The First Radio Broadcasts From Ships
Parts 12, 13, 14 and 15
[Taken from: Adventist
World Radio's "Wavescan" - (DX Programs WS 405, 407 and 408). Many thanks to Dr. Adrian Peterson]
12. Radio Broadcasting from Ships in New Zealand Waters
The South Pacific nation of New Zealand was settled first by Polynesians migrating south from the Central Pacific more than 1,000 years ago. The islands were first visited by European explorers in 1642 when Abel Jans Tasman tried unsuccessfully to make a landing. He named the islands after "Sea-Land", a coastal province in northern Holland.
The first European settlements were established by foreign traders around 1790, and British administration of New Zealand was established from Sydney in 1839. The Treaty of Waitangi (WHY-TANG-ee) in 1840 guaranteed the rights of the Maori (MAU-REE) people, and in 1841 New Zealand became a separate Crown Colony. Although there was some discussion with Australia around the turn of the century a little more than 100 years ago, New Zealand opted not to be federated into Australia, and separate Dominion status was granted in 1907.
New Zealand lies 1,000 miles off the coast of eastern Australia with the Tasman Sea separating the two countries. In the era of travel before aeroplanes were modernized, obviously sea travel connected the two countries to each other and with the rest of the world.
In those days, all of the large ocean going passenger liners and cargo vessels were constructed overseas, usually in England and Northern Ireland. Several of these ships were noted with the broadcast of radio programming and we look at these in this edition of Wavescan.
On February 3 in the year 1931, there was a massive earthquake in the Hawkes Bay area, on the west coast of the north island of New Zealand. Telephone communications were knocked out and electricity services were disrupted. The only means for adequate communication was by radio, amateur and professional.
It so happened, that the Royal Navy vessel, HMS Veronica was anchored in Hawkes Bay near the city of Napier at the time and their radio equipment relayed personal messages, voice reports and radio programming out of the area for wider broadcast. Several other
unnamed ships at anchor in Hawkes Bay also provided a similar radio relay
service.
In the year 1934, a refrigerated cargo vessel, the New Zealand
Star, was launched at Belfast in Northen Ireland. This ship was considered to be the most modern ship of its type and it was constructed for the New Zealand meat trade.
The launching ceremony was scheduled for Thursday morning November 29, 1934 at Belfast in Northern Ireland and it was planned that this event would be broadcast worldwide on shortwave. In preparation for the launching ceremony and the radio broadcast, a rehearsal of the entire program was conducted on the Monday, four days in advance.
The New Zealand section of the rehearsal ceremony, including a speech by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, was broadcast from the 1 kW shortwave transmitter of station ZLW at Titahi (tit-AH-hee) Bay, near Wellington. In Sydney, station VK2ME relayed the rehearsal program to London with one of its 10 kW shortwave transmitters, where it was recorded as a precaution in case of propagation difficulties at the time of the actual event.
The rehearsal broadcast from ZLW was heard in Melbourne quite by chance by the column reporter for the weekly radio journal, "Listener In" and he reported the event a few days later in his newspaper.
The Australian trade magazine, "Broadcasting Business", reported in full detail in 1937 about a special broadcast from the passenger liner
Mariposa. While the ship lay at anchor at Circular Quay (KEY) in Sydney Harbour, AWA engineers installed a 250 watt broadcast transmitter. This unit was tuned to 190 metres, 1580 kHz, which was at the time, just above the top end of the standard broadcast band.
While the "Mariposa" was still an hour or two away from Auckland Harbour in New Zealand, a broadcast was made over this small and temporary radio station. The live programming consisted of songs by the famous Italian tenor, Tito Scipa, and a speech by the Mayor of Auckland, Sir Ernest Davies. This programming was picked up by station 2ZB in Auckland and relayed on the ZB network throughout New Zealand.
While the "Mariposa" was anchored at Suva in Fiji, Tito Scipa made another broadcast, though this time in the Suva Town Hall, and not from the ship itself.
Another New Zealand vessel, the Dominion Monarch, made an international radio broadcast while on its maiden voyage to London in 1939. This event was reported in the daily newspaper, the "Melbourne Herald" on February 10, 1939.
In 1947, DXers in New Zealand heard radio communications on 4460 kHz from the inter-island ship, the
Hinemoa (HIN-nee-MOH-a), under the callsign ZMFQ. The DX report in the Australian magazine, "Radio & Hobbies", states that the 500 watt transmitter was constructed as a broadcast transmitter, but it was instead installed
in the Hinemoa. Even though this transmitter was a broadcast quality transmitter, there is no reference anywhere to the broadcast of radio programs from this ship.
The most famous of all radio ships in New Zealand waters during this era was the passenger liner,
Awatea (AH-wa-TEE-a), but that's an interesting story for another time.
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13. The Story of the Wandering Apache
The Apache Indians lived in the southwest of what is now the United States and they were made up of five different tribal groups. The Apache Indians became famous, in legend at least, as a wandering people, giving rise to the designation, the "Wandering Apache".
