[Milsurplus] PT Boat Callsigns

[WA5CAB--- via Milsurplus]

Yeah, three or four nukes in LEO and DOD would be deaf.

In a message dated 03/30/2015 14:13:21 PM Central Daylight Time, 
kk5f at earthlink.net writes: 
> Robert wrote:
> 
> >It (the 4-letter call sign) was used in CW traffic, and on carriers could 
> 
> >be turned on on the LF Homer transmitter.  Voice traffic used the ship's 
> >tactical call sign.  Which for example for CV-45/LPH-8 was BEARCAT (I 
> think 
> >because it was the first carrier to fly the F8F).
> 
> AFAIK CW was never used in SSBN communications.  Transnsmissions from
> the SSBN were extremely rare, at least during the cold war era, unless
> forced by emergent needs like arranging a medical evacuation.  The major
> voice comms were from the OOD on the bridge using a commercial VHF-FM HT
> to coordinate with tugs at beginning and end of trials and patrols.
> 
> The Morse skills of our radiomen were very minimal.  In the late 1970s 
> someone
> concluded that if an SSBN was ever used in a nuclear exchange, it would be
> unlikely that all the sophisticsted comm systems used between SSBN and 
> command
> authority would still be functioning post-release.  HF CW circuits just 
> might
> be valuable.  Crash courses in radioman Morse skill development were 
> started
> on the SSBNs in my squadron.  I was departing the USN at the time, but 
> another
> engineering department officer with a GENERAL ham license was assigned to 
> run
> this training since there were no enlisted or officer personnel in the
> operations department who had even a ham's level of Morse competency.  The
> engineering department provided the missing talent.  This program seemed 
> like
> a very logical development but I don't know how it all turned out.  This 
> effort
> was not universal in the submarine force.
> 
> On very rare occassions we communicated with military aircraft on trials 
> or
> during a mid-ocean personnel emergency pickup.  UHF-AM from our AN/URC-20 
> was
> used, along with our AN/APX-72 for IFF.  Tactical calls used, of course, 
> which
> were not fixed.
> 
> That was all about 40 years ago.  I suspect it's become a different world 
> since.
> There hasn't even been a radioman rate in the USN for more tha 20 years.
> 
> Mike / KK5F
> ________________

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