AN/URT-27 Beacon

I picked up an AN/URT-27 Beacon at the Rochester Ham Fest in June 2025.  It is a 243MHz Military Personnel Recovery Beacon from the 1960s during the Vietnam War. 

The AN/URT-27 part number is from the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS). It is part of MIL-STD-196. The ‘AN’ stands for Army-Navy. The ‘URT’ stands for General Utility Radio Transmitter. The ‘27’ is the Type Designator, which increments for each new piece of equipment.

Physical Description

The front face of the beacon contains information on the contract and manufacturer of the beacon. The beacon was built under contract AF 33(657) 15218. The Cage Code of the manufacturer is 82268, Sparton Electronics. The beacon serial number is 11876. The PT number is 100-4725. A Federal Stock Number (FSN) is also listed, 5825 999 4555. This is a predecessor to the National Stock Number (NSN). The NSN is 5826 00 999 455. The front face also includes the instructions for operating the beacon. The beacon is armed by sliding the switch to the 'On' position. The beacon is activated once the Lanyard is pulled. 

The Top of the Beacon has the On/Off Switch, the Lanyard Plug, a telescoping antenna, and an External Antenna port. The External Antenna port is an Amphenol 000-46025 RF MIL SPEC connector. The telescoping antenna is deployed by turned the head and then pulling it out. It extends about 22.25in and at the bottom of the base is a band indicating it is fully extended.

The left side has a Battery Date and Test Sticker. On this one, it indicates the battery was installed on September 23, 1967. It doesn't appear to have ever been tested. The battery was also removed at some point.

The beacon is about 2.5in x 1in x 4.5in.

The Beacon can be opened with two screws on the bottom. The top and internal components slide out of the chassis. There is a metal bracket that the screws attach to and holds the beacon together. The battery is also held in with this bracket.

The PCB is on one side of the beacon and has a plastic shield on the back to prevent shorting to the chassis. The other side has a foam piece that holds the antenna and protects the components of the PCB.

The beacon is made to be at least water resistant, if not water proof. The top has a gasket to seal against the chassis. The two screws have gaskets to seal the bottom. The telescoping antenna has a gasket as well.

History

There isn't a ton of information online about this beacon. I was able to find a couple documents that give a glimpse into its uses and history.

The first document is the "Minutes of the Air Force Personal Equipment Advisory Group Meeting"[1] from March 1 and 2, 1966. This document goes over a number of topics including the AN/URT-27. From this document, I learned that 20,981 beacons were procured under Contract AF33(657)-15218. As of March 1966, flight testing went well with the beacons, and environmental testing was underway by Sparton. This document also indicates that the goal of the AN/URT-27 was to replace the older AN/URT-21. Both the -21 and -27 had a flawed design where the antenna connection would come loose after a number of antenna removal and insertion cycles, which are required for inspection.

The document says they are being built by the Sparton Electronics Division of the Sparton Corporation, located in Jackson Michigan. The Jackson Michigan facility closed in 2009 and it does not appear that Sparton made or makes any other beacons [2].

The next document I found is an Air Force Occupational Survey Report for the "Aircrew Egress Systems Career Ladder"[3] from February 1978. This document has lists of tasks for various positions. One of the task's of an F-111 Egress System Repairmen is to "Remove or Install Crew Module URT-27 or URT-33 Radio Beacons", page 53. 

The next document is the book "General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark"[4] by Peter Davies. On page 21 the AN/URT-27 is mentioned as the "emergency radio beacon set" for the aircraft.

These two documents make it very certain that this beacon was used operationally in the F-111.

The final document, and least conclusive, is a redacted meeting summary, "Summary of BW-3 Personal Equipment Meeting, February 15, 16, 1967" [5]. This document was released by the CIA on February 27, 2003. I believe the document is going over various personal equipment for the pilots of the SR-71. On page 2, there is a question whether to add an URT27 to the ejection seat. On page 4 there is item for "URT27 Beacon Tests on Whirl Tower".

From other research, the SR-71 used newer survival beacons, but the URT-27 could have been used at the very beginning before being replaced by a newer design. More aircraft seem to have used to AN/URT-33 beacon, including the F-111. This indicates to me that the URT-33 might have replaced the URT-27 in multiple spots. The URT-33 has more features like timed transmission lengths. The design is physically very similar to the URT-27.

If you have any other information about the AN/URT-27 beacon, please reach out to me at: scott (at) kc1ght (dot) com

References: 

[1] https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD0480890.pdf 

[2] https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/16267/sparton-to-close-electronics-plant-in-jackson,-mich 

[3] https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA050479.pdf 

[4] https://ia800505.us.archive.org/33/items/general-dynamics-f-111-aardvark/General%20Dynamics%20F-111%20Aardvark.pdf 

[5] https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP75B00285R000400110011-4.pdf 

Initially published July 2025