[CW] 40 Years Ago Tonight, SOS SOS SOS CQ CQ CQ DE PJTA PJTA PJTA =

[Richard Knoppow]

    A lot of people owe you thanks for your truly heroic actions. 
We should all be proud to have you among us.

On 10/3/2020 8:43 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote:
> 40 Years Ago Tonight, I was woken up by autoalarm bells from 
> the SOS of the burning luxury liner MS PRINSENDAM / PJTA as my 
> ship was sailing southward from Valdez, Alaska on Prince 
> William Sound. When the burning ship lost main and emergency 
> generators, their radio officer told me to take over and I sent 
> out three additional DDD SOS DDD (MAYDAY RELAY) calls. 
> According to FCC Washington, over 350 ship logs were received, 
> according to RCA San Francisco / KPH senior operator, Hansen 
> who copied my handing of the SOS in Morse, he'd been there for 
> 35 years and never heard a fiber job of communications. I 
> believe this rescue where all 535 passengers and crew who were 
> all rescued safely without even one death from lifeboats were 
> greatly helped by the International cooperation involved: The 
> United States Coast Guard, United States Air Force who supplied 
> two rescue swimmers as at that time USCG didn't have that 
> speciality, Canadian Armed Forces who supplied massive long 
> trade helicopters able to fly 300 miles out to sea, engage in 
> hours of rescue work by lifting survivors out of lifeboats one 
> at a time and dropping them on my ship, the SOHIO INTREPID and 
> USCG cutters Mellon, Woodrush and Boutwell, United States 
> Merchant Marine and foreign Merchant Navies, including the men 
> and women on Ocean Station PAPA / 4YP (manned by Canadian Coast 
> Guard. US Air Force also sent a flight surgeon (physician.) 
> Because the distress was handled on long range 500 kHz 
> radiotelegraphy, communication with Rescue Coordination Center 
> Juneau, Alaska was instantaneous, because sitting at RCC was a 
> USCG radioman who simply tuned in 500 kHz and copied the Morse 
> beating the interoffice teleprinter circuits by 5 minutes. The 
> City of Sitka, Alaska sent two paramedics. Automated 
> Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System on Governor's Island, 
> New York City sent SURPICS telling us what ships were in the 
> area. Such beautiful cooperation! Morse XXX and SOS recordings, 
> radio logbooks from WILLIAMSBURGH and EXXON NEW ORLEANS / WNDM 
> whose Radio Officer, Richard Singer provided his excellent 
> assistance as did Radio Officer, Carl Williams on SOHIO 
> INTREPID. Hundreds of people were involved in what has been 
> called "The Greatest Air-Sea Rescue in history. See The 
> Internet Archive for more 
> https://archive.org/details/SosMsPrinsendamOctober41980 
> <https://archive.org/details/SosMsPrinsendamOctober41980>
>
>
>
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> =30=

-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL