SOS

How 'SOS' became 'SOS'.

EARLY DAYS OF "WIRELESS"

Do you know the evolution of the cryptic "SOS"?
It really begins with the first marine accident to be reported by "wireless," on April 28, 1899 (long before the days of broadcasting), when the steamer R. F. Mathews collided with the East Goodwin Sands Lightship, off the coast of England. The call for help was picked up by a shore station twelve miles away and a rescue party was dispatched to the scene of the wreck, reaching it in time to save all lives. This proved the value of radio at sea, and revealed the necessity of an international distress signal which could be understood easily by the operators of all nations, despite differences in language. The call "SOS" passed through a process of evolution. The first suggestion for an international distress call for ships was made by the Italian delegates at a preliminary meeting to consider radio telegraphy, held at Berlin in 1903. The Italians suggested the adoption of "SSSDDD". All agreed that such a call was needed but the choice was left to a special conference. Shortly after the Marconi Company instituted "CQD". Erroneously, "CQD" was translated by the public to mean "Come Quick, Danger". It was one of the signals radio adopted from the land telegraph which, because of its higher state of development, was governed by rules formulated and established by an international convention. Among the telegraph rules was the authorization of a group of double-letter symbols used by operators to abbreviate and speed-up traffic. "Q", being one of the least-used letters in the English alphabet, is distinctive and can be recognized easily. The call "CQ" on a railroad or commercial telegraph line means that the operator sending it desires all other operators along the wire to listen to his message. When radio adopted "CQ", it took the meaning "Stop sending and listen." Alone, it is important but no cause for immediate alarm. But, in the early days of radio, if the operator followed the "CQ" with the letter "D" - the signal of danger and distress - it became a message of general alarm. So harmless is the "CQ", without the "D," that even today it is a custom among amateurs and commercial operators to send "CQ" in dots and dashes as a signal that the station is on the air and free to handle traffic.

"SOS" FROM THE "TITANIC"

Several minor emergencies at sea revealed that "CQ" did not sufficiently express the urgency required for distress purposes. This prompted the Marconi Company to issue a General Order "Circular No. 57" on January 7, 1904, establishing "CQD" as the official distress signal on and after February 1, 1904. At the Radio Telegraphic Conference in Berlin, in 1906, the German government suggested "SOS" to replace "CQD". German ships had previously used a call "SOE" when they desired to communicate with all other vessels within range. Since the letter "E" consists of only one dot it is easily susceptible to loss by interference; so the delegates suggested that "S" be used as the last letter. "CQD" was superseded in July, 1908, by "SOS", selected as the international distress call by the Radio Telegraphic Convention held at Berlin. (To be exact, this call differs from "SOS" by the fact that the groups of dots and dashes are not separated like separate letters. This gives it a striking and attention-compelling note.) The acts of the convention were not ratified by all nations until about a year later, so "CQD" remained in force long enough to call rescue ships to the wreck of the Republic in 1909. "SOS" came into prominence when the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, April 14, 1912. As soon as the plight of the big ship was realized, Captain E. J. Smith ordered operator Jack Philips to broadcast the distress call. Immediately the aerial of the sinking vessel radiated "Come at once! We've struck a berg! It's a CQD, OM!" (The "OM" is the radio sign meaning "Old Man", which adds a friendly personal touch to the dots and dashes.) Then junior operator Harold Bride suggested, "Send 'SOS'. It's a new signal and it may be your last chance to send it". So Philips flashed "CQD" and then "SOS": "CQD, SOS from MGY. We have struck iceberg. Sinking fast. Come to our assistance. Position lat. 41.45 N., long. 50.14 W. MGY". (MGY was the radio call of the Titanic). Philips went down with the ship, but Bride was among those rescued by the Carpathia. That tragic scene enacted in mid ocean proved without a doubt the true value of "SOS", the call that still vibrates the ether as a signal for help and silence.

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