Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 2, No 19 Mk2 Wireless

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Subcollections

Communications Gallery - Centenary of Royal Australian Corps of Signals

Overview

Commonly known as the WS19 or '19 Set', this radio was one of the first "cross-band" radios, it was manufactured in large numbers in the UK, Canada, USA and Australia and was widely used. It had two tuning dials and carry handles on face. With a power supply unit on the left. The Wireless Set No. 19 Mk.2 (Aust) produced in Australia by AWA had specifications s similar to the British Wireless Set No. 19 Mk.II, but with a much higher degree of tropical resistance.

Historical information

This version of wireless was fitted to 1939-1945 Australian vehicles and Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) such as Dingo and Australina Cruiser tank AC3in addition to its use as a ground station. It continued in use through the Korean War.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-54-609

Inscriptions and markings

The unit contains a tuneable 2 to 8 megahertz (MHz) HF transmitter / receiver (the A set) operating on either radio telephone (R/T), CW or MCW (tone-modulated CW) with a range of 10 miles on R/T or 20 miles on CW between vehicles;
Some versions also had a 230-240 MHz VHF R/T transmitter/receiver (the B set) with a range of several hundred yards, and an intercom amplifier for AFV crew's headsets (the C set).
Some control boxes include a 'rebroadcast' feature that allowed HF receptions to be transmitted on VHF, and vice-versa.

Contextual Information

This radio is located in the Communications Gallery commissioned by the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia as part of the Centenary commemorations of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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