Past forward [The SCR-536 Handie-Talkie]

Summary form only given, as follows. The SCR-536 Handie-Talkie was designed for operation under battle conditions," according to its technical manual. An ad for the World War II handheld radio set, a direct ancestor of modern-day walkie-talkies, featured a soldier’s endorsement: "Just like having a house telephone at your fingertips. We're never alone. We feel safer, stronger, because we’re always in touch with our command post!” Years later, though, a retired Army officer who used the radio during the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942 offered a less enthusiastic review: "In our amphibious landing in North Africa … it leaked water - and salt water ruined the sliding switch contacts." Users could be hard on the 536, he added: "One set came into our shop…with all the tubes dead. Some infantryman had used it to pound in tent pegs!"