When a submarine was sighted by an Allied vessel, a simple form of position report was broadcasted by the operator at once, as follows:
Allo (French for Hello) 49° 15′ N. 09° 06′ W. 0815 MXA.
The radio operator continued to broadcast these signals until an acknowledgment was received from one of the larger, more powerful coastal radio stations which immediately broadcasted the message on high power to all ships and stations for their information. The radio operators on vessels at sea which received this general warning would at once notify the captain who could thereby avoid the dangerous locality or proceed to the aid of the ship in distress.
After we had arrived at Saint-Nazaire the work of the radio-room did not cease, for we kept a continuous watch, intercepting every message of importance which we were able to copy. When the Corsair was ordered to proceed to Brest, it was necessary to observe the regulation which required all vessels desiring to enter that port to transmit by radio a special form of message, addressed to the port authorities, requesting permission. Failure to do so would have risked bombardment by the shore batteries. The reply from Brest stated whether or not the channel was clear of mines and enemy submarines.
The radio shore station at Brest was about five miles from the American naval base and was an old type, low frequency installation. The “spark” at the time of our arrival was very difficult to read through atmospheric electrical disturbances, and did not have sufficient range. However, after the American base was permanently organized, a modern installation replaced the old one and American naval operators were placed on duty to handle all radio traffic that concerned our naval and other shipping. This was a great improvement over the early method of letting the French operators handle it.
When the Corsair went out on patrol duty, the radio force caught many distress calls and submarine warnings, and the information enabled the ship to render aid on several occasions. In working with the Aphrodite when we covered adjoining patrol areas, the captains were able to exchange information concerning new situations to be dealt with and to operate in concert. The messages intercepted from the British radio station at Lands End were particularly useful and the operators kept a sharp lookout for them. At least one crew of survivors of a French fishing vessel was rescued by the Corsair because of a message intercepted from this coastal station.
In the later duty on escort with the convoys, the amount of traffic handled by the radio force was largely increased. Because of difficulties unforeseen, such as stormy weather, break-downs, etc., it was rarely that a convoy was sighted in the exact position designated. The radio enabled the escort commander to ask the convoy for definite information as to location, course, direction, and speed. It also kept the convoys clear of the enemy mine-fields. I recall an instance when the Corsair put into Penzance. The day before sailing from that port the radio operator on duty intercepted a message from the French high-powered station at Nantes, stating that the entrance to Brest had been mined by German submarines and that all ships were forbidden to approach. The Corsair thereupon waited at Penzance with her convoy until word was received that the Brest channel had been swept clear.
The severest test for the radio personnel came in December, 1917, when a hurricane almost finished the yacht. Early in the storm it was almost impossible for the operator on watch to stay in his chair although it was screwed to the deck. The climax came in the dead of night when a terrific sea struck the Corsair on the port side, stove in bulkheads, and lifted the hatch over the radio-room clear of the deck and allowed about a ton of icy sea water to pour in. The operator was half-drowned, as well as the whole installation, and the apparatus was rendered useless for the time. As the seas got worse, the water forced itself into the radio-room through the doors in spite of the fact that every crack was calked as tightly as possible. More than a foot of water piled up on the floor and there was no system of drainage, so every time the vessel rolled or pitched it all swashed up at one side of the room or the other.
AT THE EMERGENCY WHEEL. HEAVY WEATHER OFFSHORE