There was an old ship that was built in Baltimore, Maryland, and launched in 1891. Under its original name, the "Galveston", this ship saw duty in the Spanish-American War, after which it was renamed the
Apache. This ship was de-commissioned in 1937, and after the American entry into World War 2, it resumed official duties as a troop transport.
In the year 1944, the "Apache" was taken to Sydney, Australia where it was totally rebuilt and equipped with electronic equipment for service as a radio broadcasting ship. Generators, receivers, cables, antennas, all were installed, including two shortwave transmitters at 10 kW each.
This mobile broadcasting station sailed north from Sydney in late September 1944, arriving at General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters at Hollandia, New Guinea on October 10. Two days later, the "Apache" joined a flotilla of American war vessels for the return invasion of the Philippines.
It was somewhere around mid-morning of October 20 that the "Apache" made its first transmission, a navy report to California about the new invasion of the Philippines. The allocated callsign for this radio broadcasting ship was WVLC, reminiscent of the Australian callsign, VLC in Shepparton, Victoria.
For the next one and a half years, the "Apache" was heard on the air quite often, sometimes with the relay to America of Pacific war news & reports, and sometimes with the onward relay of radio programming from the shortwave stations in the "Voice of America" network in California.
After a spate of on air service in Manila Bay, the "Apache" moved to the Lingayen (ling-GAY-an) Gulf early in the new year 1945 to cover the moving tide of warfare on the island of Luzon. At the time of the signing of the surrender documents on the USS "Missouri" in Tokyo Bay, the "Apache" was there, but it was silent, simply because the more powerful land based shortwave station at Nazaki (na-ZAR-kee) in Japan was carrying the programming on relay back to America.
After this, the "Apache" was noted with radio despatches and occasional programming off the coast of Korea, and then further south off the coast of China.
The saga of radio broadcasting from the reconditioned "Apache" came to an end on April 20, 1946, when the American navy vessel,
USS Spindle Eye took over not only the radio prograrnmming but even the callsign WVLC. The "Apache" was decommissioned, and then in 1950 it was scrapped.
During its 18 months of radio history, the "Apache" served as a communication ship, an interrnediate relay station for armed forces communications, and as a radio broadcasting unit carrying programs on behalf of the American Armed Forces Radio Service & the Voice of America. It is quite probable too, that this station also carried a relay from Radio Australia on certain occasions.
The "Apache" was logged in Australia, New Zealand and the United States under three very similar callsigns. The basic callsign was WVLC. Another callsign in use for a brief period of times was WVLO, and it is suggested that this was in reality the second transmitter, which was noted subsequently under the callsign WVLC2.
Numerous QSLs exist in old radio collections in New Zealand & Australia & the United States but they are all in the form of typed letters. There is no known QSL card in existence bearing the callsign WVLC, not even for the relay of VOA and AFRS programming.
That then is the end of the story of the radio broadcasting ship, the "Apache", but, there is more to the story than this. Not so well known is the fact that there was another radio ship travelling with the "Apache" with the
identification FP47.
14. The Story of the Little Radio Ship, the FP47
We mentioned that the "Apache" had a co-traveller, a little vessel known as the FP47. Let's look now at the story of this lesser known sea traveller which was in reality another radio broadcasting ship.
The FP47 was a much smaller ship than the "Apache", at just 125 ft long and it was built originally for the Alaska freight and passenger traffic. This ship was also taken to Sydney in Australia at the same time as the "Apache" where it also was completely rebuilt and re-outfitted. Two diesel generators were installed in the FP47 as power units for all of the electronic equipment which included two American army Morse Code transmitters at 500 watts each.
In rebuilding the ship, the original masts were re-positioned in an attempt to counteract the weight of the heavy electrical equipment. However, the calculations were incorrect and the masts leaned forward giving the appearance that the ship was moving backwards. The official radio code for the FP47 was "Bedpan".
The original delivery date for both the "Apache" and the FP47 was planned for late November 1944. However, the events of the war speeded up and the FP47 hurriedly sailed from Sydney Harbour with the "Apache" right at the end of September. Both ships, with their electronic equipment still untested, arrived at General MacArthur's forward headquarters in Hollandia, New Guinea, on October 10, just 2 days before sailing time for the return invasion of the Philippines.
Two days later, the whole invasion fleet left Hollandia for the Philippines, with the "Apache" trailing behind, and the smaller FP47 trailing behind the "Apache". The entire flotilla arrived in Manila Harbor exactly one week later.
The purpose for the radio ship, the FP47, was to be a subordinate radio ship to the "Apache". The Morse Code transmitters sent war news and despatches to the "Apache" for onward transmission to the United States. The FP47 was a communication vessel for use by newspaper and radio correspondents, whereas the "Apache" was a radio broadcast station and a navy communication facility.
The FP47 saw duty in the coastal areas of the Philippines and other islands in the western Pacific, usually in conjunction with the "Apache", but not always. After the conclusion of hostilities, the FP47 was sent back to the Philippines, were it carried radio traffic in Morse Code apparently in conjunction with land based stations that had been re-established.
That's the last that is known about the little radio ship, known by number and not by
name.
Ramon Jackson wrote the following
addition:
While they did often appear together FP-47 was anything
but a "subordinate radio ship to the 'Apache'" as FP-47 was the operational
communications ship for operations and Apache was a host for news people. I
recently added extracts (http://patriot.net/~eastlnd2/SWPA%20CP%20Ships.htm)
from the official history to be linked from my web page
http://patriot.net/~eastlnd2/army-sc.htm that has the following text you
might use to correct that mistake:
General Akin himself had no doubt of the value and necessity of Army
communications ships in SWPA combat. On 21 March 1944, he set up in GHQ SWPA
Signal Section a separate Seaborne Communications Branch to plan for extensive
communications afloat and to provide a more adequate CP fleet. The first task
was to obtain ships more suitable than the Harold or the Argosy.68 Such a ship
was the freighterpassenger, FP-47, acquired by Signal Corps in March 1944, at
Sydney. The Army had built her in the United States in 1942, a sturdy, wooden,
diesel-driven vessel only 114 feet long, but broad, of 370 tons, intended for
use in the Aleutians. Instead she had sailed to Australia as a tug. The Signal
Corps fitted her with Australian transmitters and receivers, also with an
SCR-300 walkietalkie, two SCR-808's, and an SCR-608, plus power equipment,
antennas, and, finally, quarters for the Signal Corps operators. The Australian
sets were intended for long-range CW signals operating in the high frequencies;
the SCR's were short-range VHF FM radios for use in the fleet net and for
ship-toshore channels. Armed with antiaircraft weapons and machine guns (served
by 12 enlisted men of the Army ship and gun crews), navigated by a crew of 6
Army Transport Service officers and the 12 men already mentioned, the FP-47 was
ready for service in June. Her Signal Corps complement consisted of one officer
and 12 men.
The facilities of FP-47 were needed immediately at Hollandia to supplement the
heavily loaded signal nets that could hardly carry the message burden imposed by
the invasion and the subsequent build-up there of a great base. Arriving on 25
June, she anchored offshore and ran cables to the message centers on land. Her
powerful transmitters opened new channels to SWPA headquarters in Brisbane and
to the advance headquarters still at Port Moresby. At Hollandia, and at Biak, to
which the FP-47 moved early in September, this one ship handled an average of
7,000 to 11,000 code groups a day.69
Before the Philippine invasion, the CP boats acquired shipboard antrac. Four
Army communications ships, PCE-848, 849, and 850, and the Apache (primarily for
use by news reporters), arrived at Hollandia on 2 October 1944, as the Southwest
Pacific headquarters readied for the invasion of Leyte.
Later in the Philippines:
The three PCE's constituted the CP fleet for the Leyte
operation, along with two others, the FP-47 (the only holdover from Signal
Corps' first communications ships in the New Guinea fighting) and the Apache.
The Apache was something new in Signal Corps experience. It was a communications
ship specifically and solely intended for public relations work. General Akin's
Seaborne Communications Branch had gained enough experience in shipboard Army
signals so that when the SWPA public relations officer asked for a
correspondents' broadcast ship to send press copy to the United States (there
had been difficulties getting press copy through Australian Postmaster General
facilities), the Signal Corps men answered “Yes.” They acquired the Apache, a
185-foot, 650-ton ship, which had served first as a revenue cutter, then as a
Coast Guard vessel. Because of her age, fifty-five years, she had been sold for
scrap just before World War II. Resurrected by the Maritime Commission, she was
used for a while by the Navy. Then, in the somewhat sour words of her skipper,
“Like everything else that nobody wants, she was turned over to the Army.”
In July 1944 her conversion to the best known vessel of Signal Corps' CP fleet
began in Sydney harbor. By dexterously combining various pieces of equipment,
the Signal Corps installed a 10-kilowatt voice-modulated transmitter—a shortwave
radiotelephone that could reach the United States directly. Radio relay,
AN/TRC-1, was added to provide circuits to shore terminals. A variety of antenna
rigs, a studio, and a control room completed the floating broadcast facility for
war correspondents, who could now sail close into the theaters, pick up reports
and news from shore over the VHF radio relay, and prepare and broadcast programs
home quickly and directly. With a Signal Corps detachment of three officers and
eleven enlisted men and with a ship and gun crew similar to that aboard the
FP-47, the Apache was readied and sailed to Hollandia early in the autumn of
1944.17
Designated Task Unit 78.1.12 by the Navy, the five ships of the CP fleet were
readied in October at Hollandia: the PCE-848, 849, and 850, the Apache, and the
FP-47, which also served press needs. Aboard the PCE-848, General Akin occupied
a cabin along with one of his staff officers who handled General MacArthur's
messages (MacArthur himself sailed in the USS Nashville). Aboard the 848 also
was a VHF team to operate radio relay equipment. The PCE-849 carried General
Akin's assistant, more Signal Corps men, and an intercept team of the 978th
Signal Service Company. The duty of the latter, a group of a dozen officers and
men under Capt. Charles B. Ferguson, was to intercept enemy broadcasts and to
receive messages from the guerrilla radios in the Philippines. The PCE-850
carried Colonel Reichelderfer and his Signal Corps assistants serving General
Krueger's Sixth Army headquarters. Still other Signal Corps men worked
communications circuits aboard the Nashville and the Wasatch serving Generals
MacArthur and Krueger, respectively, using an assortment of radio relay and
portable radio types.18
The FP-47 often assisted in the transmission of news from
the Apache, as operational requirements allowed, but was primarily the
operational communications ship with Apache being for public relations/news.
