Re: [IRCA] WWII DF sites in the Pacific NW

[WALTER SALMANIW <salmaniw@xxxxxxx>]

Interesting, as on this side of the border, there were many of the same things happening during the second world war.  On the island, in Victoria, there were several major DF installations.  One was located where there is a local jail (on Wilkinson Road), and another was located where the University of Victoria is located now.  Immediately after the war, a very large DF site was located at Boundary Bay, just south of Vancouver (adjacent to the BB airport).  This was replaced in 1972 by CFS Masset, on the Queen Charlottes (Haida Gwaii) by my cottage.  Masset, however, also had a DF station from the 1940s to the 1960s, when it was hugely expanded with the addition of a Wullenweber array.  I recall reading that Japanese intercepts were critical to both the Victoria and Masset sites.  Anyway, there are a number of good internet sites that give their history.  Jerry Proc has written some wonderful stuff regarding these and other sites!  .......Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC

----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin S <satya@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Friday, April 30, 2010 3:24 am
Subject: Re: [IRCA] TP for 29 Apr from Victoria, BC
To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> Hey Nick:
> 
> I do know that the south end of the Island, of all places on the West
> Coast, was selected to be the monitoring station for Japanese
> transmissions during WWII.  Per one Web site, "in 1938, 
> with the threat of
> a second world war looming, the U.S. Navy took over Fort Ward 
> and enlarged
> it by confiscating surrounding properties. Tests soon showed 
> that the fort
> was an outstanding location for eavesdropping on radio 
> transmissions from
> the Far East, especially from Japan. So the Navy built antenna 
> fields and
> a top-secret military listening post.  It was at Fort Ward 
> that the United
> States cracked the wartime code of the Japanese forces. "
> 
> So, there must be something about its location!  Per:
> http://www.usncva.org/books/book-10.html
> the frequencies of interest were 12 and 16 mhz, not MW :-(.
> 
> Apparently there was literally miles and miles of wire strung up 
> on mast
> after mast; according to Wiki, they were big old rhombic 
> antennae.  The
> Wiki is a good read:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ward_(Washington)
> 
> I live in the center part of the island, while Fort Ward is at 
> the south
> end, maybe 5-6 miles away.  I have a friend with some land 
> down near there
> and we keep threatening to do a DXpedition down there.  
> alas, it's only a
> handful of miles from the big 50 kw transmitters on Vashon Island
> (KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, etc.), but they are due south, so a good W 
> or NW
> directional antenna might be just the ticket!
> 
> Kevin S
> Bainbridge Island, WA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > At 19:01 4/29/2010, you wrote:
> >>Hey Nick:
> >>
> >>Unless my front yard gets flooded during a good rain, I am very
> >>land-locked in all directions; to the NW are the Olympic 
> mountains and a
> >>bunch of other non-aquoeous stuff.  It was indeed 
> surprising to hear
> >>anything at all this morning, much less with audio.
> >>
> >
> >
> > Not entirely tongue in cheek, Kevin, but I wonder if you get 
> some sort of
> > Fresnel effect from the Olympics?   Years ago Don 
> Moman and I heard DU's
> > on the "other" side of the Rockies (in the Alberta foothills) 
> that I
> > hadn't heard on the coast of Vancouver Island.
> >
> > Nick
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > *****************************
> > Nick Hall-Patch
> > Victoria, BC
> > Canada
> >
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