Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very interesting and incredibly scarce set, a still-functional Armed Forces Radio Service A.E.W.S. AEW2 radio, circa 1945. One of several sets manufactured as part of a nationwide program that kept the radio industry busy during wartime production restrictions - ostensibly released by the Army Education Welfare Service for 'education and entertainment'.

This set was almost certainly designed by Radio Corp NZ as it is a close copy of their Model 12 from 1940, with certain parts like the oscillator coil being virtually identical.  However, manufacturing contracts during the war were controlled by the Ministry of Supply (specifically the Controller of Radio Production - Ralph Slade), so designing something did not mean you would also make it.  However, in this case almost all capable radio factories (large and small) made some of the 6000 contracted by the USJPB (US Joint Purchasing Board) for the US forces in the Pacific.

This example may very well be one of the 6000 contracted for US Forces. The radio is not perfect, as there is some wear to the wire of the plug, and the celluloid/plastic cover of the radio dial has cracks and breaks. The cork board that covers the back of the radio is missing its screw, so it doesn’t stay in place very well, however this is easily fixed by having something wedging it in place.

The radio does currently function, but the volume dial (left) is very stiff and requires much pressure to turn it up or down. The frequency dial works well and we were able to get some music stations to play. However, it does not work perfectly and the volume can be finicky. After plugging it in, due to the vacuum tubes, you will have to wait a few seconds before it starts to actually play. Therefore, we can not guarantee that it will function perfectly indefinitely. It is being sold as a display piece first and foremost. Returns for a non-functional radio will not be honored.
 
Radio Corporation of New Zealand manufactured a number of these, and they also provided several parts, including the clear dial cover and the knobs.  They also participated in the assembly of spares packs. There is evidence in a section of a letter (excerpt below) from Alex Marks in the Radio Corp factory (Alex was the son of William Marks, the RCNZ founder) to Fred Green (who was their factory rep / buyer in England at the time) regarding a new knob mold they were working on, and he relates the size to 'the one they used on the AEW2'.  As mentioned above, there are other parts such as the oscillator coil which are almost certainly from the Columbus model 12 or a close variation of them.

This is a great example of a scarce functional radio from World War II, ready for further research and display.