REME Electricians Equipment

[APA]

Would anyone be able to point me in the direction of some information regarding what a typical REME (or any other British branch) Electricians equipment would look like including their kit bag / box? I'm talking small stuff for repairing and testing radio equipment etc. Pictures would be ideal. I'm sure it wouldn't be much different in nature to standard civilian equipment of the time but it would be nice to see if they used anything specific or any particular types, colours etc.

 

BTW I've found some British voltmeters but that's about it on Google! The rest are either US or German kit. 

 

Cheers in advance.

 

A

Edited September 14, 2020 by APA

[DAG058]

Try sending the REME museum an email, they may be able to help.

 

Details can be found here >  http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/research/

 

 

[APA]

Thanks @DAG058 I didn't think 'I'm making a model' would count as research but whats to loose!

 

A

[Kingsman]

I have contacted the REME museum a couple of times for modelling-related research and found them helpful.

 

It would be useful to know the time period as tool kits' contents have changed over time.  Not forgetting that REME was not formed until 1942 and the Museum have told me that their archive prior to this is spotty at best.  If you were looking at BEF or early Western Desert, for example.

 

Each different tool kit will certainly have had a Complete Equipment Schedule (CES) listing the contents.  These were updated as the contents changed.  But did not include pictures.  They may also have had an Army Equipment Support Publication (AESP) which might contain drawings or photographs of the items.

[APA]

24 minutes ago, Das Abteilung said:

I have contacted the REME museum a couple of times for modelling-related research and found them helpful.

 

It would be useful to know the time period as tool kits' contents have changed over time.  Not forgetting that REME was not formed until 1942 and the Museum have told me that their archive prior to this is spotty at best.  If you were looking at BEF or early Western Desert, for example.

 

Each different tool kit will certainly have had a Complete Equipment Schedule (CES) listing the contents.  These were updated as the contents changed.  But did not include pictures.  They may also have had an Army Equipment Support Publication (AESP) which might contain drawings or photographs of the items.

Thanks know what to ask for now  . I will contact them to see if they can help. Time period is not too critical as the build is an AEC Dorchester in N Africa which pretty much spans the whole war (I think). The No19 will be in bits so a set of test equipment and tools layed out next to it with associated bag / roll / box would be nice. I'm hoping for a bit more than screwdrivers and pliers. I've found a few period military issue hand volt meters however if they did use a basic spectrum analyser or some such for testing / tuning / alining that would be a bonus. I'll see what they say.

 

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Edited September 15, 2020 by APA

[Koala]

Regarding your question about radio repair in the North African theatre ,it is more than likely to have been undertaken by the Royal Signals. I say this because my late 

mothers uncle was out there with the Royal Signals and according to family stories helped refit Montys headquarters .I hope this is of use.

 

Koala

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kingsman]

Thinking further, I'm fairly certain that radio etc repair was not a REME responsibilty at all in WW2 and at 1st or 2nd line level I don't believe it still is.  I was a Signaller(RE) in the 90's and I was trained in Unit Telecomms Repair for the Squadron's kit.

 

REME did not assume all equipment repair responsibility in 1942.  I'm fairly certain that signals equipment remained the responsibilty of R Signals for repair.  I'm also fairly certain that operators would have been trained in 1st and 2nd line repair of their own equipment.  An HQ Troop/Squadron/Company etc would have had a repair toolkit and a trained tradesman.

 

You might think of contacting the R Sigs Museum at Blandford instead.

[APA]

Thanks guys and a pertinent point about who would be repairing radios. I would assume that there would be a dedicated engineer assigned to the HQ to deal with issues on the spot. Also I agree that the operators would do checks. I have read somewhere that operators have daily and weekly checks in which it states very clearly that anything beyond what is listed is 'NOT YOUR JOB'.

 

I've found the link to the signals museum (A little hidden in the shop section) and will be on to them as well as the REME.

 

An additional fruitful point searching for Royal Signals WW2 has given me a nice selection of operators at their wireless sets.....

 

 

Excellent reference material there so thanks again guys 👍

 

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[Phil Evans]

REME Electricians would be vehicle electricians and the radio equipment was the responsibility of Radio Mechanics. REME was/is responsible for all of the Army's equipment apart from specialist equipment that was maintained by the corps that operated it with REME input. Thus Engineer plant was maintained by RE Plant Operator Mechanics and Signals specialist equipment and combat net radio equipment was maintained by Royal Signals tradesmen, for example.

 

They would have probably used Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Regulations (EMERs) rather than AESPs which came in around the 80s.

 

I would have thought that they would have some sort of multimeter, oscilloscope, power meter, power supply, RF and AF oscillators and a frequency meter. This is just off the top of my head, willing to be told otherwise.

 

Cheers

 

Phil

[Kingsman]

EMERs would cover the work. An AESP for a tool set, if it existed, would have been about the tool set itself: how to look after it.

 

There is info on the web about how and when REME assumed increasing responsibility.  During most if not all of WW2 they were primarily responsible for vehicle maintenance and repair.  R Sigs, RA, RE and RASC still retained maintenance responsibility for their own kit - although I'm sure that REME would help out as they perhaps had more comprehensive equipment in LADs and Fd Wksps.

 

I used the phrases Level 1 and Level 2 above, which are modern.  L1 would be something the operator could do himself with kit included in the equipment CES.  Any tools etc needed for the daily and weekly checks, changing valves etc.  L2 would be something that embedded unit tradesmen, including LADs, could do with kit available to them.  Field Workshops would be Level 3 and Base Workshops or industry would be Level 4.

[APA]

As always thank you all. It's all good stuff.

 

When `I read about the extent of repair it mentioned Level 1 and Level 2 so it sounds like it was a modern pamflet.

 

I have emailed the following: 

Royal Signals Museum (Auto reply "All on furlow")

REME Museum

Wireless for Warriors (WFTW) - An amazing site jammed with all the radios you could imagine used by the UK (Careful you may be gone for hours here) and run by a guy called Louis Meulstee who sounds like the Mike Starmer of British military radios so this may be my best bet. All the way from Holland!!

The Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society (VMARS)

 

lets see what comes of them and I'll get back to you all

 

thanks

 

A

[APA]

We're getting there.... 

 

A