Dodge. We have already talked about the most common car of this brand, the Dodge WC-51, which is "three-quarters".
Today's exhibit belongs to the WC-21 modification, somewhat different from the WC-51 and WC-52, which were supplied in large quantities under Lend-Lease.
But let's start today not with the Dodge, but with the Bell product. Specifically - from the Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter.
These planes were coming to us en masse, for which we are grateful to the American allies. A lot of German planes were "landed" thanks to these planes, but about Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin in our country, thank God, only the final victims of the Unified State Exam do not know.
But in order.
So, the planes under Lend-Lease went to us. It is a fact. And when they started arriving, it suddenly turned out that the Americans had amazing radio stations on their airplanes. Compared to domestic ones.
Well, it's not a secret for anyone in the world of communications that each army has its own frequency ranges. And ours, which is completely unsurprising, were not very friendly with American frequencies. There were joint bands, it cannot be said that it was impossible to contact at all, but nevertheless. Additional radio stations were required for VNOS posts, spotters and further down the lists.
This is how our heroes ended up in the USSR: "Doji" series T-214, modifications WC58, WC64, WC54. The so-called "Radio truck". In the photo "Dodge" WC-21 from the collection of the Museum of Military Equipment of the UMMC in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, but, according to reference books and knowledgeable people, the differences are minimal.
What was this car?
In fact, it is all the same "Dodge" "three quarters", only without a machine gun, turned into a mobile radio station.
The option is just great. The car actually passed where the tanks passed, only faster. The radio station made it possible not only to control the aircraft, but to do it with great comfort.
TTX "Dodge" WC-21
Engine: in-line, 6-cylinder, gasoline, volume 3770 cm3
Maximum power: 92 hp sec., at 3200 rpm
Maximum torque: 249 Nm @ 1200 rpm
Maximum speed: 87 km / h
Carrying capacity: 750 kg
Unladen weight: 2315 kg
Pouch for personal weapons. A common thing on American cars and motorcycles.
Naturally, each car was supplied with a set of entrenching tools, vital in order to go everywhere.
And finally, that for the sake of which everything was started. Payload.
We see here, in fact, a kind of field office. A radio station (two could easily be installed), a place for a stenographer with the ability to print a document, and, in fact, a place for the leader of all this.
That is, the crew of such a machine could vary from 2 to 4 people.
Now about Pokryshkin.
In his memoirs, to my great regret, not a word is said about the car he traveled in. That is, there are a lot of stories about "Tiger" (call sign) being promoted to the leading edge, but on what - the question. so to be honest, this is my personal speculation, based, however, on conversations with the museum staff in Verkhnyaya Pyshma.
Could such a machine be in the regiment commanded by Pokryshkin? Naturally. Since 1942 the regiment has been using Aircobras. Accordingly, the presence of a radio vehicle (or perhaps more than one) in such a regiment is more likely than that of those who fought on the Yaks.
Moreover, given how Alexander Ivanovich spoke about the previous commander, it can be concluded that as a radio station it was not used at all.
But Pokryshkin, who did not like to sit in the headquarters, was simply obliged to ride the Dodge, since the installation of a radio station of this class on the Willis seems to me a dubious matter.
The microphone and headset are quite similar.
In "The Sky of War", in the final part, talking about how he organized the interaction of the pilots with the rest of the advancing Red Army, Pokryshkin wrote more than once that the "Tiger" was obliged to follow its pilots, direct, indicate, prompt.
If so, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to come up with a better machine for such work.
