Category Archives: World War 2

1943 Steel Penny

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of production of the 1943 steel U.S. cent coin on February 23, 1943.

Wartime shortages of copper forced the mint to look into alternatives, and the final choice was to produce the 1943 cent with zinc-coated steel.

The coin was not a popular success. People confused them with dimes, and the lack of zinc plating on the edges gave the coins a tendency to rust. And becasue they were magnetic, the coins would not work in vending machines. For 1944, the mint began using recycled shell casings with a small amount of copper, resulting in an alloy similar to that used before the war.

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Life Savers Go To War

Seventy-five years ago today, the February 22, 1943, issue of Life Magazine carried this important announcement.

The armed forces had just ordered a large shipment of Life Savers for censored, censored, and censored, meaning that the civilian supply might have been short in some areas. It reminded customers that if they couldn’t find their favorite flavor, they should remember that some soldier, sailor, or marine was enjoying it somewhere.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from OneTubeRadio.com!

The caption of this drawing from a 1943 Valentine’s Day themed ad reads: “Today! Right now! In February! Country-Style Frying Chickens!”

The magazine ad notes that in those days of meat shortages, Birds Eye frozen chicken was a wonderful way to bring novelty into your meals.

1943 One-Tube Combination Code Oscillator/Regenerative Receiver

Seventy-five years ago this month, the February 1943 issue of Popular Science carried the plans for this one-tube combination receiver and code practice oscillator. The construction article, by Arthur C. Miller, noted that thousands of young men and women were learning code for civil defense purposes or prior to enlistment in the Signal Corps. A code oscillator was then impossible to buy.

A single switch changed the set from receiver to code oscillator. As a radio, the set ran on 45 volts, but the code oscillator required only 4.5 volts.

The Immortal Chaplains: 1943

Stained glass window, Pentagon. Wikipedia image.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the troop carrier SS Dorchester, February 3, 1943.

The ship, constructed in 1926, originally carried cargo and passengers between Miami and Boston. She was put into wartime service in 1942 and was converted to a troop carrier. In January 1943, she left New York in convoy bound for Narsarsuak, Greenland. She was torpedoed in the early morning hours of February 3 by a German submarine, which caused severe damage, and the ship sank in about 20 minutes. 672 died, many of hypothermia.

Sinking of the Dorchester. Wikipedia image.

Four relatively new Army chaplains were aboard, First Liuetenants Reverend George L. Fox (Methodist), Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman Catholic priest Father John P. Washington, and Reformed Church in America minister the Reverend Clark V. Poling. Collectively, they came to be known as the Immortal Chaplains.

As the ship was going down, they helped other soldiers board lifeboats. When the supply of life jackets ran out, they gave up their own. They joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship.

1938 Helium Controversy

Eighty years ago today, the January 31, 1938, issue of Life magazine carried the feature shown above regarding the proposed sale of U.S. helium to Nazi Germany.

In the wake of the Hindenburg disaster earlier in the year, the Germans realized that for their lighter-than-aircraft industry couldn’t recover if they continued to use hydrogen. Unfortunately for them, the United States was the sole source of the gas. They ultimately prevailed upon the Roosevelt administration to supply it, and the president ushered a bill through Congress to allow the export of the strategic material.

Of course, sale of helium to Germany meant sale of helium to the Nazis. And the very next page of the magazine (probably not a coincidence) had something to say about Nazis. The magazine’s “Movie of the Week” was a newsreel, an edition of The March of Time, entitled “Inside Nazi Germany-1938.” Some of the scenes of that movie are shown here. The magazine noted that the film was initially banned by the Chicago Police Board of Censors, on the ground that “it might offend a friendly nation.” But after a press outcry, the ban was lifted.

Some additional scenes from the movie are shown below:

Harold Ickes. Wikipedia photo.

The helium sale never went through. Germany annexed Austria on March 12, 1938. Notwithstanding this event, most of the Roosevelt administration was keen on proceeding with the sale. However, since the helium originated on federal lands, the power to go forward was vested in Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes. After the annexation, he vetoed the sale, despite opposition by both the President and Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

Ultimately, the Solicitor General sided with Ickes, ruling that the Secretary of State had the ultimate power to allow or decline the sale.