15. The famous "I
Have Returned" broadcast by General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines
It is just 58 years this week since General Douglas MacArthur made his famous "I have returned" speech from the shortwave facilities on board three different radio ships at the beginning of the return invasion of the Philippines. The date was October 22, in the year 1944. This is how it all happened.
In their concerted drive into the Pacific, the Japanese army landed on the north coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines on December 10, 1941. The American & Filipino troops were slowly pushed southwards until they were concentrated on Bataan (ba-TAHN) Peninsula and on Corregidor (cor-EGG -i-door) Island, near the mouth of Manila Bay. General Douglas MacArthur was on Corregidor Island at the time and he listened to the daily news bulletin every evening on shortwve from KGEI in San Francisco.
General MacArthur was ordered by the president of the United States to evacuate to Australia and before leaving, he told his support staff that he intended to return as soon as possible. MacArthur, together with his wife and son, were quietly taken out of the Manila Bay area by small boat to a port in the southern Philippines where they boarded a plane for Australia. Soon afterwards both Bataan & Corregidor surrendered.
However, in the meantime, the American forces in the Philippines established a shortwave radio station that identified on air as "Freedom Radio". This new station was first noted in Australia in February 1942 using a channel in the 31 metre band.
Now, in the era immediately prior to these events, the original Far East Broadcasting Company, station KZRB, operated at least two mobile radio stations on shortwave. It is thought that one of these mobile stations was taken over by the American army and used on the Bataan peninsula for the broadcasts of "Freedom Radio".
This station was afterwards transferred to Corregidor Island where it was noted until the time of surrender. It is probable that army equipment was also used for the broadcasts of "Freedom Radio", both on Bataan Peninsula and on Corregidor Island.
MacArthur's flight to Australia took him across Indonesia and Timor with the intent to land at Darwin. However, because of an air raid at the time, his flight was diverted to Batchelor, some 30 miles further south. Here it was that he made the first of three speeches, re-iterating his promise to make a triumphal return to the Philippines.
According to several of his biographies, he made the same speech again at Alice Springs a day later, and a couple of days later again at the railway station in Adelaide, using on each occasion his handwritten notes on the back of an envelope. Radio station KGEI also re-broadcast this information on shortwave to the Pacific.
In Australia, MacArthur made his headquarters, at first in Melbourne and then later in Brisbane. Radio magazines of that era state that a railway train was fitted up for use as his headquarters complete with several communication transmitters, though this is not mentioned in any of his available biographies. As the fortunes of war changed, MacArthur again moved his headquarters, to Port Moresby and then to Hollandia, both on the island of New Guinea.
At this stage, the radio ship "Apache", followed by the smaller radio ship "FP47", arrived in Hollandia from Sydney Harbour in Australia. The return invasion was imminent and the American forces sailed for the Philippines, together with the "Apache" & the little "FP47" trailing at the end of the invasion fleet.
This massive fleet arrived in Leyte Gulf on the evening of October 20, the "Apache" made a series of inaugural broadcasts on October 21, and MacArthur announced to the world on October 22, 1944, "I have returned" in fulfillment of the promise he had made more than two years earlier.
The inaugural invasion was made at Red Beach, north of Palo on Samar Island. Here it was that MacArthur waded ashore in preparation for his "I have returned" speech. An American army vehicle, a weapons carrier, was fitted up as a mobile communication station and MacArthur made his speech from this location.
This mobile broadcast was picked up on the navy vessel, Nashville and re-broadcast on several shortwave frequencies for reception throughout the Philippines. The "Apache" also relayed this broadcast and the "FP47" carried news despatches in Morse Code containing the same information.
Two days later, MacArthur returned to the navy vessel "Nashville" and made a repeat broadcast, this time for all the world to hear. The "Apache" relayed this programming to the United States, where it was picked up in California and broadcast to the Pacific via KGEI as well as via other shortwave stations in California.
Almost every biography on General Douglas MacArthur makes reference to his legendary radio broadcasts; "I will return" and subsequently, "I have returned". The date of his first "I have returned" broadcast, was October 22, 1944.
Interestingly, October 22, 1844 is a very significant date in Bible prophecy and in American religious history. General Douglas MacArthur made his famous "I have returned" speech exactly 100 years later to the very day, a fact that is sometimes presented by Gospel preachers on radio and television.
This week forms the anniversary 58 years later of these famous radio broadcasts that were carried on shortwave from the transmitters located on three vastly different ships. These ships were the freighter "Apache", the U.S. navy vessel "Nashville", and the converted fishing trawler "FP47".
