Wireless at War

Since 1895, when the history of wireless communication began, some of the most inspired and significant technological advances have been spurred by warfare. Following the demonstration by Heinrich Hertz in 1885 of the existence of electromagnetic radiation, this new field of science was at first inv [...]
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Since 1895, when the history of wireless communication began, some of the most inspired and significant technological advances have been spurred by warfare. Following the demonstration by Heinrich Hertz in 1885 of the existence of electromagnetic radiation, this new field of science was at first investigated by a relatively small group of experimenters, supported by the early telecommunications industrial entities such as the Marconi Company in Great Britain, and Telefunken in Germany, based on the system developed by Professor Braun in conjunction with Adolf Slaby and Georg von Arco. After 1900, as the potential advantages of wireless technology to the battlefield and for marine warfare became apparent, interested industrial organisations multiplied, keeping pace with the growth of the armies and navies that would soon apply their products to devastating effect. How twentieth-century warfare helped to speed the development of radio and electronic communications is worthy of recall. Warfare, however, can be seen as having had a more profound impact on this process over the past 100 years than almost any other driving force. Describing how this impact has led to improved systems of communications and a progressive diminution in size and weight of apparatus is one of the main objectives of this volume. In presenting this examination of the development of military wireless (or radio as it is referred to in general), it will be seen that initially Great Britain is cited as a major source of Australian inspiration; only later does America appear in the context of military radio used in Australia. This reflects the developments in Australia's international relationships. Until after the Second World War, Australia remained very much a colonial element of the diminishing British Empire. Since the 1950s, geographical realities and the emergence of bitterly fought wars in Southeast Asia, and Vietnam in particular, have furthered an alliance with the United States that was initially forged in the Second World War. In more recent times it has led to Australian involvement with the United States in its pursuit of change in Afghanistan and the destruction of al-Qaeda.