Tag Archives: Pearl Harbor

From the Post Archives: A Pirate Radio Pearl Harbor Tribute

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Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right center distance. (Source Wikipedia)

President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”–the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air. Today (December 7, 2020) is the 79th anniversary.

This morning, I was once again reminded of an off-air recording I made in 2013 of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever. Please enjoy this bit of history from the Post archive:

960px-USS_SHAW_exploding_Pearl_Harbor_Nara_80-G-16871_2

USS Shaw exploding in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever.

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

More Info

If you’re a WWII history buff like I am, you might also appreciate this live news report audio from the Smithsonian channel:

I should add that if you’re interested in military history and, especially, the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack, I highly recommend the film, Tora! Tora! Tora! It’s one of my favorite military history films and is simply timeless.

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From the Post Archives: Radio Free Whatever–A Pearl Harbor Tribute

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President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”–the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air.

This morning, I was reminded of an off-air recording I made in 2013 of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever. Please enjoy this bit of history from the Post archive:

960px-USS_SHAW_exploding_Pearl_Harbor_Nara_80-G-16871_2

USS Shaw exploding in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever.

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

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The role of radio intelligence before the Pearl Harbor attack

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Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island shortly after the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack. (Source: WikiMedia Commons, Public Domain)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Guerin, who writes:

Interesting article from the US Naval Institute on the role of radio intelligence before and during the December 7 attack.

“The key to the success of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor-specifically, what enabled the Pearl Harbor Striking Force to reach its launch point undetected (and totally unsuspected) by the Americans-was Tokyo’s radio denial-and-deception actions. Significantly, these activities simply were not just a “bag of tricks” meant to bemuse U.S. naval radio intelligence. Rather, they constituted a function of the change in Japanese strategy and were meant to convince the Americans that there had been no change from defensive to offensive intentions.”

See “How the Japanese Did It”

http://m.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2009-12/how-japanese-did-it

Fascinating read! Thank you for sharing this bit of WWII history, Michael.

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1940 Pearl Harbor QSL card

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pearl-harbor-qsl

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Patalon, who shares the following QSL card via Twitter:

Thank you, Bill!

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Free Whatever, Pearl Harbor Tribute

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960px-USS_SHAW_exploding_Pearl_Harbor_Nara_80-G-16871_2

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever.

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

Spread the radio love