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REFERENCES
- 12. Radio Broadcasting from Ships in New Zealand Waters |
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Time Lines
Year Ship
Country
Location
Broadcasts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1931 Veronica England
Hawkes Bay
Feb 3 1931 earthquake
1931 Ships
N Zealand
Hawkes Bay
Feb 3 1931 earthquake
1934 NZ Star N Zealand
Belfast
Launching tests
NZ Star
N Zealand
Belfast
Live broadcast of launch
1937 Mariposa N Zealand
Tasman
Italian tenor broadcast
Mariposa
N Zealand
Fiji
Broadcast Suva Town Hall
1939 Dominion Monarch N Zealand Tasman
Maiden voyage to London
1947 Hinemoa N Zealand
Local
Callsign ZMFQ
Ship Reference
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominion Monarch International broadcast 1st voyage London; Note Book 79.217B 12
Hinemoa ZMFQ 500 w broadcast transmitter; R&H 79.13 9-47 86
ZMFQ QSL card 9-10-47 500 kHz calling ZLW; AWR collection
Mariposa Full article, relay from ship; 79.3 BB 29-7-37 1
Concert in Fiji Town Hall; Ven e-mail messages
New Zealand Star Launching in Belfast, preliminary tests; LI 79.23 1-12-34 59
QSL card GYCR 8-4-46 12320 calling ZLW8; AWR collection
Veronica, HMS Relay messages & programs Hawkes Bay earthquake; VITA NZ 60
Feb 3, 1931
VK2ME relay ZLW Napier earthquake; WW 79.1 20-2-31 17
Ships WW 79.1 2-2-31 17 Earthquakes
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REFERENCES
- 13. The Story of the Wandering Apache |
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Time Line
Year Date Event
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1891 Aug 22 Ship commissioned as
"Galveston"
1900 Dec 30 Renamed "Apache"
1937 Dec 31 Decommissioned
194x
Recommissioned as troop transport
1944
Voyage to Sydney Australia for outfitting as radio ship
1944
Sailed north from Sydney
1944 Oct 10 Arrived Hollandia PNG
1944 Oct 12 Sailed for Philippines
1944 Oct 19 Arrived Leyte Giulf
1944 Oct 20 1st transmission, contact with California
1944 Oct 22 Famous "I have returned " speech
1945 Jan 9 Moved to Lingayen Gulf near Dagupen
1945 Sep 2 In Tokyo Bay for surrender ceremony but silent
1945
Off coast of Korea & China
1946
April 20 US Spindle Eye takes callsign WVLC and VOA relay from Apache
1946
Decommissioned
1950
Scrapped
Known Callsigns
Call Reference
Dates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WVLC 1st official transmission
1944 Oct 20
WVLC2 Calling ABC on 7800
1945 Mar 24
WVLO Heard on 9295 kHz; probably WVLC2
1945 Jun
WVLQ Apparently land based in Philippines, calling WVLC
1945 Mar
WVLS ? Mediumwave AFRS Hollandia?
1944 Oct
Known Frequencies
kHz m Event Reference Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7110 42.19 Working KU5Q Guam & KFC California 1945 Jun
7750 38.70 Despatches to RCA 1944 Dec 2
7790 38.51 ATC reception report 1945 Jan 29
7795 38.48 Located in Leyte Gulf 1945 Jan
7800 38.46 Calling ABC 1945 Mar 24
7805 38.44 Despatches to RCA 1945 May
7810 38.40 Despatches to NBC & CBS 1945 Feb 3
8960 33.48 Calling JVS & JVT 1946 Feb
8990 33.37 Heard in New Zealand 1945 Jul 28
9295 32.28 Usual broadcast channel 1945 Jun 2
9370 32.02 Located in Leyte Gulf 1945 Jan
17740 16.91 Sunday morning music program 1945 Jan
14815 20.25 In Dutch New Guinea (Philippines) 1944 Dec
18180 16.50 Heard in Australia 1946 Jan
18530 16.19 Occasional relays from AFRS 1946 Mar
18575 16.15 Commentaries to ABC 1945 Sep
18585 16.14 John Clifton reception report 1945 Jun
18600 16.13 ATC reception report 1945 Jul 10
Ship Information & Reference
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Important Events
Allied forces landed at Hollandia April 22, 1944
Saipan surrender July 9, 1944
Leyte invasion October 20, 1944
MacArthur's D Day invasion in Philippines began Oct 20, 1944; PC 1-95 18
MacArthur's famous "I have returned speech", October 22, 1944
Apache - Station Profiles
Star Spangled Banner 83.3 93
R&H 77.10 6-45 34
Apache - The Ship
55 year old ship; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Apache, 50 year old ship; LI 79.24 28-4-45
WVLC ship; Broadcaster 14-11-45 46
WVLC Apache; PC 1-89 24
190 ft long, 29 ft wide, 416 tons; Ven website
Built by Reeder & Sons, Baltimore; Ven website
Commissioned 22-8-1891; Ven website
Apache - History
