Naval Equipment Manufactures

Archive

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Radio Alpha

AWA Review, Vol 7, 1992. Courtesy Antique Wireless Association

AWA Review, Vol 7, 1992. Courtesy Antique Wireless Association

Name/Title

Naval Equipment Manufactures

Scope and Content

Naval Equipment Manufactures

Category

Military, Document

General Notes

Note

"Electronic Military Equipment: Naval Equipment Manufacturers" compiled by F. W. Chesson of Waterbury, Connecticut. 1. History of Navy Manufacturer Designating Symbols (MDS) The text explains how the U.S. Navy identified commercial suppliers of electronic gear using an independent nomenclature system rather than following the Army Signal Corps system. Origin (ca. 1916): The Navy introduced a Two-Letter Type Number System beginning with the letter "C" to identify manufacturers (e.g., `CG` for General Electric, `CW` for Western Electric). Evolution to Three and Four Letters (1943): As the number of suppliers grew during World War II, the roster expanded to three-letter codes, and by September 1943, spilled over into four-letter codes (beginning with `CBAA`). The End of the System (ca. 1980): The system, which came to be known as Manufacturer Designating Symbols (MDS), concluded around 1980 when the code `CEFR` was issued to Sound-Craft Systems. It was subsequently replaced by the Department of Defense's five-digit CAGE codes and the Federal Supply Code for Manufacturers (FSCM). 2. Component Designation Systems The document details how equipment units were tracked: Letters were generally followed by five numbers, where the first two digits identified the specific class of equipment (e.g., `CRV-46151` for an RCA Victor aircraft receiver). Because of the cross-service confusion caused by this system during WWII, the military transitioned to the standardized Joint Army-Navy (AN/) format in 1943. 3. Comprehensive Manufacturer Directory The bulk of the document consists of reference tables mapping out the explicit MDS letter codes, the corresponding Manufacturer Name, and their FSCM identifier numbers. Examples include: CNA: National Company COL: Collins Radio Co. CHL: Hallicrafters Co. CZY: Allied Radio Corp.