SOS

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SOS is the commonly used description for the International distress signal (· · · — — — · · ·) as sent telegraphically in Morse code. The SOS distress signal first appeared when it was included in radio regulations adopted by the German government effective April 1, 1905. It has been the worldwide standard since its inclusion in regulations adopted by the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed on November 3, 1906, and became effective on July 1, 1908.

From the beginning, the SOS distress signal has consisted of a continuous sequence of three-dots/three-dashes/three-dots, without letter spacing. However, because three dots form the letter S in International Morse Code, and three dashes stand for the letter O, "SOS" became an easy way to remember the correct sequence of the dots and dashes. In popular usage, SOS has become associated with phrases such as "Save Our Souls", "Save Our Ship", and "Stop Other Signals". However, these phrases were a later development, used to help remember the correct order of letters.

Initial suggestions

Radio communication — originally known as "wireless telegraphy" — did not exist prior to the mid-1890s. Before then, seagoing vessels used a variety of visual signals, including semaphore flags, flares, and signal lights, plus audio signals, such as bells and foghorns, to draw attention and signify when they required assistance. However, the range of these early devices was limited, and the long distances covered by radio communication in all weather conditions promised to revolutionize safety at sea.

Early radio transmitters could not transmit full-audio signals, so stations adopted the dots-and-dashes of Morse code that had been originally developed for land telegraphy. However, there was no commonly used distress call in landline telegraph practice. Although it was recognized that there was a need for standardized seagoing radio communication, competition between rival radio companies initially limited cooperation. In 1903, the first International Radiotelegraphic Conference was held at Berlin, Germany. During this conference, Captain Quintino Bonomo, an Italian representative, brought up the issue of common operating standards, and in part suggested that "ships in distress... should send the signal SSS DDD at intervals of a few minutes". However, procedural issues were not a part of the Conference's mandate, so the Conference did not adopt an official signal, although Article IV of its Final Protocol, signed August 13, 1903, did state that "Wireless telegraph stations should, unless practically impossible, give priority to calls for help received from ships at sea." Thus, individual governments and companies were left to independently develop their own standards.

The first radio distress call to be adopted appears to have been "CQD", by the Marconi International Marine Communication Company for Marconi installations. It was announced on January 7, 1904 by the company's "Circular 57" that "...on and after the 1st February, 1904, the call to be given by ships in distress or in any way requiring assistance shall be 'C.Q.D.'." ("CQ" was a general call to all stations; amateur or "ham" radio operators still use it today when soliciting a contact with any station that hears the call.)

An alternate suggestion appeared in the 1906 edition of "Manual of Wireless Telegraphy for the Use of Naval Electricians" by S. S. Robison, which was used by the United States Navy. A section of this book stated that the symbols used by International Code of Signals for visual signaling would also likely be adopted by the radio service. In this system the visual flag signal "NC" stood for "In distress; want immediate assistance"; Robison suggested that this would also likely be adopted internationally as the distress call for radio operators.

1905: Germany creates SOS

A third independently adopted standard became the genesis for SOS. National radio regulations announced by the German government in March, 1905, effective April 1, 1905, included three new Morse code sequences for specialized use:

  1. Ruhezeichen ("Cease-sending signal"), formed by six consecutive dashes ( — — — — — — ), used by shore stations to inform other local stations to stop transmitting.
  2. Suchzeichen ("Quest signal"), composed of three-dots/three dashes/one-dot, (· · · — — — · ), designed for transmitting to shore stations a ship's desire for attention.
  3. Notzeichen ("Distress signal"), consisting of three-dots/three-dashes/three-dots (· · · — — — · · · ), "to be repeated by a ship in distress until all other stations have stopped working".

This last signal marked the first appearance of the SOS distress signal.

International practices

A second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, with a broader mandate, was held in Berlin in 1906. This body signed an international agreement on November 3, 1906, with an effective date of July 1, 1908. An extensive collection of Service Regulations was developed to supplement the main agreement, and Article XVI adopted Germany's Notzeichen distress signal as the international standard, reading: "Ships in distress shall use the following signal: · · · — — — · · ·  repeated at brief intervals". There was still a preference among Marconi operators for the older "CQD", and, even at the time of the April, 1912 Titanic disaster, that vessel's Marconi operators transmitted both CQD and SOS distress signals. However, the use of CQD largely disappeared after this point, because of the needs of public safety to have a single international standard.

In contrast to CQD, which was sent as three separate letters that included gaps between each letter, the SOS distress call has always officially been transmitted as a continuous sequence of dots-and-dashes, and not as individual letters — both the April 1, 1905 German law, and the 1906 Berlin regulations, specified the Morse code sequence, with no mention of any letter equivalents. As noted above, it soon became the practice to divide the sequence into three equal parts and refer to it as "SOS" — an early example is the report on "The International Radio-Telegraphic Convention" in the January 12, 1907 Electrical World, which included: "Vessels in distress use the special signal, SOS, repeated at short intervals." (In International Morse, VTB, IJS and SMB also correctly translate into the · · · — — — · · ·  distress call sequence, but traditionally only SOS is used. Also, in American Morse code, which was used by many coastal ships in the United States through the much of the early twentieth century, three dots also stood for the letter "S", but three dashes designated the numeral "5", so in some early U.S. references the distress signal was said to be "S5S").

The first well documented use of the SOS distress call is by the Arapahoe on August 11, 1909, when it suffered a broken shaft in the Atlantic Ocean, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. However, an article titled "Notable Achievements of Wireless" in the September, 1910 Modern Electrics reported that an earlier SOS distress call was transmitted by the Cunard liner Slavonia, on June 10, 1909.

SOS has also sometimes been employed as a visual distress signal, consisting of three-short/three-long/three-short light flashes, or with "SOS" spelled out in individual letters, for example, stamped in a snowbank or formed out of logs on a beach. The fact that SOS can be read right-side-up as well as upside-down also makes visual recognition easier.

References (chronological)

See also

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