Commissioned as "Galveston" 22-8-1891; Ven website
Served in Spanish-American War 1898; Ven website
Previously Coast Guard cutter Newfoundland; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Later presidential yacht for President McKinley; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Then Maryland Yacht Club; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Coast Guard duty off Texas coast; Ven website
Involved with Galveston Hurriacne 1900 Texas coast; Ven website
Renamed "Apache" 30-12-1900
Coast Guard duty Chesapeake Bay; Ven website
Decommissioned 31-12-37; Ven website
Recommissioned as transport ship WW2; Ven website
Voyaged to Sydney for fitting out as radio station; 1944; Ven website
Completely rebuilt in Sydney 1944; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Original delivery date to PNG scheduled late November 1944; SSR 83.3 93
Decommissioned 1946
Apache has been decommissioned; RN 84.2671 7-46
Scrapped 1950; Ven website
Apache - Electronic Equipment
WVLC Apache for voice transmission only; PC 1-95 12
WVLC ship broadcaster; 14-11-45 46
WVLC Apache PC 1-89
Ton of radio apparatus; Ven website
2 International Harvester diesel generators; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
1 @ 10 kW medium frequency(?) transmitter; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
2 @ 10 kW transmitters; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 98
Apache - Travels
Voyaged to Sydney for fitting out as radio station; 1944; Ven website
Original delivery date to PNG scheduled late November 1944; SSR 83.3 93
Apache sailed north from Sydney 9-1-45 (?) to Philippines; WWH 3-97 5
Apache sailing date from Sydney probably very early October 1944
Code word for Apache - Leaky; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 100
Broke down mouth Humboldt Bay Hollandia Oct 10; Star Spangled Radio 83.3
Repaired 1 hour to spare; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
WVLC in Dutch New Guinea (Oct 10-12, 1944); 12-44 36
Sailed for Philippines October 12, 1944; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Arrived Leyte Gulf Ocober 19 evening; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 98
Off coast of Leyte October 20 1944 invasion; Ven website
WVLC Apache communication ship at Philippines; PC 1-89 24
1st Allied controlled transmitter at Leyte was Apache; R&H 79.13 6-45 34
Apache gave MacArthur's return broadcast 22-10-44; Dunlap 148
WVLC Apache made broadcasts from Manila harbor; RA 373
WVLC Leyte Gen MacArthur's HQ Philippines; LI 79.24 2-12-44
ATC QSL 29-1-45 7790 kHz "Voice of Freedom" relay; ATC QSL letter
Moved Dagupen, Lingayen Gulf invasion Luzon Jan 9 1945; Star Radio 83.3 102
Soon afterwrds, radio operations moved ashore
Project Z radio services moved ashore into Manila 14-11-44; PC 1-95 19
PY Manila & PZ Leyte supplemented Apache despatches; PC 1-95 19
Apache off coast Leyte; R&H 79.13 3-45 36
Apache, 50 year old ship at Leyte; LI 79.24 28-4-45
WVLO Leyte 9295 R&H 77.10 6-45 36
WVLC Leyte 9295 Philippine Hour, previously VLC; R&H 77.10 6-45 36
ATC QSL 10-7-45 18600kHz occasional location changes; ATC QSL letter
Broadcasts off Saipan as KRHO relay; Ven website
Tokyo Bay but silent at surrender broadcasts; Ven website
Japan Korea China; RN 2-46 149
WVLC transferred to Spindle Eye began VOA relay 20-4-46; WWH 3-97 5
Apache - Channels
WVLC Leyte Is 38.70 (7750 kHz) despatches to RCA; LI 79.24 2-12-44
Many channels; R&H 79.12 12-44 35
WVLC 20.25 m Dutch New Guinea (?); R&H 79.12 12-44 36
WVLC Leyte Gulf 17740 Sunday morning music; R&H 79.13 1-45 36
ATC QSL 29-1-45 7790 kHz Voice of Freedom" relay; ATC QSL letter
WVLC Leyte despatches to NBC & CBS 38.40 (7183); LI 79.24 3-2-45
WVLC2 Luzon 38.46 (7800) calling ABC; LI 709.24 24-3-45
WVLC Leyte 16.14 (18587) John Clifton QSL; ADXRC DXAS 82.1 6-45 3
Apache schedule 8 kW 9295 kHz 2-6-45; Hiestand letter 79.7
WVLC Leyte 9295 Philippine Hour, previously VLC; R&H 77.10 6-45 36
WVLO Leyte 9295 R&H 77.10 6-45 36
ATC QSL 10-7-45 18600kHz occasional location changes; ATC QSL letter
WVLC 8990 Philippines heard in Auckland NZ; LI 79.24 28-7-45
WVLC Philippine Hour 9295 kHz good signal; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
Mr Clack QSL 9295 kHz 5 kW; R&H 79.13 8-45 36
