Tag Archives: WWII

WWII Radio History: D-Day broadcasting and communications

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Maj. Gen. Ralph Royce (second from right), 9th Air Force deputy commander, with engineers on the Normandy beachhead one day after D-Day. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes:

With the imminent approach, Thursday, June 6, 2024, of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, followed by operation Overlord.

Being both a radio amateur and in the broadcast industry , I have done a little research and find the two items, below, relating to D-Day and post-D-Day communications and broadcasters.

One, from the BBC Archives for a UK ‘view-point’

and Two, from RadioWorld for the US angle

But remember it was nearly a year away to VE-Day, so more research to be done on the effort of broadcasters to “bring the story home”

Also, one amateur radio related note: A SES (Special Event Station) with the callsign GB8ODD: https://g5fz.co.uk/up-coming-special-event-stations-by-the-lswc/

Being a WWII history buff, I really appreciate the links. Thanks, Kris!

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Radio Waves: Hamvention Attendance Record, WWII Codebook, TuneIn for AM Stations, and 101 Years of Chicago Radio

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura, Ron Chester, and Ulis Fleming for the following tips:

Hamvention 2023 breaks attendance record (WHIO)

XENIA — A new attendance record was set at Hamvention this year.

This year 33,861 people flooded to the Greene County Fairground and Expo Center for the world’s biggest amateur radio show, according to a spokesperson for Hamvention.

The number surpassed the previous record by more than 1,300 people. It’s also more than 2,000 greater than last year’s attendance.

This year’s Hamvention ran May 19-21 and brought in people from across the globe.

“Things went very smoothly due to the dedication and hard work of close to 700 volunteers,” Jim Storms, Hamvention General Manager, said.

Hamvention 2024 is scheduled for May 17-19. [Watch report on WHIO…]

Man’s WW2 codebook unearths St Erth’s ‘best-kept secret’ (BBC)

A retired schoolteacher is shedding light on an “ultra secret” World War Two listening station in Cornwall.

Mike Griffiths unearthed the secret existence of the MI6 outstation in St Erth when his late father, Harry Griffiths, left him his code book.

He has revealed the role his father and others played in providing intelligence for code-breakers at Bletchley Park.

Mr Griffiths said he “couldn’t be prouder” of what his father achieved. Continue reading →

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A Hallicrafters SX-28/A in “Battle of the Bulge”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:

Not a false alarm this time — one of the most striking appearances of a classic shortwave receiver was in Battle of the Bulge, the 1960’s movie about the great battle between German and U.S. forces during World War II, lasting five weeks between the end of 1944 and beginning of 1945. This movie had some of the biggest stars of the time, including Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, and Charles Bronson. Robert Shaw played the German commander of the offensive in the Ardennes and scenes in his command trailer showed a beautiful Hallicrafters SX-28/A which audiences are led to believe was both a transmitter and a receiver.

In this scene, the radio is shown as Shaw is chewed out by his superior in the trailer for not making more progress on the battlefield.

The SX-28 is one of the most amazing radios Hallicrafters made. Thanks for sharing this, Dan!

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AWA Video Presentation: Patrolling the Ether in WW2 – Radio Intelligence for the War Effort

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark (AE2EA), who writes:

One of our AWA Members recently made this video on the Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service (FBMS) and the Radio Intelligence Division (RID) during World War 2. I think it might be of interest to your SWLing enthusiasts:

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Brilliant presentation! Thank you for sharing this, Mark!

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Tokyo Rose: Exploring the Story of Iva Toguri and Genesis of “The Zero Hour”

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If you’ve been an SWLing Post reader for long, you’ll likely know that I’m a Word War II history buff and I especially enjoy exploring the deep rabbit hole that is WWII radio and propaganda.

Radio broadcasts were heavily used by all of the players in WWII, and some prominent personalities emerged from the Axis propaganda machines: most notably Axis Sally and Lord Haw Haw in the European theatre, and Tokyo Rose in the Pacific theatre.

Iva Toguri

Toguri being interviewed by the press in September 1945 (Source: Public Domain)

Although Tokyo Rose was the name given to an array of female personalities on Radio Tokyo (NHK), at the end of WWII Iva Toguri was widely accused of being the “real” Tokyo Rose. After attempting to return to her native US, she was arrested, tried, and became the seventh person in U.S. history to be convicted of treason.

Her trial in 1949 resulted in a conviction on one of eight counts of treason and she received a 10 year sentence. Her sentence was eventually cut to 6 years due to good behavior.

U.S. President Gerald Ford pardoned Toguri in 1977 based on new evidence that important witnesses in her treason trial had been forced to lie.

The story of Iva Toguri is truly one of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Tokyo Rose – Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman’s Persecution and Ultimate Redemption After World War II

If you enjoy comics/graphic novels and WWII history, then you’re in for a treat. Last week, I purchased a new graphic novel about the life and trial of Iva Toguri written by Andre Frattino and illustrated by Kate Kasenow.

This book is beautifully illustrated in black and white and the author does an amazing job of telling the story of Toguri, woven into a narrative, while keeping it historical accuracy.

It’s obvious a lot of research went into this particular graphic novel.

If this sounds like something that would interest you, I highly recommend it.

Tokyo Rose – Zero Hour the graphic novel is available at Amazon.com as a hardcover or Kindle ebook. (Note: this is an affiliate link that supports the SWLing Post)

Twenty Thousand Hertz: Tokyo Rose

Image Source: Twenty Thousand Hertz. Art by Jon McCormack.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Wilbur Forcier, who recently shared a link to the latest episode of the excellent Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast. This entire episode also explores Iva Toguri’s life and involvement in NHK’s propaganda broadcasts.

I also highly recommend listening to this episode.

Read the show notes and listen to this episode at 20K.org.

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The passing of a compassionate shortwave listener, Agnes Joan Negra

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By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

I just received this:

Dear Jock:
It is with a heavy heart that I must report that 102 year old, Agnes Joan Negra passed away last Friday, peacefully, and at home. She went into Hospice care about three weeks ago.

We had a private funeral for mom…immediate family only. But I wanted to pass on her obituary which can be found on website:
calhounmaniafuneralhome.com

Thanks for your support of Agnes and her incredible life story, “Waves of Hope”… It is truly appreciated.

We hope this finds you well.
Regards,
Val Negra

Agnes Joan Negra was a shortwave monitor during WWII who sent out more than 300 letters and postcards to families to inform them that their loved ones were captured and still alive.

Click here to check out Waves of Hope on Amazon.

If you would like to know more about how shortwave monitors impacted lives during WWII, check https://swling.com/blog/2022/04/wwii-radio-letters-a-real-life-shortwave-story/ and https://swling.com/blog/2022/04/world-war-ii-radio-letters-a-real-life-shortwave-story-part-ii/ .

As I have said before: And so, dear reader, never belittle your hobby of listening to the airwaves, because you never know when something you heard may be able to offer comfort in times of trouble.

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Video: The Erres KY-418 radio set WWII era assembly line

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who writes:

The Erres KY-418 Radio set assembly line. You must watch this:

Click here to view on YouTube.

My heart goes to the poor guys who work under all that machinery noise with no ear plugs or with no mask when spray paint.

Everything is hand made in-house even the loudspeakers, coils or the rotary switches….

Just remember that WWII is on while it was made and I don’t think the KY-418 was a cheap radio…

Regards, Adi

Thank you for sharing this, Adid. You’re right: there were a few generations of folks who lost much of their hearing early on due to the constant noise on factory floors. 

That said, I’ve been enjoying these videos of early radio production lines. Thank you!

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