UK Radio Hams during WWII

[LVSteve]

Back in the dear, dark days beyond recall i was once a radio ham in the UK. I remember being told that during WWII all ham activity was banned. Seems fair enough.

Now I discover that this was not entirely true. To help intercept Axis signal traffic, as many as 1500 hams who were either too young or otherwise unfit for military service were recruited to intercept Morse traffic. Clearly, they had no idea of the content of the messages as it was encrypted, but the information was passed to Bletchley Park where the codebreakers worked. Fascinating stuff. I wonder if the same was done here in the US.

BBC News - The teenage radio enthusiasts who helped win World War II

 

[shouldazagged]

Fascinating! My brother was a ham operator for many years, and a Navy radioman. While he was assigned to an inter-service base in Eritrea, which then was part of Ethiopia, he sent a transmission to the aircraft bringing the Emperor, Haile Selassie, back from an overseas trip, informing them that a coup attempt by the crown prince was in motion and that they should divert to another field.

I'd also be interested to know what part amateur radio operators in this country may have contributed in WWII.

 

[CW Spook]

Many US amateurs enlisted immediately after the commencement of hostilities and served in a variety of radio-related positions. Some US amateur equipment was also 'requisitioned' by the government for military use and for the "lend-lease" program. I am not aware on any US equivalent of the UK "Section Y" where civilians were employed as intercept operators. Amateur radio contributions did not begin or end with WWII, but those of us who served in the military during the Cold War period are still under NDAs that preclude discussion of our roles. I can say that my amateur radio experience was instrumental, if not decisive, in at least half of my professional career.

 

[LVSteve]

Some US amateur equipment was also 'requisitioned' by the government for military use and for the "lend-lease" program.

Funny you should say that as there always seemed to be a good trade in Hallicrafter (sp?) receivers in the UK. I never owned one but lots of people did. I always assumed that the US simply left them in the UK rather than haul them back to the US. Radio tech advanced in leaps and bounds during that period so they could have been obsolete by 1945.

For a while the primary radio in our house was a UK surplus R1155, the receiver half of the kit fitted to most UK heavy bombers. Used to baffle most kids who visited that had only ever seen a transistor radio.

My Dad's buddy once bought a receiver simply called the "Admiralty B40". By the weight of it the darned thing was armoured like a battleship and I think the front end could take everything short of a direct EMP or lightning strike. I seem to recall that a radio magazine tried to find the 3rd order intercept point for the receiver and came up with numbers in the tens of watts or something daft.

 

[rwsmith]

I would think...

I would think that civilians monitoring radio traffic would be an invaluable asset. It SAYS that the U.S. suspended all amateur activity during WWII but I'll bet that they used a portion of the operators still at home to help out.
One complication I see is that radio activity in WWII could be depicted as spying. The Germans arrested a priest, Friar Kobe, for his ham operations and he was eventually killed when he volunteered to take another condemned man's place. John Paul II canonized him and he is now the patron saint of amateur radio operators. (This is not hooey, check it out)

 

[kennyb]

i am a licensed ham radio operator....i have all of the ARRL magazines from WW2...ham radio in the usa was indeed suspended for the wars duration and the govt.did in fact purchase radio gear from ham operators...it's a great hobby with over 775,000 licensed hams in the usa alone

 

[shouldazagged]

The Germans arrested a priest, Friar Kobe, for his ham operations and he was eventually killed when he volunteered to take another condemned man's place. John Paul II canonized him and he is now the patron saint of amateur radio operators. (This is not hooey, check it out)

That's fascinating. I'll have to tell my ex-ham brother about that.

 

[Ogandydancer]

I have been a Ham for twenty years and never knew anything about Kobe. It is to say the least very thought provoking, especially since you learn all sorts of fascinating things while studying the theory such as Lightning strikes from the ground up and not the other way around.

 

[RonJ]

CW Spook, we're still under a NDA? It's been so long that I don't remember most of my debriefing. Kept my mouth shut just in case.

Shouldazagged, I was at the post in Azmara Ethiopia also. It was called Kagnew Station. 1967/68

 

[CW Spook]

I know we're still under NDAs, though the HARs expired after 15-20 years I believe, which is giving me hope I may be able to visit a few places that used to be of professional interest. ;-)

 

[RonJ]

HAR? I have no idea what that is. If you feel comfortable doing so send me a PM.

 

[CW Spook]

Hazardous Area Restriction. Kept us from being tourists in a variety of places for quite a while after the last chorus of "Please debrief me, let me go...I don't have the need to know..." was sung.

 

[RonJ]

I remember the restrictions now. Most of those places I'm not too keen on visiting anyway. Thanks for the memory jolt.

Sorry Steve, back to your OP.

 

[rwsmith]

Everything that you assume.....

I have been a Ham for twenty years and never knew anything about Kobe. It is to say the least very thought provoking, especially since you learn all sorts of fascinating things while studying the theory such as Lightning strikes from the ground up and not the other way around.

EVERYTHING that we assume needs a closer look.

 

[Skeet 028]

Asmara?? that was truly a Hole. May be even worse now. Isn't Eritrea the poorest country in Africa??

 

[mr-mom]

The Germans arrested a priest, Friar Kobe, for his ham operations and he was eventually killed when he volunteered to take another condemned man's place. John Paul II canonized him and he is now the patron saint of amateur radio operators. (This is not hooey, check it out)

I have been an Extra Cass amateur radio operator for many many years and this is the first I've heard of the good Friar. Interesting what one learns on the S&W Forum!!
Dave
SWCA #2778


Edit: I looked it up. Per Wikipedia: Poor health forced Kolbe to return to Poland in 1936.[2] Two years later, in 1938, he started a radio station at Niepokalanów, the Radio Niepokalanów.[2][14] He held an amateur radio licence, with the call sign SP3RN.[15]

 

[cowart]

I'd also be interested to know what part amateur radio operators in this country may have contributed in WWII.

Here is your answer

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Know a lady- her Grand Dad started a company in Chicago called Hallicrafters.
During WWII , Hallicrafters was working 24-7 making radios for the Troops.
Mr. Halligan was a gung-** Ham Radio operator with a radio setup which was as good as you could get.
It was so good that it was taken over by the Justice Dept. and used throughout the war for purposes never explained.

 

[Ogandydancer]

First station I ever operated was in my H.S. Amateur radio club and consisted of a Hallicrafters SX110 receiver and I can't remember the model No. of the transmitter seems like it was an HT100, it was one of the earliest SSB transmitters to come out. I did not know Hallicrafters played a part in the war. I did know that Bendix made some aircraft radios and Collins made a lot of the equiptment.

Biggest thrill in my life at that time was sitting in front of that receiver and hearing the USS Randolph aircraft carrier radio the message "rando cando" the day the first space capsule splashed down in the ocean.