WVLC 9295 strong signal in Borneo; LI 79.24 1-9-45
18180; R&H 79.13 1-46 36
WVLC 8 kW 9295 two & half hours daily; WWH 3-97 5
Broadcast schedule from Apache 9295 8 kW; Brighton 79.7 5 OWI Letter
Apache - Monitoring
WVLC Philippine Hour 9295 kHz good signal; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
WVLC 8990 Philippines heard in Auckland NZ; LI 79.24 28-7-45
WVLC 9295 strong signal in Borneo; LI 79.24 1-9-45
Apache - Programming
PC 1-89 24
WVLC Apache for voice transmission only; PC 1-95 12
Programming details; Australian Documents 79.7 5
1st transmission October 20, 1944 mid morning called Frisco; Star Spangled
Apache gave MacArthur's return broadcast 22-10-44; Dunlap 148
WVLC now on air; Nb 79.217b 41 LI 2-12-44
WVLC Leyte Gen MacArthur's HQ Philippines; LI 79.24 2-12-44
WVLC Leyte Is 38.70 (7750 kHz) despatches to RCA; LI 79.24 2-12-44
WVLC group stations; R&H 79.13 1-45 36
WVLC Leyte Gulf despatches and program relays; R&H 79.13 1-45 36
WVLC Leyte Gulf 7795 9370 17740; R&H 79.13 1-45 36
WVLC relay 18180 American point-to-point station; R&H 79.13 1-45 36
WVLC Leyte Gulf 17740 Sunday morning music; R&H 79.13 1-45 36
ATC QSL 29-1-45 7790 kHz "Voice of Freedom" relay; ATC QSL letter
WVLC Leyte despatches to NBC & CBS 38.40 (7810); LI 79.24 3-2-45
WVLC in contact with WVLQ Luzon several channels; R&H 79.13 3-45 36
OWI request transfer Philippine Hour from VLC to WVLC; OWI letter 12-3-45
RA reply OK but not on same channels as RA; RA letter
WVLC2 Luzon 38.46 (7800) calling ABC; LI 709.24 24-3-45
WVLQ contacting WVLC; R&H 79.13 3-45 36
WVLC QSL ATC; R&H 79.13 4-45 36
WVLC calling RCA for despatches; R&H 79.13 5-45 36
WVLC 7805 & 9370 to RCA; R&H 77.10 5-45 38
Apache schedule 8 kW 9295 kHz 2-6-45; Hiestand letter 79.7
MW R&H 6-45 34 1
WVLC 9295 with Philippine Hour, ex VLC6; R&H 77.10 6-45 34
WVLC 7110 working KU5Q & KFC; R&H 77.10 6-45 36
WVLO also on 9295 (probably WVLC2); R&H 77.10 6-45 36
WVLC does verify; R&H 77.10 6-45 36
WVLC Leyte 9295 Philippine Hour, previously VLC; R&H 77.10 6-45 36
WVLC Philippine Hour 9295 kHz good signal; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
WVLC 9295 with Philippine Hour; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
WVLC QSL 18600 ATC; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
WVLC in French & Spanish; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
WVLC Luzon 8990 French & Spanish; R&H 79.13 7-45 38
WVLC R&H 8-45
WVLC Luzon 18575 with commentaries to ABC; R&H 79.13 9-45 36
WVLC relay VOA English & Japanese began March; WWH 3-97 5
R&H 79.13 1-46 36
WVLC relay 18180 American point-to-point station JLS JVT; R&H 79.13 1-46
WVLC 7780 Tokyo irregular usage; R&H 77.10 2-46 38
WVLC 8960 calling JLS JVT; RN 2-46 148
WVLC was in Japan waters, then Korea/China; RN 2-46 149
WVLC back in Japan waters in Sept; RN 2-46 149
WVLC2 AFRS relay; RN 3-46 139
WVLC2 18530 occasional relay AFRS Tokyo; RN 3-46 139
WVLC transferred to Spindle Eye began VOA relay 20-4-46; WWH 3-97 5
ARW 77.8 8-46
RN 83.1 11-46
WVLC 8 kW 9295 two & half hours daily; WWH 3-97 5
PY Manila & PZ Leyte supplemented Apache despatches; PC 1-95 19
Broadcast schedule from Apache 9295 8 kW; Brighton 79.7 5 OWI Letter
Apache - QSLs
ATC QSL 29-1-45 7790 kHz "Voice of Freedom" relay; ATC QSL letter
John Clifton QSL; LI 79.24 20-1-45
John Clifton QSL; R&H 79.13 2-45 36
ATC QSL letter; R&H 79.13 4-45 36
ATC QSL letter; R&H 79.13 5-45 36
WVLC Leyte 16.14 (18587) John Clifton QSL; ADXRC DXAS 82.1 6-45 3
WVLC does verify; R&H 77.10 6-45 36
ATC QSL; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
ATC QSL 10-7-45 18600kHz occasional location changes; ATC QSL letter
Mr Hille QSL; R&H 79.13 7-45 36
Mr Clack QSL 9295 kHz 5 kW; R&H 79.13 8-45 36
Mr Evans; R&H 79.13 8-45 36
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REFERENCES
- 14. The Story of the Little Radio Ship, the FP47 |
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FP47 - Ship
Station Profile; Star Spangled Banner 83.3 93
125 ft long; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Built for Alaska freight and passenger trade; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
2 diesel generators installed; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Re-outfitted in Australia; 83.3 95
