The performance of some v.h.f. aerials used in naval communications

The paper describes some aerials used for v.h.f. radiotelephone communications in naval and combined operations, and measurements of their performance. A portable 3-element Yagi array, having a gain of 6 db and a limited frequency-coverage, was used for point-to-point communications between beach landing-parties and as an alternative to line. A rotatable broadside array having a gain of 12 db was used for communication from shore to ships. A single-wire horizontal rhombic aerial of major axis 100 ft was used for longer-distance point-to-point communications, for example across the English Channel at the time of the landings in Normandy; it was designed to be portable and had a gain of 16 db. On shipboard, where all-round radiation is required, vertical dipoles were used. Some measured field-strength diagrams show the directive effects which may be experienced with different positions of aerial relative to a ship´s superstructure.