70-year-old magazine reminds us of America’s entry into World War II
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
The cover of the June 1942 issue of "Radio News" magazine features a Vibroplex Lightning Bug DeLuxe semi-automatic Morse code key on the cover. Note the Morse code chart at left. The magazine offers a fascinating look back in time to the opening days of World War II. Click image to enlarge.
Sunday, April 15, 2012 – As I was cleaning up my combination office/radio room I ran across an old issue of Radio News magazine I bought last year on eBay. The cover illustration shows an operator using a semi-automatic Morse code key – otherwise known as a “bug.” I bought the magazine because I am an avid collector of Morse code keys, and found this cover illustration an attractive adjunct to my key collection hobby.
The date on the magazine hit home today when I leafed through the magazine: June 1942. With the lead time required for preparing a magazine for print, the editorial copy for this June issue was likely being finished this month 70 years ago, four months after entering World War II.
The editorial content of the magazine usually included content aimed at radio servicemen and business owners, as well as Amateur Radio (“ham radio”) enthusiasts. With America now at war, the focused changed dramatically.
The opening editorial column detailed the latest news on ham radio since the government’s December 1941 decree silencing ham radio operators. The first article is a review of the need for qualified radiomen every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Another article (“Urgent Need for Radio Men”) suggests more people take up electronic servicing, as “both young and old are needed to fill military and civilian jobs.” A special six-month course could net you $1440 a month pay working for the defense industry, it says.
Inside the pages you find the usual articles on electronics and how-to projects interspersed among news items about material shortages already being experienced by U.S. manufacturers. For example, the nation’s supply of shellac – used in recording and manufacture of phonograph disks – was interrupted by the war and in very short supply.
In other interesting war-time news:
–> The government anticipated curtailing the production of civilian radio receivers in June 1942 and switching production to full military production. The only reason for continuing civilian production was to use up the stock of parts in supply lines aimed for civilian receiver construction.
–> At the time the war began, there were hundreds of different types of vacuum tubes manufactured by various companies. The government required the manufacturers to identify common tube types and consolidate the duplicates and near-duplicate vacuum tubes. The result was the elimination of 50 percent of the 750 different tube types.
This is an image of a WAVE Radio Operator by John Falter (oil on canvas). This woman operates a telegraph key. The Navy ran a school for radio personnel beginning in 1942. Research suggests that John Falter used a Naval photograph taken during March 1943 of Virginia L. Scott as the basis for this image. She is sending a message from the code room of the Radio School at Madison, Wisconsin. The Navy used this painting to print 40,000 posters, 71,000 window cards and 57,000 car cards in June of 1943.
–> At an FCC hearing in April 1942, the major manufacturers who were involved in the fledgling television industry lobbied the government NOT to force them to curtail operation of experimental stations. If TV was to ever become established as a useful form of communication, experimentation needed to continue, company presidents argued. A year earlier, the FCC had approved a standard for black & white television, which eliminated other competing systems. Color systems were developing during WWII, however it was 1952 before the FCC set a standard (one developed largely by CBS), only to reverse that decision in favor of the RCA color TV system the following year.
–> At this early stage of the war, material shortages were yet to really hit. The magazine predicts severe rubber shortages with all supplies going to defense use. Suitable replacements for some uses were still in development for non-defense purposes. The magazine makes it clear that any new materials developed will be first offered to the War effort.
At this point in the War 70 years ago, our parents and grandparents were unsure of how their daily lives would be impacted by the War. The War would touch the lives of everyone in the U.S., but this generation – the Greatest Generation – persevered.
While we sit here and enjoy our 22-inch LCD monitors and our wireless keyboard and Apple iPad 3s, we need to stop and reflect on the sacrifices our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles made during those years. My hope is that if we are ever called upon, that we as an American people will have the fortitude and courage to do what is necessary to defend our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy.
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