Radio stations in German South West Africa

Last updated

Namibia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lüderitzbucht
Red pog.svg
Swakopmund
Red pog.svg
Windhoek
Green pog.svg
Tsumeb
Green pog.svg
Aus
Fixed radio stations in German South West Africa
Memorial stone created by lieutenant Brock to remember the "Funkenstation" (radio station) on Farm Aar [de] near Aus Gedenkstein Funkenstation Farm Aar (2015).jpg
Memorial stone created by lieutenant Brock to remember the "Funkenstation" (radio station) on Farm Aar  [ de ] near Aus

A series of radio stations in German South West Africa (today Namibia) enabled the Germans to communicate between their colony, German South West Africa, and their motherland, the German Empire. They also used radio to communicate within the German South West Africa territory and with German boats at sea. The stations utilized spark-gap transmitters.

Contents

The introduction of wireless telegraphy was a significant step for communication between German South West Africa and the German motherland in Europe. The news about the start of World War I reached German South West Africa on 2 August 1914 via radio telegraphy. The information was transmitted from the Nauen transmitter station via a relay station in Kamina and Lomé in Togo to the radio station in Windhoek.

Fixed radio stations

The Germans installed three fixed radio stations: one in the capital Windhoek, one in Swakopmund and one in Lüderitzbucht (now Lüderitz). During World War I, the radio station in Swakopmund was moved to Tsumeb, and the station in Lüderitzbucht was moved to Aus. [1]

The radio stations were operated on a wave lengths ranging from 300 to 4500 meters corresponding to medium wave and longwave frequencies. At that time, shortwaves—higher frequencies above 3 MHz—could not yet be created. Therefore, the T-formed antennas of the radio stations were rather high; for instance, the towers in Windhoek were 120 metres (390 ft) tall.

The British government was well aware of the installation of the new German radio system. On 24 December 1913, the British consul in Lüderitzbucht reported to the Foreign Office the following:

Sir, I have the honour to inform you that a wireless telegraphy station is in course of erection in Windhuk. The station is designed to establish direct communication with Nauen in Germany and it is expected that the new service will be in full working order by the 15th May 1914

British Consul in Lüderitzbucht [1]

The radio station in Swakopmund was inaugurated on 4 February 1912 but then was dismantled on 13 August 1914 and moved to Tsumeb, where the station with its 86-metre (282 ft) towers was operational on 24 November 1914.

The radio station in Lüderitzbucht went into operation on 3 June 1912; it was dismantled on 8 August 1914 and moved to the small city of Aus, where it became operational on 15 September. By 19 September, South African troops had occupied the city of Lüderitzbucht.

Mobile radio stations

In 1903/1904, the Germans already had three operational mobile radio stations in German South West Africa for their communication in the territory. They used radios from Siemens & Halske and from Telefunken. The radios were installed on ox-wagons and were operated on two frequencies, on a wave length of 350 m and 875 m, respectively. The antennas were lifted by hydrogen balloons; the hydrogen was produced in Bitterfeld, Germany. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South West Africa campaign</span> Military campaign

The South West Africa campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British imperial government at the beginning of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lüderitz</span> Town in ǁKaras Region, Namibia

Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolf Lüderitz</span> German colonial merchant (1834-1886)

Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz was a German merchant and the founder of German South West Africa, Imperial Germany's first colony. The coastal town of Lüderitz, located in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, is named after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TransNamib</span> Railway operator in Namibia

TransNamib Holdings Limited, commonly referred to as TransNamib, is a state-owned railway company in Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides both rail and road freight services, as well as passenger rail services. Its headquarters are in the country’s capital Windhoek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curt von François</span>

Curt Karl Bruno von François was a German geographer, cartographer, Schutztruppe officer and commissioner of the imperial colonial army of the German Empire, particularly in German South West Africa where he was responsible on behalf of Kaiser for the foundation of the city of Windhoek on 18 October 1890 and the harbor of Swakopmund on 4 August 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg von Arco</span> German physicist

Georg Wilhelm Alexander Hans Graf von Arco was a German physicist, radio pioneer, and one of the joint founders of the "Society for Wireless Telegraphy" which became the Telefunken company. He was an engineer and the technical director of Telefunken. He was crucial in the development of wireless technology in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nauen Transmitter Station</span> Oldest continuously operating radio transmitting installation in the world

Nauen Transmitter Station in Nauen, Havelland district, Brandenburg, Germany, is the oldest continuously operating radio transmitting installation in the world. Germany's first high power radio transmitter, it was founded on 1 April 1906 by Telefunken corporation and operated as a longwave radiotelegraphy station through World War II, and during World War I became Germany's main link with the outside world when its submarine communications cables were cut. Upgraded with shortwave transmitters in the 1920s it was Germany's most advanced long range radio station, continually upgraded with the latest equipment and serving as an experimental station for Telefunken to test new technology. At the end of World War II, invading Russian troops dismantled and removed the transmitting equipment. During the Cold War it served as the GDR's international shortwave station Radio Berlin International (RBI), and was the East Bloc's second most powerful radio station, disseminating Communist propaganda to other countries. Since German Reunification in 1991 it has been operated by Deutsche Telekom, Germany's state telecommunication service. The original 1920 transmitter building designed by architect Herman Muthesius is still used; it is the only remaining building designed by that architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle registration plates of Namibia</span> Namibia vehicle license plates

Vehicle registration plates of Namibia are yellow fluorescent metal plates with imprints in black. The standard version is uniform throughout the country, and carries one of the following forms:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sandfontein</span> Battle fought between the Union of South Africa and the German Empire

The Battle of Sandfontein was fought between the Union of South Africa on behalf of the British Imperial Government and the German Empire on 26 September 1914 at Sandfontein, during the first stage of the South West Africa Campaign of World War I, and ended in a German victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windhoek railway station</span> Railway station in Windhoek, Namibia

Windhoek railway station is a railway station serving the city of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It is an important station in the Namibian rail network, and it is run by TransNamib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kranzberg railway station</span> Railway station in Namibia between the towns of Karibib and Usakos

Kranzberg railway station is a railway station in Namibia between the towns of Karibib and Usakos. It is part of the TransNamib Railway. At Kranzberg, the railway line from Windhoek splits; one line continues westwards to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, the other one continues north-eastwards towards Omaruru and Tsumeb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German South West Africa</span> German colony in South-West Africa lasting from 1884–1915

German South West Africa was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of German South West Africa</span>

German South West Africa was a German colony in Africa, established in 1884 with the protection of the area around Lüderitz and abandoned during World War I, when the area was taken over by the British.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grasplatz</span>

Grasplatz is a defunct railway station in the south of Namibia on the currently decommissioned Aus–Lüderitz line. It is the place where in 1908 railway worker Zacharias Lewala found the first diamond in German South-West Africa and handed it over to his foreman August Stauch. Stauch's subsequent investigation triggered a diamond rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Namibia</span>

Rail service in Namibia is provided by TransNamib. The Namibian rail network consists of 2,687 route-km of tracks (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shark Island concentration camp</span> Early 20th-century concentration camp used by the German Empire in colonial Namibia

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German language in Namibia</span>

Namibia is a multilingual country wherein German is recognised as a national language. While English has been the sole official language of the country since 1990, in many areas of the country, German enjoys official status at a community level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965 South West African legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in South West Africa on 15 September 1965. The whites-only election saw a victory for the National Party of South West Africa, which won all 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1961 South West African legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in South West Africa on 8 March 1961. The whites-only election saw a victory for the National Party of South West Africa, which won 16 of the 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly. It marked the last time during the apartheid era that any other party won seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa</span> Military unit

The Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa was the official name of the military formation that maintained the German Empire in its colony of German South West Africa. The Schutztruppe are held responsible for numerous atrocities in the Herero and Nama uprising in 1904. During the First World War, the Schutztruppe was defeated by the troops of the Union of South Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mantei, Sebastian (December 2004). Von der "Sandbüchse" zum Kommunikationsnetzwerk Die Entwicklungsgeschichte des Post- und Telegraphenwesens in der Kolonie Deutsch-Südwestafrika (1884 – 1915) (PDF) (PhD) (in German). Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg.