On 22 November in: 1906-At the second International Radio Telegraphic Convention, which was held in Berlin, the attendees agreed to adopt the wireless signal SOS as the internationally recognized signal for distress at sea. Their thinking was that three dots, three dashes and three dots could not be misinterpreted. 1953-A great boon to ocean navigation for aircraft surface vessels was the completion of four new LORAN stations in the Far East. The stations were built at Mikayo Jima, Ryuku Islands; Bataan and Cantanduanes Islands, Philippines; and Anguar, Palau Island in the Carolinas chain. (Note: These were LORAN-A stations. I visited three of the above and helped rebuild another one of them in the Philippines, but I worked for a two years on LORAN-C stations on Marcus and Yap Islands as an Electronics Tech on the timer-synchronizers and transmitters). 1968- On 22 November 1968, a DC-8 with 107 persons on board disappeared from the radar during final approach to San Francisco International Airport. Visibility was 3/4-mile in fog and the ceiling was 300 feet. A Coast Guard helicopter located the aircraft in the water 6,100 yards from the runway with people on the wings boarding life rafts. Within seven minutes, two additional helicopters and a Coast Guard boat were on the scene. All 107 persons were saved.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 16:08:14 +0000