The First Radio Broadcasts From Ships

Parts 3, 4 and 5

[Taken from: Adventist World Radio's "Wavescan" - (DX Programs WS 343, WS 347 and WS 351). Many thanks to Dr. Adrian Peterson]

3. Europe & Atlantic

Back during the era of the 1920's and 1930's, it was the custom of the day for ships passing each other in mid-Atlantic to salute each other by playing musical records over their communication radio transmitters. On many occasions this interesting phenomenon was noted, though usually the printed DX reports do not mention the name of the ship. However, at least seven famous passenger liners during that era are noted by name as broadcasting radio programming, at least on a temporary basis.

The SS Bremen of the German Lloyd Line laid claim to being the first passenger liner fitted with a wireless telephony set. This ship was launched around the year 1900 with the original callsign DDDX, though this was later changed to DOAH.

The famous ship, Titanic, is sometimes credited with sending in 1912 the last distress call in Morse Code as CQD and the first as SOS. Though this claim is discredited, yet it is probable that the Titanic sent the first and last combined CQD-SOS call. 

Interestingly though, it is claimed that the "Titanic" also made several broadcasts of recorded music on its first and only voyage into the Atlantic. Available information would suggest that the first music broadcast took place as the ship was nearing Queenscliff in Ireland and again as it was leaving. 

On July 20, 1920, the SS Victorian left England and among its many passengers were delegates attending the Imperial Press Conference in Ottawa, Canada. Each day, a program of speech and music was transmitted on the longwave channel 107 kHz to the "Victorian" from MZX at Chelmsford and from MPD at Poldhu in Cornwall. Each evening while en route across the Atlantic, the "Victorian" broadcast brief concerts to passing ships from its own 3 kW transmitter MVN. 

Two years later, on October 29, 1922, the first radio broadcast in Denmark was made from a ship anchored in the harbor at Copenhagen. This was an experimental demonstration broadcast and the receiver was located in a lecture hall in the city.

The famous French liner, Normandie was launched in 1932 and we quote the DX report from a listener in Australia. He says: On Sunday morning October 30 at 12:45 am, Radio Paris made a special broadcast on 25.6 metres when it described the launching of the new French liner, "Normandie". The christening of the vessel by Madame Lebrun, wife of the president was heard first, and as the liner ran down the slipway the playing of the "Marsellaise" was plainly audible. 

This ship, the "Normandie", also made music broadcasts during its voyages across the Atlantic under the callsign FNSK.

The great Cunard liner, Queen Mary was launched on September 26, 1935, and it commenced its maiden voyage across the Atlantic 8 months later. When the vessel left Southampton on May 26, 1936, a broadcast from the ship was relayed by the BBC, and two days later an early morning relay was made. During its inaugural voyage and on several subsequent occasions, the "Queen Mary" made many broadcasts under the callsign GBTT while plying the Atlantic.

Our seventh ship in this historic line-up is the Dutch hospital ship, De Hoop. This mercy vessel was launched in 1964 and it served fishing boats in the North Sea with medical, technical and spiritual aid. Religious services were broadcast in the Dutch language each Sunday and Wednesday with 300 watts on 2316 kHz under the callsign PHKS. 

When the collecting of QSL cards came into vogue in the early 1920's many of the ships on the air at the time issued verification cards or letters in response to reception reports from many different countries.

4. The Americas - Earlier Years

Now we choose the American scene in its earlier era. It is discovered that at least five different ships were on the air with broadcast programming in the Americas during the era between the two Great Wars.

It was in the year 1919 that Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, made a tour in several areas of Europe for the purpose of implementing peace and rehabilitation among the previously warring countries. An influential member of his entourage was Walter Lemmon who later went on to establish his own shortwave station, the famous WRUL at Scituate, near Boston in Massachusetts.

At the urging of Walter Lemmon, President Wilson made an Independence Day broadcast on July 4, 1919. At the time, he was aboard the navy vessel George Washington which was out in the Atlantic steaming towards the American coastline. 

The navy communication transmitter on the "George Washington" was tuned to the frequency 2380 kHz for this first ever radio broadcast by an American president. This historic radio broadcast was heard at receiving stations along the coastal areas of the United States, though at a low level. 

In the early part of the year 1933, a scientific broadcast was made from an underwater vessel known as the "Bathysphere". Explorer Otis Barton and Captain William Beebe were lowered in the "Bathysphere" off the coast of Nonsuch Island in the Bermudas. 

Descriptions of the underwater seascape were transmitted over a telephone link from the "Bathysphere" up to the ship, Freedom, half a mile above. A radio transmitter on the "Freedom' with the callsign ZFB1 broadcast the programming on 125 metres, 2400 kHz, to Bermuda, where it was relayed onward for reception in the United States. 

