with 84 variants being
produced. After that designation was abandoned the Signal Corps would
catalogue a further 62 models of vehicles and trailers, most of them
were associated with a particular radio or radar installation. This
comprehensive and fully illustrated account covers radar, radio
vehicles, plus specialized vehicles such as telephone repair trucks,
mobile telephone switchboards and homing pigeon units, all described in
technical detail and illustrated by hundreds of period photos.
