One of Argus’s wartime magazine ads shows an artist’s conception of a B-24 with 6 wires hanging from beneath the cockpit area. The wires trail down and then bend sharply back up to the left, forming a large letter “V.” The “V” is the first letter in the word “Victory” in the ad’s message, “Communications for Victory.” In the upper left corner of the page the 6 wires connect to a radio component, a square panel supporting an array of 6 coils and 6 terminals (see the “wall hangings” link).

The device in the ad went unidentified until we came across Mike Hanz’s authoritative website, AAF Radio.org. His site shows a photo of the inside of the Bendix MT-36 antenna load that (after some mental twists and turns) matches the image in the Argus ad. The MT-36 was the antenna load for the Bendix TA-2 transmitter. It was placed in series with the TA-2 antenna output and the TA-2 antenna to increase the low-frequency (therefore long-range) capability of the TA-2.

On May 26, 1941 a PBY Catalina search plane pilotted by an American volunteer broadcast the location of the battleship Bismarck. Two days before, in her first action since her commissioning, the Bismarck had sunk the HMS Hood with a loss of 1415 lives. On the evening of the 26th, a Brittish Swordfish torpedoe biplane scored a hit on the Bismarck's rudder, dooming her. She was attacked in force on the morning of the 27th and finally scuttled by her crew. 2100 German sailors died. The American PBY used a Bendix TA-2 transmitter to send the message that sealed the fate of the Bismarck.

The newspaper in this part of the exhibit (since donated to the Bendix Radio Foundation) headlines the sinking of the Bismarck. It has a prominent sub-headline noting the role of the American PBY “scout plane.” These aircraft were on loan to the British, partly staffed by Americans, even though the United States was officially neutral at the time. It is possible (not confirmed) that the TA-2 onboard the PBY Catalina was outfitted with an MT-36 antenna load.