Masts altered, leaned forwards; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Two army Morse Code transmitters @ 500 w; BE 83.3 SPR PP 94
Code for FP47 - Bedpan; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 100
FP47 - Events
Original delivery date to PNG scheduled late November 1944; SSR 83.3 93
Re-outfitted in Australia; 83.3 95
Sailed with Apache; 83.3 95
Arrived Hollandia Oct 10, 2 days before sailing time; Star Spangled Radio 83.3
Sailed for Philippines October 12, 1944; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Arrived Leye Gulf October 19; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 98
Moved from Leyte to Luzon 1-1-45 for invasion; PC 1-95 19
Moved Dagupen Lingayen Gulf invasion Luzon Jan 9 1945; SSRadio 83.3 204
Covered landings Brunei, Lutong, Tawi, Borneo, Okinawa; PC 1-95 20
Sent press despatches in Morse to Leyte for onward to CA; PC 1-95 19
FP 47 apparently ended, coverage back Philippines 13-9-45; PC 1-95 20
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REFERENCES
- 15. The famous "I Have Returned" broadcast |
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Political Events
Japanese forces landed on Luzon Island, December 10, 1941; 15WBE 344
Philippine & American forces surrendered Bataan & Corregidor April & May 1942
Bataan surrendered April 9, 1942, 2WBE 117
Corregidor surrendered May 6, 1942; 2WBE 177
Return invasion Manila Bay began October 20, 1944; 15WBE 344
MacArthur's Return Speeches
10 biographies & autobiographies on General Douglas MacArthur; State Library
MacArthur, wife, son evacuated from Corregidor to South Philippines; 13WBE 4
Evacuated from Philippines by plane to Australia; 13WBE 4
Made "I will return" broadcast from Australia, 13WBE 4
I will return speech on KGEI in 1942; Schneider KTAB-KSFO-KWID document 8
MacArthur HQ in Sydney, then train travelling north into Q; RN 1-46 94 & R&H
MacArthur "I have returned" speech from radio ship Oct 22, 1944; Dunlap 148
KZRB - FEBC Manila
KZRB 11840 mobile OB Far East Broadcasting Corporation; R&H 79.11 1-40 70
KZRB mobile heard on 11940 after Japanese invasion; R&H 79.11 3-42 54
Freedom Radio
9640 31.12 New Freedom Radio heard; R&H 79.11 3-42 52 Stop Press
9645 31.1 close to KZRH channel, morning & evening; R&H 79.12 4-42 53
9645 31.1 news nightly at 9:30 pm; R&H 79.12 4-42 56
I will return speech on KGEI in 1942; Schneider KTAB-KSFO-KWID document 8
Made "I will return" broadcast from Australia, 13WBE 4
9645 2 sessions daily 7:30 am & 8:30 pm; R&H 79.12 5-42 56
Freedom Radio closed with evacuation of Bataan; R&H 77.10 5-42 57
Apache
Voyaged to Sydney for fitting out as radio station; 1944; Ven website
Apache sailing date from Sydney probably very early October 1944
Broke down mouth Humboldt Bay Hollandia Oct 10; Star Spangled Radio 83.3
Sailed for Philippines October 12, 1944; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Arrived Leyte Gulf October 19 evening; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 98
Off coast of Leyte October 20 1944 invasion; Ven website
WVLC Apache communication ship at Philippines; PC 1-89 24
1st Allied controlled transmitter at Leyte was Apache; R&H 79.13 6-45 34
Apache gave MacArthur's return broadcast 22-10-44; Dunlap 148
WVLC Apache made broadcasts from Manila harbor; RA 373
WVLC Leyte Gen MacArthur's HQ Philippines; LI 79.24 2-12-44
Apache, 50 year old ship at Leyte; LI 79.24 28-4-45
WVLC 8 kW 9295 two & half hours daily; WWH 3-97 5
WVLC Apache communication ship at Philippines; PC 1-89 24
WVLC Apache for voice transmission only; PC 1-95 12
Broadcast schedule from Apache 9295 8 kW; Brighton 79.7 5 OWI Letter
FP47 - Ship
Station Profile; Star Spangled Banner 83.3 93
Two army Morse Code transmitters @ 500 w; BE 83.3 SPR PP 94
Re-outfitted in Australia; 83.3 95
Original delivery date to PNG scheduled late November 1944; SSR 83.3 93
Sailed with Apache; 83.3 95
Arrived Hollandia Oct 10, 2 days before sailing time; Star Spangled Radio 83.3
Sailed for Philippines October 12, 1944; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 94
Arrived Leye Gulf October 19; Star Spangled Radio 83.3 98
Sent press despatches in Morse to Leyte for onward to CA; PC 1-95 19
USS Nashville (CL-43)
Link
1
Link 2
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here for Parts 16, 17 and 18