Great Yarmouth Radio Club

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White Star Line RMS Titanic

Is this the most famous radio station in the world? And is this the most famous radio transmission? The Titanic radio operators last transmissions and the tragedy that followed

Equipment:
The Titanic's "wireless" equipment was the most powerful in use at the time. The main transmitter was a rotary spark design, powered by a 5 kW motor generator, fed from the ship's lighting circuit. The equipment operated into a 4 wire antenna suspended between the ship's 2 masts, some 250 feet above the sea.

There was also a battery powered emergency transmitter and a separate motor generator in the room next door. The equipment's guaranteed working range was 250 miles, but communications could be maintained for up to 400 miles during daylight and up to 2,000 miles at night.

Staff:
Titanic's Radio Room was operated by two Radio Officers (or, as they were known in those days, "Marconi Wireless Operators" or "Telegraphists").
In charge was 25 year old John George Phillips - better known as "Jack" or "Sparks", with 22 year old Harold Bride as the Deputy or Assistant Radio Operator.
"Touch the spark. . . Sound the tone" (a line from "Titanic" - the musical) sums up beautifully how the wireless apparatus operated these days. Because of this, all wireless operators were nick-named "Sparks".

A wireless operator employed by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., had to be between the age of 21 and 25 and able to send and recieve at least 25 words per minute in Morse. The age restriction was rarely enforced and most wireless operators started their seagoing career already at the age of 19 or 20. After passing their civil service examination, the wireless operators had to finish their training at the Marconi Training School in Liverpool. After the five months final training, they were ready to be stationed on a vessel. In 1912, Jack Phillips could tap out 39 words per minute, ditto that for Harold Thomas Cottam ('Carpathia's' wireless operator), and Harold Bride's speed was 26 words per minute.
Marconi Wireless Operators often became snippy in regards to Non-Marconi operators - claiming they were "incompetent" and "didn't know how to use Morse properly" (the United States Navy bore the brunt of such attacks).

Both Radio Operators remained at their posts until about 3 minutes before the Titanic foundered, even after being released from their duties by Captain Smith.
Harold Bride remarked that water could be heard flooding into the wheelhouse as he and Jack Phillips abandoned the Radio Room. Jack Phillips was still sending as the power supply to the Radio Room failed.
The Titanic Radio Operators did great honor to their profession.
Both Radio Operators earned very little for the amount of work they were required to do.
John George Phillips earned £4 and 5 shilling per voyage.
Harold Bride earned £2 and 2 shilling and sixpence per voyage.

Jack Phillips died of hypothermia on or near Collapsible Lifeboat B, his body was never recovered.

Harold Bride left the sea after WW1, and faded into obscurity. He died in Scotland in 1956.

Titanic's Radio Callsign:
As the dominant marine radio company of the time, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd. allocated their own callsigns, most of which began with the letter M - these basically identified a Marconi installation, regardless of its location or the country of registration of the vessel in which it was installed.

Callsign allocation was eventually standardised at the London Radio Conference of 1912 (post Titanic), with prefixes being allocated on an international basis. UK coast stations and ships thenceforth used the letters G or M as the first letter of their callsigns. US ships and stations used K, N and W, German stations and ships used D, Italians I, French F, etc.

The Titanic was assigned the callsign "MUC" in January 1912. Some time after January, Titanic's callsign was changed to "MGY" - this was previously assigned to the US vessel 'Yale'.

Although Guglielmo Marconi's invention had been on ships since the turn of the century, its use was far from universal in 1912. The Titanic's wireless operators were Marconi Company employees and only indirectly responsible to the Captain and his Officers. Radio messages were very popular with the passengers and were regarded as important navigational aids, but there use still lacked regulation. The Titanic tragedy highlighted this fact, since several ice warnings had been received but not reported to the bridge.
One of the first standard radio distress calls to be sent from a ship occurred in 1903 and was Marconi's newly created "CQD." "CQ" was the signal to stop transmission and pay attention; adding the "D" meant distress. In 1906 the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin created the signal "SOS" as an alternative means of summoning assistance. The three letters were chosen solely for their simplicity in Morse Code. Three dots, three dashes and three dots were instantly recognizable, and could be transmitted by someone who had never used a wireless apparatus. In 1908 "SOS" officially superseded "CQD" as the regulation distress call, but Marconi operators rarely used the new signal. Only after Harold Bride radioed his now famous SOS from the sinking Titanic did the new signal become standard.
In 1909 a distress call sent out on wireless was responsible for the incredible rescue of over sixteen hundred passengers and crew aboard the White Star Liner 'Republic'. While the role of the wireless in the rescue of the "Republic" made headlines, it was one ship's failure to use its wireless that stood out in the Titanic disaster. Had the 'Californian' utilized her wireless to identify the mystery ship seen by her captain and officers, she would have inevitable heard the Titanic's distress call.
After the Titanic's disaster, ships were required to have a twenty-four hour radio watch. More emphasis was placed on navigation, so that crucial information such as ice warnings would not go unreported to the bridge. Unfortunately over fifteen hundred people had to die before the vital role of the wireless was fully understood...

