Back in the year 1951, at the time when plans were laid for the preparation of the ship “Messenger” as the radio broadcasting ship “Courier“, it was postulated that an additional six similar ships would be provided for use in various sea going locations around the world. These ships, it was stated, could be taken … Read more
The most famous of all of the ships that carried a relay of programming on behalf of the Voice of America was the good ship “Courier“; but it did not begin its life story in this way. This is what happened. The ship that became the “Courier” was laid down in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the … Read more
On this occasion here in Wavescan, we present the story of three more ships in the Pacific that were on the air with VOA programming, and they were all associated with Operation Crossroads, the twin atomic detonations at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. All three ships were American navy vessels, and all three were of … Read more
In our continuing series of topics on shipboard radio stations used as relay stations for programming from the Voice of America, we come to ship number 4, the USS Spindle Eye. Plans for this new radio ship were developed during the year 1944 and it was intended for use during the projected invasion of Japan. … Read more
In our continuing series of topics on the story of radio broadcasting from ships by VOA, the Voice of America, we come to ship number 3, the American vessel “Apache”. This is the story. The “Apache” was constructed at Reeder Shipyards in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States and it was launched in 1891 as … Read more
The story of the radio broadcastings ship, Phoenix, has always been wrapped in mystery ever since its inauguration more than half a century ago. The ship was fitted out as a radio broadcasting ship and it was in use in the Pacific at the latter end of World War II with broadcasts aimed at Asian … Read more
On this occasion here in Wavescan, we return to the story of Shipboard Relay Stations as used by VOA, the Voice of America, and there have been more than a dozen of them in use in different ways over the years. Today, it is the story of an old mediumwave transmitter that was formerly on … Read more
It is quite well known in the radio world that the Voice of America was on the air from the radio ship Courier while it was anchored in the harbor at the island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean. However, it is not quite so well known that VOA was on the air in earlier … Read more
In our previous feature item here in this edition of Wavescan, we made mention of a 40 kW PWI transmitter that was installed in an army camp towards the south of England in the early part of the year 1944. A major purpose for this station was to broadcast fake radio transmissions that would suggest … Read more
In this feature on early ship QSLs, we begin first with some very old color postcards associated with wireless transmissions in the early days. Our three oldest cards in this style all show the same picture, an artistic rendition of a humor scene. Two ships out on the ocean are talking to each other in … Read more