[Milsurplus] FYI - WWII Navy facsimile

[Nick England]

from NAVPERS 10857 Radiophoto-Facsimile Training Manual (1949) -
The Chief of Naval Communications conducted a limited investigation of
facsimile transmission, commencing in 1941 and procurement of the
first commercial equipments was undertaken by BuShips in 1944. Navy
radiophoto facilities were installed at Washington, San Francisco,
Pearl Harbor, and Guam as the result of a SecNav directive in June
1944. These facilities were ready for operation in December, 1949.
The first widespread recognition of Navy radiophoto facilities by the
major news services of the United States occurred in February 1945,
during the Iwo Jima campaign It was at this time that the pictures of
the initial landing operations and the famous Suribachi flag-raising
scene of Iwo Jima, were sent by plane to Guam, then transmitted by
radiophoto to San Francisco in time to be released jointly with the
first news stories of the Iwo Jima operations. Much editorial comment
of a complimentary nature was given to the activity at this time,
particularly since the flag-raising picture has subsequently been
generally conceded to be the outstanding picture of World War II.
Our few installations were inadequate, however, to cope with the
geographical spread of the war; and in June 1945, SecNav directed the
Chief of Naval Communications to establish an activity within his
organization to plan, coordinate, and administer the operation of
communications installations to provide sufficient coverage, in order
that the American public might be kept satisfactorily informed of Navy
accomplishments.
The Pearl Harbor installation was disestablished in March 1945, in
order to provide a mobile unit. This was transferred to the USS Iowa,
in the forward area, transmitting pictures to Guam for retransmission,
and on occasion, relaying pictures via Guam directly to San Francisco
for delivery to the War Picture Pool. On 27 August 1945, the
radiophoto unit aboard the USS Iowa established the first direct
two-way communication between the continental United States and naval
forces in Japanese home waters, transmitting pictures of the task
force entering Sagami Bay, Japan.
An increasing flow of picture transmissions continued through, and
culminated in, the successful handling of the Japanese surrender
pictures of 2 September 1945, taken aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo
Bay. The films of the first signing ceremonies were taken by boat to
the USS Iowa, where they were developed, printed, and transmitted
directly to San Francisco by the mobile radiophoto unit. Total elapsed
time, from taking the pictures until delivery to east coast wire
services for distribution to newspapers, was approximately 4 hours.
Of more than 400 pictures transmitted to San Francisco by the Guam and
USS Iowa radiophoto units during August and September 1945,
approximately 80 per cent were used by the commercial news services.
The USS Iowa used a Model TBM (500-watt) transmitter on a
straight-wire antenna in effecting their transmissions directly to San
Francisco.