The entire underwater program was carried by the NBC mediumwave network throughout the United States as well as on shortwave from W3XL. You can see a diagram of this very interesting broadcast from the ship "Freedom" on page 65 of Jerry Berg's book, "On the Short Waves".

During the same era around the early 1930's, there were several gambling ships anchored in international waters off the coast of California. At least two of these ships carried radio transmitters that were on the air with broadcast programming. In radio terminology, we would today describe these shipboard radio stations as "pirates".

The City of Panama was registered in Panama, and its radio transmitter emitted 500 watts on 815 kHz. The saltwater pathway assured a very strong signal in the Santa Monica areas of Los Angeles thus causing severe interference to legally licensed land-based stations. The impact of this station, which was on the air under the unusual callsign RXKR, also caused a flurry of diplomatic activity.

Another radio station during the same era and in the same area off the coast of Los Angeles was on board the gambling ship, Rex. 

In the early 1940's a navy vessel with a German name, the Kron Prinz, was fitted out in the Caribbean as a powerful radio broadcaster. This information is portrayed on an American postcard from this era. The original "Kron Prinz" was allocated the callsign DPZ during the spark wireless era. 

What happened to this ship? Was it a part of the German navy? Or was it the surrendered "Kron Prinz Wilhelm" as a carry-over from World War 1. We could ask the question: Was the powerful radio equipment on board the "Kron Prinz" ever on the air with program broadcasting? Did they ever make any test broadcasts? If so, there seems to be no record of this information in any of the DX magazines during this era. 

5. Americas in Recent Years

Now we pick up again the story of radio broadcasting from ships, and this time, during the postwar era in the Americas. During this period of time, it is known that at least seven ships were involved in some form of radio broadcasting.

Back in the year 1961, the military fiasco known as the "Bay of Pigs" occurred, in which there was an aborted invasion on the southern coast of the island of Cuba. During this event, two American boats, operated by the CIA, were used for broadcasting radio information into this island country.

One un-named boat, loaded with a mediumwave transmitter, was stationed off the coast of Cuba near the capital city Havana where it went on the air in the Spanish language. Another un-named boat, a yacht, was loaded with a shortwave transmitter, and it went on the air three times each day in Spanish as "Radio Independiente". 

Some 24 years later, there was another insurgency movement in Latin America, this time in Central America. In support of this new insurgency movement in El Salvador, Radio Vinceremos was launched in 1981. 

Radio Vinceremos was located "somewhere in Central America" and its shortwave transmitters propagated a strong signal that was heard quite regularly in the United States, Europe and the South Pacific. Radio Vinceremos issued large and colorful QSL cards for its many shortwave transmissions. 

In an endeavor to counter the broadcasts from Radio Vinceremos, the United States stationed two navy ships in the Caribbean off the coast of Central America. These two navy vessels were Spruance class destroyers and they were located in the Gulf of Fronseca.

Programming from the shortwave communication transmitters on these two vessels, first the Caron and later the Diego, consisted entirely of jamming noises. The signal from these two ships was also heard widely throughout North America and into Europe and the South Pacific. It could be conjectured that no QSLs were ever issued for these jamming broadcasts. 

We move our geography now a little north, to the Atlantic coast of the United States. On July 5, 1973, radio stations WXUR AM & FM located, in Media, Pennsylvania, were closed by order of the FCC. The owner, Reverend Carl McIntire, then installed an old 10 kW RCA transmitter on board the ship, Columbus . The antenna was a simple inverted V.

Two months later, McIntire went on the air at half power as "Radio Free America", choosing several different mediumwave channels, though mostly above the top end of the mediumwave band. At the end of 11 days of spasmodic testing, the station was closed for ever. One QSL letter is known, prepared by Larry Magne on behalf of "Radio Free America".

In the year 1988, the ship Sarah was anchored in international waters off Long Island New York for the purpose of broadcasting as "Radio New York International". This ship was stated to contain four transmitters; mediumwave, longwave and FM. This ship apparently went on the air for a short period of time. Subsequently, however, broadcasts from the "Sarah" were heard on relay over shortwave WWCR in Nashville, Tennessee, for which QSL cards were issued.

The next American endeavor at ship broadcasting is due to go on air quite soon. Alan Weiner of shortwave station WBCQ in Monticello, Maine is fitting out the ship Katie with broadcast transmitters for the purpose of going on air legitimately from several different exotic locations. It is anticipated that the "Katie" will go on the air from its first location, perhaps Belize, within autumn 2001.

Click here for Parts 6, 7 and 8