Trials and Commissioning:
The Marconi equipment was delivered to the Titanic in time for the sea trials on April 2nd prior to her maiden voyage
Phillips and Bride spent the day completing the installation and adjusting the equipment. They exchanged test calls with coast stations at Malin Head (North coast of Ireland), callsign MH and Liverpool (actually known as "Seaforth"), callsign LV.
By this stage the "wireless" was in almost constant use, with the sea trial reports flowing from Captain Smith to Bruce Ismay (Managing Director of the White Star Line) at the company offices in Liverpool.

By April 3rd, the equipment was adjusted and working correctly - Phillips and Bride exchanged messages with coast stations at Teneriffe (2,000 miles away) and even Port Said (more than 3,000 miles distant).

Both Radio Officers left the ship at Southampton for a short period. Phillips signed back on articles on April 6th when he returned briefly to check the spare parts. Bride returned on board at 23.30 p.m. on April 9th.

Watch Hours:
Both men were up early on sailing day, April 10th, conducting final testing of the equipment. They arranged watches by personal agreement: Phillips, First Radio Operator, took the 20.00 - 02.00 watch, whilst Bride, Assistant Radio Operator, was on duty between 02.00 - 08.00. There were no fixed watch hours during the day: the men relieved each other to suit mutual convenience, however a continuous watch was maintained.

Location of the "Marconi Room":
The "Marconi Room" was situated on the Boat-Deck (i.e.: the same deck as the Bridge), at the after end of the superstructure containing the Bridge and Officer's quarters - it was about 40 feet aft from the Bridge, connected via the corridor which ran down the port side of the Officer's quarters.
The "Marconi Room" was in the centre of the accommodation - it did not have an outside facing porthole. Natural light was provided via a skylight in the deckhead (ceiling).

The Radio Operators sleeping accommodation was in a separate room to starboard of the "Marconi Room" - connected to the operating room by an interconnecting door. The Radio Operators shared the Officer's toilet/washroom facilities across the corridor.

The "Marconi Room" was connected to the ship's 50 line telephone exchange. However, it appears that there was no direct telephone connection to the Bridge.
This problem was rectified on Titanic's sister ships 'Olympic' and 'Britannic' after the Titanic disaster - a speaking tube was installed which connected the "Marconi Room" to the Bridge.

Passenger Traffic:
As the Titanic's departure preparations were completed, both Radio Operators prepared for the daily onslaught of passenger communications directed to and from "ADVISELUM", the wireless code word assigned to the Titanic for passenger's personal traffic.

Passengers sent their telegrams at the Inquiry Office, on the starboard side of the forward First-Class entrance. The handwritten messages were paid for at the desk, at the rate of 12 shillings and sixpence for the first 10 words, and 9 pence per word thereafter (a substantial sum in 1912, although not for a First-Class passenger).

Telegrams were sent to the Radio Room by pneumatic tube. At the end of the day, a balance was struck between the Purser's clerk and the Radio Operators regarding the number of chargeable words sent.

Incoming passenger messages were received by hand by the duty Radio Operator, and typed on a telegram form by the other Radio Operator. Passenger traffic was sent from the Radio Room to the Inquiry Desk using the pneumatic tube.

Messages concerning navigation were delivered directly to the Bridge. Similarly, messages for the Captain were delivered by the Radio Operators to the Captain's cabin, down the starboard passage of the Officer's quarters.

In the 4 1/2 days between leaving Southampton and the collision with the iceberg on that "Fatal Night", the Titanic's Radio Operators received and sent 250 passenger telegrams.

John George - "Jack" or "Sparks" (because he sent morse so fast) - Phillips was born on April 11th, 1887 in Godalming in Surrey, UK.

After leaving Godalming Grammar School, he passed the Civil Service examinations and began work as a telegraphist at the local post office.
Phillips left Godalming in March 1906 to attend the Marconi Company's Wireless Telegraphy training school at Seaforth Barracks in Liverpool.
After finishing his training in August 1906, he was posted as Junior Radio Officer on the White Star Line vessel 'Teutonic'. For the next 2 years he served on the 'Lusitania', 'Mauretania', 'Campania' and 'Oceanic'.
In 1908, he was transferred to the Marconi Transatlantic station at Clifden on the Irish coast where he worked as an operator transmitting and receiving messages to and from the Marconi sister station at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia - this was the first Transatlantic wireless operation.
After leaving Clifden in 1911, Phillips returned to sea on the 'Adriatic'. In March 1912 he was sent to Belfast to take up the post of Chief Radio Officer on the new White Star liner Titanic.
Phillips died in that "Fatal Night", a few days after his 25th birthday. Because he had been awake the previous night repairing the radio equipment Phillips was too exhausted to survive in the icy water. He died of hypothermia on or near Collapsible Lifeboat B, his body was never recovered.