An excellent history of the controversy can be found at this 1964 University of Arizona Master’s Thesis by James Walsh.

Three 1943 One-Tube Receivers

The January 1943 issue of Radio Craft magazine contained the plans for no less than three one tube receivers, the first of which is the unusual looking set shown above, dubbed by the magazine as the “Simplicity 1.”

In addition to being designed around the concept of simplicity, the set dealt with parts shortages. In particular, variable capacitors were hard to come by. Therefore, tuning was accomplished with a “capind,” a component which combined capacity plus inductance. In other words, it was a combined variable capacitor and variable inductor, all in one component.

The “capind” consisted of a coil carefully wound over a wooden dowel, covered by an extremely thin paper sleeve. That was covered by a piece of tin foil, which served as the capacitor. The assembly is shown below:

The set was regenerative, and the young woman in the photo above is adjusting the regeneration by adjusting the “throttle” condenser, which is a homemade tubular capacitor.

With the use of these homemade parts, the cost of the set (not including 1G6G tube and batteries) was said to be less than a dollar.

The second set featured by the magazine, shown at right, is slightly more advanced, contains a conventional tuning capacitor, and was capable of tuning the short wave bands through the use of four plug-in coils.

This set employed the same 1G6G tube, and used a variable resistor to adjust regeneration. The use of a 35-75 foot antenna was recommended.

Finally, in response to requests by “several readers,” the magazine reprinted the schematic of the “Pigmy Receiver” which had originally appeared in the magazine’s June 1940 issue. This set used a single 117L7, one half of which served as rectifier, with the other half serving as detector.

You will note that only one wire is connected to the line cord, which the magazine describes as a “Safety First” method of plugging it in. The other power connection is through the thoroughly grounded chassis. With the cord plugged in the wrong way, the set would not light. Of course, this circuit would trip a modern ground fault interrupter circuit, but it would be a relatively safe way of operating a radio directly off the line current.

1944 Toy Phonographs

I was a little bit surprised to see these phonographs for sale in a wartime catalog, but they are shown here in the 1944 Sears Christmas catalog.

They’re surprising for a couple of reasons. First, they’re an interesting juxtaposition of an acoustic phonograph with an electric motor. I assumed that acoustic phonographs were wind-up models, and that electronic phonographs had an electric motor. But there’s no reason why there can’t be some overlap..

But I was more surprised to see phonographs for sale, despite the fact that the manufacture of phonographs had ended by order of the War Production Board (WPB) on April 22, 1942. It’s unlikely that there was much old stock left in the Sears warehouse at that point (although it’s not at all unlikely that there were electric phonograph motors left over when the ban went into effect).

Interestingly, these are not being sold as phonographs. They are being sold as toy phonographs. I’m not aware that the WPB made an exception for acoustic phonographs. But apparently, they did make an exception for toy phonographs.

The model on the right looks like a toy, especially with the decorations. But the model on the left doesn’t really look like a toy. It looks more like just a low-end portable phonograph. I suspect that more than a few were sold, not for the kids, but because it was the only new phonograph people were able to buy.

The video below shows a similar instrument manufactured, surprisingly, as late as 1974:

GE Shortwave Stations, 1943

This full-page ad by GE appeared inside the front cover of Life magazine 75 years ago today, January 11, 1943, and told the importance of the GE shortwave stations, KGEI, WGEO, and WGEA. In addition to being a link to home for the armed forces, the stations broadcast “from a free people to men with freedom in the hearts” in Asia and Europe.

New Year’s Day Stalingrad, 1943

13th Guards Rifle Division at Stalingrad. Wikipedia photo.

Here was the scene in Stalingrad on New Year’s Day 75 years ago, 1943. The battle lasted into February, when the Soviets won a decisive victory, but only after over 1.2 million total casualties; with 478,741 officially listed as killed or missing.