On Sunday, November 23, 2014 10:38:59 PM UTC+11, Jeff wrote:
The antenna I described is essentially a 1/4 wave vertical bent over
with the bent portion parallel to the ground.
My 2 meter version could be described as a 19 inch long vertical, bent
over two inches from the ground, and the remaining 17 inches formed into
a circle parallel to the ground. So the antenna only added 2 inches to
the height of my van.



Such a Blade antenna was described in the RSGB VHF/UHF Manual. It
consisted of a 1/4 wavelength rod bent over to be parallel with the
ground plane. It is fed with a tap at about 1/3 of the length and tuned
by a screw in the end of the whip.

Also described is a lambda/2 Ring antenna mounted just above a ground plane.

Jeff
This type of antenna is common on aircraft for 75MHz Marker reception. It is folded back and covered with a radome. It has a cardioid pattern with a deep null towards the "front" (for want of a better term). Mounted on the aircraft belly, it is intended to receive straight down as the aircraft overflies the Marker station.

The Marker station consists of a low power transmitter , around 6W for an Outer Marker, and a 3el yagi pointed straight up.

It's not a DX antenna, the range is only around 3000ft for a light aircraft on Approach.

I would suggest that such an antenna for HF would be probably ideal for NVIS, but little else.