A young man drafted into the military during World War II could give himself an edge by having a useful skill, and the June 1944 issue of Popular Mechanics reported that pre-induction code practice sessions were well attended. This created a problem, since most code practice oscillators used headphones, and acquiring enough headphones presented a logistical challenge for those running the sessions.

The solution was offered in the form of a three-tube wireless code oscillator which would transmit modulated CW to a nearby broadcast receiver, producing room-filling volume. In light of wartime parts shortages, the circuit called for common receiver tubes which could probably be scavenged from another set. The plans called for a 6C5 rectifier, witn 6J5’s serving as AF and RF oscillators. The 6 volt filament voltage was obtained by wiring a 40 watt lightbulb in series with the filaments. The completed circuit is shown here mounted on a circular cutting board. The output of the oscillator was run to the receiver’s antenna jack, or simply placed near the set’s antenna.

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Shown here under the sheets is Brigitte Bardot from the 1959 French comedy Babette Goes to War (Babette s’en va-t-en guerre). Of particular interest to our readers is, of course, what she’s doing under the sheets, namely, sending CW.  Babette, a French country girl in London, played by Mlle. Bardot, does her part in the war effort by parachuting into German-occupied France to kidnap a German general. She bumbles through her mission with a heroic finish.

In this still from the movie, the naysayer might point out that her technique with the key leaves something to be desired. However, the criticism is unwarranted given the circumstances. She is transmitting from underneath her sheets in the very hotel that was serving as the Nazi headquarters. The German direction-finding truck pinpoints her location, a Nazi bursts into her room, only to retreat when the girl under the sheets protests that she’s naked.

The film was a big hit in France, with over 4.6 million tickets sold. On this side of the Atlantic, the New York Times review proclaimed the film to have “the anomalous distinction of being occasionally farcical and somewhat incomprehensible.” The review lamented that “Bardot is clothed almost as abundantly as an Eskimo most of the way through this World War II spoof, and a fully dressed Mlle. Bardot is downright confusing.”

The movie’s trailer, which includes the exciting scene of Mlle. Bardot being tracked by the Nazi DF’ers, in shown here:

This clip shows her send and receive the complete message;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6HDBMtshZ0

She sends mostly V’s, and a few other random characters which, according to the CW to French subtitles, mean “ALLO LONDRES – LE LEOPARD EST DAN LA CAGE AUX MOUCHES – STOP – C’EST DU PEU AU JUS – FAITES CHAUFFER LA COLLE.” She gets the message back from London, which sounds like “OK OK” to me, but according to the subtitles means “COMPRIS – TRES BIEN – MESSAGE TERMINE.”

The movie doesn’t appear to be available in North America, but you can get a PAL version at Amazon.

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This intercom from the March 1943 issue of Radio News shows the kind of ingenuity that was necessary in the face of wartime shortages on the home front.

The article notes that with defense priorities, many small business firms were in need of interoffice communications but unable to get them. The only immediate answer, according to the article, was to make a small radio do double duty.

The article describes a four-station intercom constructed with a six-tube table radio. The only additional parts, all of which were available at the “radio bargain counter” were nine switches, four speakers, and a roll of shielded cable. The hookup allowed for the station with the radio to serve as the master, able to call or receive calls from the other stations. As an added bonus, any of the four remotes could listen to the radio, but stil l make calls.

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75 years ago, this date’s issue of Life Magazine, February 24, 1941, carried this ad for the RCA Victor “Foreign Correspondent,” also known as RCA model number 14-X.  As the name implies, this set received shortwave as well as standard broadcast, and as the ad points out, the shortwave band was s-p-r-e-a-d for easy tuning.  The set covered 9.5-12 MHz, meaning that it did have reasonably easy tuning of the popular 31 and 25 meter bands.  In the evenings, the set probably did a good job of pulling in war news from Europe.

