Conceived for the purpose of insuring adequate and uninterrupted trans-Atlantic communication facilities between the American Expeditionary Forces engaged in the World War and the Government of the United States of America.
Erected by the United States Navy in conjunction with and for the Government of France.
Planned in 1917, in response to the earnest desire of our military authorities that steps be taken to insure ample wireless communication, in case cables should be cut or otherwise interrupted, and to supplement the inadequate cable service, this immense plant was fast approaching completion when the armistice was signed. Then work was suspended for a time, but on agreement with the French government was resumed, and pushed to completion.
When, after elaborate tests, the plant was put into operation, on August 21, 1920, I received this radiogram:
This is the first wireless message to be heard around the world, and marks a milestone on the road of scientific achievement.
Lafayette Radio Station.
The Navy takes a just pride in having brought into being that great plant with its eight towers, each 832 feet high, nearly 300 feet higher than the Washington Monument—the first station to girdle the globe by wireless.
During the war the Navy controlled all radio in the United States and its possessions, taking over and operating 59 commercial stations. These fitted easily into the extensive system which the Navy itself had developed, for on January 1, 1917, it owned and operated 55 stations at various points from Panama to Alaska, and from our Atlantic coast across the continent and the Pacific to the Philippines. This had been the work of years.
In August, 1914, immediately after the outbreak of war, Commander S. C. Hooper was sent to Europe to study the latest developments in radio and war communications, and spent six months in England, France, Ireland, Holland and Belgium. His report proved of decided value. A special board, headed by Captain Bullard, was appointed, and this led to the expansion of Navy Radio and the creation, in 1916, of the Naval Communication Service.
Nearly a year before we entered the war, May 6th to 8th, 1916, naval communications, wire and wireless, of the entire country were mobilized, under the supervision of Captain (later Rear Admiral) W. H. G. Bullard, Superintendent of Radio Service. All the apparatus necessary for country-wide communication by radio or telephone was provided, by the Bureau of Engineering, specially marked, and placed in readiness for operation on twenty-four hours' notice.