Curated Exhibition Project - Jason Thomas

on

 Military Communication from WWI and WWI

This exhibition will display various artifacts of the different methods of military communication during the conflicts of World War 1 and World War 2, showing the advances and developments of the different communication methods in use in an effort to speed up the communication process to have the upper hand over the enemy.



Artifact #1: A Military Messenger delivering/receiving messages in WWI. Image retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/world-war-i-runners-1917

This artifact shows a messenger soldier otherwise known as a trench runner delivering a message to the trenches during the conflict of World War 1. This system of communication had been in use in many conflicts before and proved to work well in relaying messages to and from the frontline. However, this was a new type of war and it soon became evident that this method of communication could not keep up with the pace of combat.


Artifact #2: A despatch rider from WWI. Image retrieved from https://www.militaryimages.net/media/ww1-motorcycle-despatch-rider.91247/


This artifact shows a despatch rider, which is a military messenger that is using either a horse or a motorcycle for their service. Since the foot soldier was showing to be somewhat slower at relaying messages and orders, the standard trench runner system was developed by introducing faster means of transport to keep up with the ever changing scenarios of this new age of warfare. Although this method did speed up the messaging service, there were some drawbacks.



These two artifacts show one soldier with a box of carrier pigeons and another showing a soldier collecting a message from a messenger dog during WWI. These were two very effective means of communication between headquarters and the frontline as there was a much lower chance of these animals being fired at, injured of killed during their journey. 



Artifact #5: Flags and Lamps used as visual messaging during WWI. Image retrieved from https://www.usmcmuseum.com/uploads/6/0/3/6/60364049/nmmc_wwi_military_communication_resource_packet.pdf

As well as using a messaging service, there were visual methods of communication for ground based forces. These methods included the use of flags and lamps. The flag signaller would position the flags in different positions to relay the message across, where the light operator would use either a shutter or a switch to use morse code with the light beam. Although they were effective means of communication, they were limited by range and visibility if there was bad weather. 
 

Artifact #6 and 7: An early trench telephone set and a WWI trench radio operator Images retrieved from https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2014/06/ww1-first-world-war-communications-and-the-tele-net-of-things/ and https://www.radiomuseum.co.uk/trench.html

In early years of the first world war, the wired telephone and radio was introduced to the frontline as shown above. This was a revelation in communication which was able to distribute up to date, accurate information between the frontline and headquarters. There was the problem of having the exposed cables along the trenches which were prone to be disconnected during heavy fire. Many of the forces overcame this problem by burying the cables to protect the cables and keep a constant communication when needed. Although doing this did help through the majority of the gunfire, quite often they would not stand up to the shelling from artillery fire which would often leave craters in the ground and disrupting the communications. There was a great need for wireless radio communication.


Artifact #8: Popham panels laid out in a field to communicate with the air force, and a code book to understand the markings. Images retrieved from https://gregswar.com/tag/popham-panel/

Here we have a group of soldiers laying out black and white cloth known as Popham Panels in a field to relay a message to pilots of the air force. The pilot would then have a code book on board that he would consult to decode the message that is being shown on the ground below. This was quite an effective method of communicating with the air force since there was no other way as aviation was still in its infancy and no air traffic control or radio system was developed at this time. The only drawback of this system would be the weather, if there was low visibility, then there is no more communication.  



Artifact #9: Naval signalling performed with electric lamps and shutters, typically used during periods of radio silence. Image retrieved from https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/visual-signalling-royal-australian-navy

Although the radio using morse code was installed on ships and was in use by the Navy, there were often times where radio silence was needed. Here is one of the methods of communicating between ships during those periods. It was a similar method to the ground visual system, using a lamp with a shutter to send a message using morse code. Although this was a very effective system, it too was limited by range and dependant on the weather. Such a system would not have been able to be put to use during the night as the blinking light could give away the position of a ship.  



Between the two major conflicts, there was intense research and development of the radio and other methods of communication by most governments and militaries. One of the technologies that really stood out was the printing telegraph, commonly known as the teleprinter or teletypewriter machine. Initially developed for the British Post Service, inventor Donald Murray sold the patent rights to Western Union and Western Electric in 1912, this then formed the basis of the printing telegraph system that came into use in the 1920’s. This system would then become a primary method of communication for businesses. It would work by a keystroke that would generate a series of coded electric impulses that were sent over a transmission line to a receiver system. This would then automatically print out the message which greatly reduced communication times. 


Artifact #11: United States Army soldiers using a portable radio during World War 2. Image retireved from https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2019/01/26/scr-300-ww2-radio-backppack-the-walkie-talkie-that-shaped-the-war/

Between World War One and World War Two there were many developments with radio technology. This enabled manufacturers to produce a wireless radio set that could be carried by a soldier on the move, and send/receive messages at any time during their mission. This artifact shows a soldier of the United States army using a portable radio during a break in combat in World War II. The use of these radio sets would prove to be important in the closing stages of the war when many divisions of the Allied forces were closing in on Berlin from various parts of Western Europe. 





Artifact# 12: The Enigma Machine that was developed by Germany throughout World War 2. Predominantly used by the Kriegsmarine during the conflict. Image retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wwii-enigma-machine-found-flea-market-sells-51000-180964053/

This very intricate piece of machinery is the Enigma machine. It was a combination of rotors, a keyboard, lightboard and a plugboard. All of these components worked together to encrypt messages that were sent out. It was a battery powered machine that had the ability to change every letter typed between 7-9 times depending on the configuration set up in use on that particular day. It was predominantly used by the German Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic, where the U-Boats (known as wolfpacks) would target any freight coming across the Atlantic to keep Britain in the war effort. They were very successful until the Allies finally managed to capture an Enigma Machine without the Germans knowing. 


Artifact # 13: An early German radar system developed and used as an early warning service for possible air raids. Image retireived from https://weaponsandwarfare.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/fuse65e-300-low.jpg

This artifact displays an early German radar system called the Würzburg Radar. Many variants of this radar were able to be transported by train to avoid detection or move them to strategic locations across Germany and Europe. Early research for these radars began in the 1930's and were further developed not only to provide an early warning system for oncoming air raids, but they were also an aid to the anti-aircraft gunners during an air raid. The radar do this by having the ability to detect and intercept enemy aircraft by locking onto a target and tracking it as it would fly overhead. This resulted in more accuracy from the anti-aircraft gunners that had this radar to their disposal. 



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