Yes Desert Flower, you are correct. I meant UHF CB but was thinking of the VHF marine band. 27 Mhz band was originally the Amateur 11 meter band.
Having held an amateur radio license and a marine license for 48 years I guess I should know the difference? I'm not even sure there is a marine license any longer?
....when I first started out with 27Mhz CB's in the early 70's it was necessary to have a license.
Yes, but how many held licenses? Certainly very few or any of the Highway Heros! And some 27 Mhz home operators had linear amplifiers and high gain Yagi antennas. It's heyday was in the 70s when skip distances were good and they were getting into New Zealand and the USA, then atmospherics changed, the maximum useable frequency dropped and 27 Mhz died out.