Flight 19 and the TBM Avenger avionics

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yahya

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Many texts were written about the infamous fate of Flight 19 from NAS Ft. Lauderdale in December 1945 off the coast of Florida, and the subsequent loss of the PBM-5.

My understanding is that the lead Avenger from Flight 19 was the TBM-3D, while the remaining four were the TBM-1C and TBM-1E, which on-board electronic equipment varied. Could a mishap combo contribute to the tragedy, when the airmen could not change the frequency on their HF radios and communicate, the on-board compasses failed, as was the IFF transponder, contributing to the inability to determine their position? Were the aircraft from Flight 19 equipped with radio compasses?

If someone had access to the original Navy board of investigation report on the event or knows the list of electronic equipment on board the doomed Flight aircraft, it would be appreciated if these details could be shared.

Sources:

HyperWar: Findings of the Board of Investigation Into the Loss of Flight 19 (Bermuda Triangle)

Findings of the Board of Investigation Into the Loss of Flight 19, 5 Dec 1945
www.ibiblio.org
www.nasflmuseum.com

Flight 19 the Lost Avengers

Flight 19 one of the great aviation mysteries
www.nasflmuseum.com
 
A little update: a website on the AN/ARC-2 radio as used in Avengers:


IMG_0113a.jpg-for-web-large.jpg
 
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Another website depicting radio equipment as used in Avengers.


It claims that the ZB aircraft carrier landing direction finder system was classified till 1947. Could the ZB sets have been used on-board Flight 19’s Avengers?

BTW, the ARB HF radio receiver (aka RCA CRV-46151) elaborated on the above mentioned website was the standard equipment of the FT-28 Flight 19's lead aircraft Avenger. It was also equipped with the AN/ART-13 HF transmitter by Collins.

The ARB is elaborated on these websites:

 
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Has anyone read the archival files listed on this website and could share the details on the avionics suite of the lost Avengers?

Records of the Lost: Looking at the Records of Flight 19

There are few events in U. S. history that spark the imagination to “what happened” than the disappearance of Flight 19 on December 5, 1945. In brief, for those unfamiliar with the story, Flight 19 was a training flight of five Grumman TB...
historyhub.history.gov historyhub.history.gov
 
With the reference to the Flight 19 story, has anyone encountered any proof that on the fatal mission the planes were intentionally freed from any clocks and timepieces, as were the crews? Was this a way to teach the crews aircraft navigation in difficult environment?
 

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