Warbird Information Exchange

I volunteer at the Canadian Aviation Museum helping restore an RCAF Northstar, and our team is about to start the restoration of the AN/APS-42 weather radar on the aircraft. See Project Northstar website projectnorthstar.ca for our team's work. I am seeking help from the WRG community in locating surplus components and/or technical manuals for sale for the APS-42 radar. The APS-42/A/B series radars would have been installed on many post-WWII military transports: C-54, C-97, C-118, C-119, C-121, C-124, C-131 and early C-130s. Any help is appreciated.

Would the APS-42 have been used aboard civilian Twin Convairs? VFM has some radar components saved from a RR Dart-powered Convair 600 that was being scrapped. We have nothing from the cockpit, but we do have much of what was inside the radome. If you can point me to some detailed photos of what you're looking for, I'll compare them against what we have the next time I'm at the Museum.

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

Thanks for your reply. The original piston Twin Convairs from 1950s would have been fitted with either Bendix or RCA weather radars depending on customer. (e.g. it is known UAL preferred RCA). The APS-42 was the Bendix weather radar from late 1950s. However, the turboprop CV-600s from 1960s were likely fitted with a newer generation weather radar. Nonetheless, a check of what VFM has would be appreciated. We are looking for Receiver-Transmitter (#1), Synchronizer (#2) and Antenna (#3). See attached best-available photograph of APS-42 components. Cheers, John.

Did you ever get that information? Im looking for the installation manual for the APS-42 system in the C-54. Specifically any information on the revised datum reference. With the radome nose being longer, the statement in the manual "Datum is 3" from nose" would no longer apply.

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Kevin Kearney
Vice President
Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation


C-54D "Spirit of Freedom" 43-17228
C-97 "Angel of Deliverance" 52-2718 (painted as YC-97A 45-59595)
C-54E/R5D-4 "Spirit of Freedom" 44-9144 BuNo 90414 (wfu April/2020)
http://www.spiritoffreedom.org