The set had a price tag of only $14.95, and looks like it was a fairly good performer for the price.  The set was a basic “All American Five,” with a tube lineup of 12SA7 12SK7 12SQ7 50L6GT 35Z5GT.  It had provision for an external antenna.  The limited shortwave frequency coverage probably did make it considerably easier to tune those bands.

A nicely preserved version can be found at the Radio Attic Archives.

Imperial War Museum image, © IWM (COM 501).

The crystal set shown here is from the collections of the Imperial War Museum.

The Channel Islands were the only part of Britain that were under German occupation during World War 2, and while islanders were initially allowed to keep their radio sets, they were eventually confiscated. In response, many residents obtained crystal sets such as the one shown here. This one was manufactured in Guernsey in 1944.

Evening Post photo of confiscated radios in Guernsey, via TheIslandWiki.org.

The plans for the set were broadcast by “Colonel Britton” of the BBC. This set, along with about 50 others, was manufactured by the person who donated the set to the museum. The coil was made of wire stolen from a German car, and the crystals were made by mixing sufur and lead, baked in a fire in a German rifle cartidge case.

Occasionally, the wavelength of the BBC broadcast would change, at which time “Colonel Britton” would announce that more windings would need to be added to the coil. Either a radio headphone or a telephone receiver could be used to listen.

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Seventy five years ago, the U.S. was clearly gearing up quickly for war, and the War Department turned its attention to the communications manpower that the war would entail. As reported here in the February 1941 issue of QST, the Army was sending out a questionnaire to all of the hams listed in the call book.

The War Department made clear that response to the survey in no way constituted “registration” and did not impose any obligation, the Army believed that the statistical knowledge was of utmost importance.

The questionnaire asked for data on code proficiency, military status, education, occupation, and dependents. For those respondents who were not fit physically for military service, it asked whether they would be interested in participation in an aircraft warning net, or whether they would be available for civilian positions as radio operators, instructors, or technicians.

In addition, the survey asked for a brief description of the station.

The ARRL opined that “this seems a needed study and we are confident that amateurs will cooperate and fill out the forms promptly.”

Seventy-five years ago, American shortwave broadcasters were clearly gearing up for war, as shown by an article in the January 1941 issue of Popular Science.

The article reports that in 1930, there were only three short-wave stations in Europe, but by 1941, there were at least 40, with more being built all of the time. In particular, the German radio, financed by the government, was pumping out Hitler’s speeches on as many as six transmitters at a time. They were targeting South America in particular, and the Americans wanted to keep up. Two million dollars was being spent on new transmitters, and according to the article, the investment was paying off. America had previously had only two transmitters running 50,000 watts or more, WLWO of Crosely Corporation in Mason, Ohio, and WGEO, owned by GE in Schenectady, N.Y.

New stations coming online included WNBI and WRCA, owned by NBC in Bound Brook, N.J., WCBX in Wayne, N.J., owned by CBS, WCAB and WCAU in Newtown Square, Pa., Westinghouse stations WBOS in Millis, Mass. and WPIT in Saxonburg, Pa., WRUL and WRUW in Scituate, Mass., and GE stations KGEI San Francisco and WGEA South Schenectady, NY.

There were 2.1 million shortwave receivers in South America, and they were a major target for the U.S. signals. NBC reported that in 1936, it reeceived fewer than fifty letters a month from South America, but was then receiving 2500 a month. Most of them were reportedly full of praise and reported their disgust with the propaganda fed by European stations.

For more information on the shortwave broadcast bands during World War II, see some of my previous posts:

• The Shortwave Broadcast Bands During WW2
• World War 2 Short Wave Listening
• WW2 Prisoner of War Broadcasts
• WW2 Shortwave Broadcasting
• 75 Years of HCJB Shortwave
• KGEI, GE’s Shortwave Station
• Sackville and Dixon Transmitters, 1945
• Allied Psy Ops, 1945
• Japanese Short Wave “Negro Propaganda Operations” of WW2

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