Why would WWII pilots switch off their radios while landing?

by gaycuttlefish

I'm reading "The Big Show" by the French RAF pilot Pierre Clostermann, an account of his time flying Spitfires and Tempests with the RAF.

He frequently mentions pilots turning off their radio as they approach the runway to land. This often results in tragedy as the pilot lacks crucial information from the runway controller. For example a Tempest was coming in to land, unaware of a lower flying Avro Anson carrying fresh reinforcement pilots. The two collided on approach to the runway as the Tempest pilot didn't get the warning from runway control.

Why not leave the radios on until they grounded?

Bigglesworth_

It's been a while since I read it, but flicking back through only two cases jump out: in "A Tragic Landing" and "Train-Busting", and in both cases it's a damaged aircraft coming in to land.

The pilot's oxygen mask and radio were plugged in to the cockpit so had to be disconnected when bailing out or ditching ("Every endeavour should be made to bale out rather than ditch. If flying low over the sea the aircraft should be pulled up to gain as much height as possible. On the climb undo helmet and disconnect R/T plug. Jettison hood. Do not release harness until bailing out has been decided upon.", Pilot's Notes for Tempest V). It's not specifically mentioned as part of the procedure for a forced landing, but if a pilot was concerned about getting out as quickly as possible they may have done so prior to starting their approach.

As Clostermann wrote Le Grand Cirque in French I wondered if there might be a translation issue, digging out a French version it looks like "Too late, he had switched off his radio" was originally "Trop tard! Il a débranché sa radio", and Google Translate suggests "unplugged" is a better translation than "switched off". Turning off the radio wasn't, as far as I'm aware, part of landing, so it seems more like a couple of isolated incidents.