Harold Sidney Bride was born to Arthur and Mary Ann (Rowe) Bride on January 11th, 1890 in Hull, England.

He joined the Marconi School and received his first appointment in July of 1911. He first worked aboard the 'Hoverford', 'Lafranc', ' Anselm', and then on the 'Lusitania'. Bride joined the Titanic - like John George Phillips - at Belfast.
Harold Bride survived that "Fatal Night" in Collapsible Lifeboat B.
Despite the fact that Bride was recovering in the 'Carpathia's' infirmary from crushed and frostbitten feet after the Titanic's sinking he insisted to assist her only wireless operator - Harold Thomas Cottam - by sending a list of known survivors to New York and was carried up to the wireless shack where he was promoted to Senior Operator and the two Harolds were given total control over what was and was not sent to New York.
After the Titanic disaster he received a hero's welcome when he returned home to Beckenham, and worked as a telegrapher in a London post office. He returned to the sea in 1913 as a wireless operator aboard the SS 'Medina'.
World War I found him as a wireless operator on the tiny steamer, 'Mona's Isle'. He later embarked on a career as a salesman.
Harold Bride married Lucy Downie at Stranraer, Wigtownshire, Scotland, on April 10th, 1920. The couple moved to Scotland and had three children. Bride was an avid churchgoer and rarely spoke of the Titanic. He died of bronchial complications on April 29th, 1956.

Manned by John George Phillips and Harold Bride, the Titanic's wireless room had been doing steady business since the ship had left port. The machine went down on Saturday evening, April 13th, and had not been repaired until nearly 5.00 a.m., Sunday, April 14th.

Prior to April 14th, 1912, the Titanic had recieved several ice warnings, from the ships 'Caronia', 'La Touraine', 'Amerika', and 'Rappahannock'. The message from the 'Caronia' had been posted in the officer's chart room. Wireless operator Harold Bride shut down the telegraph for a while on April 14th, 1912 to let the machine cool, and missed an ice warning from the 'Californian'.

While these are not every wireless message to go from or to the Titanic, they are the most pertinent to the tragedy which befell the ship:

1.40 p.m.
14 April 1912
S.S. Baltic to R.M.S. Titanic:
"Captain Smith, Titanic. Have had moderate variable winds and clear fine weather since leaving. Greek steamer Athinai reports passing icebergs and large quantity of field ice today in latitude 41.51 N, longitude 49.52 W. Last night we spoke (with) German oil tanker Deutschland, Stettin to Philadelphia, not under control, short of coal; latitude 40.42 N, longitude 55.11 W. Wishes to be reported to New York and other steamers. Wish you and "Titanic" all success".

7.30 p.m.
14 April 1912
S.S. Antillian to R.M.S. Titanic:
"6.30 p.m., apparent time, ship; latitude 42.3 N, longitude 49.9 W. Three large bergs five mile to southward of us".

9.30 p.m.
14 April 1912
S.S. Mesaba to R.M.S. Titanic and All Eastbound Ships:
"Ice report: In latitude 42 N to 41.25 N, longitude 49 W to 50.3 W. Saw much heavy pack ice and great number of large icebergs, also field ice. Weather good, clear".

9.35 p.m.
14 April 1912
R.M.S. Titanic to S.S. Mesaba:
"Recieved, thanks".

9.38 p.m.
14 April 1912
S.S. Mesaba to R.M.S. Titanic:
"Stand by".
(Stanley Adams, on the S.S. 'Mesaba', was waiting for the Titanic to indicate the message had been given to the captain. Jack Phillips did not respond, but continued to send passenger messages to Cape Race.)

11.00 p.m. (approx)
14 April 1912
R.M.S. Californian to R.M.S. Titanic:
"Say, old man, we are stopped and surrounded by ice".

11.10 p.m. (approx)
14 April 1912
R.M.S. Titanic to R.M.S. Californian:
Keep out! Shut up, shut up! I am busy, I am working Cape Race.

11.15 p.m. (approx)
14 April 1912
R.M.S. Titanic to Cape Race, Newfoundland:
"Sorry, please repeat. Jammed".

Between 11.35 and 11.45 p.m. (most likely the latter) Captain Smith informed Phillips and Bride that the ship had hit an iceberg, and to prepare a distress call. The captain returned at 12.15 a.m. and told them to send it.

12.15 a.m.
15 April 1912
R.M.S. Titanic to Any Ship:
"CQD Titanic 41.44 N  50.24 W"
(CQD was the contemporary distress signal, though soon, the new distress signal would be put to use for the very first time).