WIRELESS SET WS62 Mk2, 1945

Wireless Set No. 62 (WS62) was a general purpose, low-power, semitropical, vehicle station transmitter & receiver designed for short-range use in the high-frequency (HF) radio bands by the British Army during the Second World War. The frequency range covered was 1.6 to 10.0 MHz in two switched bands. It remained in service until the late 1960;s It was used in the Second World War by British Army infantry, the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service (SAS) The equipment was also used in Auster and Beaver aeroplanes and the Skeeter helicopter. It was first trialled early in 1944, postwar military production resuming in the early 1950s, and production for commercial applications continuing until 1966. See pyetelecomhistory.org The Wireless set No 62 incorporated its own Power unit and Variometer, unlike its predecessor the WS 22 which incorporated its own Variometer only, the WS 19 incorporated neither, both were additional units.

Your comments:

• I used the 62 set in the Army Cadet Corps for about 6 years during the 1960's in Victoria, Australia.They were not in use In Royal Aust. Signals when I was a member in 1970's. I still own one (modified and neglected, alas!) The loss of efficiency was due to the genemotor I think. It might have been better with some sort of vibrator HT. Also the genemotor is VERY heavy.
  The other problem was- being wired up as a vehicle mounted whip aerial set, it was a big ask to also perform into a long wire on demand to provide long range rear links for example. They expected the set to do too much.
  I loved that set tho, ...it was a kid's dream. The receiver was excellent.
  .......... kelly, victoria australia, 8th of January 2017
  
  
• Company exercises by the SAS of 1958-1959 held in the Kimberley Area of Western Australia took the form of long-range vehicle-mounted patrols the radios used A510 for Platoon to Company Headquarters and the WS62 HF set in a vehicle mounted roll as a rear link to base camp in Perth. As the distance was far greater than the set was designed to operate at, several relay stations were deployed to maintain communications rear. these relays were often placed along the North West Coastal Highway about 1000 kilometres apart Ref The history of the Corps of Signals in SAS 1957-1982
  .......... Renton Ed, Hillarys Western Australia, 20th of May 2016
  
  
• Also used in Korean campaign.
  .......... Colin Bowles (Formerly Sapper 22952096 RE), Luton, Bedfordshire, UK, 6th of April 2016
  
  
• 62 sets were used in the Vietnam war by the Royal Australian Army. They would also have been used in Malaya/Malaysia by Australian (and presumably British) during the Indonesian confrontation.
  .......... Donald Bainbridge, Geelong Australia, 29th of August 2015
  
  
• If the Ministry responsible wanted a 10 watt or a 100 watt transmitter then they would have specified just that, but they wanted a 1 watt unit. It is hardly a design fault. It is incorrect to suggest that a high power unit is better than a low power unit. You simply do not understand how radio works if you make comments like that. When you look at the efficiency you need to consider all the parameters and there are some good reasons why this unit is low on the basic efficiency. You cannot judge the design by simply comparing basic power usage.
  .......... Alexander Lax, Bristol, 18th of December 2014
  
  
• This set was in wide use from late WWII onwards. Personally I find this ironic, because the set had quite mediocre performance for its size and weight. Its good points were that it was mechanically well made, it was waterproof (it could float) and it was simple to operate.
  
  Its serious problem was that its transmitter output was about 1 watt, and this was so low that its range was severely limited. A friend of mine who used these sets in anger in the 1950s reported to me that failure to communicate over distance as short as 5 miles was a constant problem with these sets.
  
  This is particularly ironic for two reasons:
  
  1. The WS62 was only adopted by the British Army because the real WS22 replacement - the WS42 - was late in arriving. The WS42 produced 10 watts of output - no problem with range here!
  
  2. The amount of battery power the transmitter final stage takes to produce its 1 watt of output is quite excessive. This has been measured at about 6 watts. This means its effiency (1/6 x 100%) is about 17%. Most other equipments manage 60% or more. Why this is so poor remains a technical mystery at the moment. But this goes beyond a tecnical mystery, because such deficiences have consequences: there can be little doubt that operationally this was a disaster in certain circumstances - I have no direct evidence that anyone died as result (such evidence is hard to gain!), but the suspicion remains.....
  .......... Richard Hankins, Ross-on-Wye, 8th of June 2011
  
  

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