is a
Morse code distress signal
A distress signal, also known as a distress call, is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a soun ...
(), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" are transmitted as an unbroken sequence of three dots / three dashes / three dots, with no spaces between the letters. In
International Morse Code three dots form the letter "S" and three dashes make the letter "O", so "S O S" became a common way to remember the order of the dots and dashes. (, , , and form equivalent sequences, but traditionally is the easiest to remember.)
, when it was first agreed upon by the
International Radio Telegraphic Convention in 1906, was merely a distinctive Morse code sequence and was initially not an abbreviation. Later in popular usage it became associated with mnemonic phrases such as "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship". Moreover, due to its high-profile use in emergencies, the phrase "SOS" has entered general usage to informally indicate a crisis or the need for action.
originated in
German government
The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...
maritime radio regulations adopted effective 1 April 1905. It became a worldwide standard when it was included in the service regulations of the first International Radiotelegraph Convention and signed on 3 November 1906, which became effective on 1 July 1908. In modern terminology, is a Morse "
procedural signal" or "prosign, used as a start-of-message mark for transmissions requesting assistance when loss of life or catastrophic loss of property is imminent. Other prefixes are used for mechanical breakdowns, requests for medical assistance, and a relayed distress signal originally sent by another station. remained the maritime radio distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is a worldwide system for automated emergency signal communication for ships at sea developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) as part of the SOLAS Convent ...
.
is still recognized as a standard distress signal that may be used with any signaling method. It has been used as a visual distress signal, consisting of three short/three long/three short flashes of light, such as from a
survival mirror. In some cases the individual letters "S O S" have been spelled out, for example, stamped in a snowbank or formed out of logs on a beach. "S O S" being readable upside down as well as right side up (as an
ambigram
An ambigram is a calligraphic design that has several interpretations as written.
The term was coined by Douglas Hofstadter in 1983. Most often, ambigrams appear as visually symmetrical words. When flipped, they remain unchanged, or they mutate ...
) is an advantage for visual recognition.
History
Radio (initially known as "wireless telegraphy") was developed in the late 1890s, and was quickly recognized as an important aid to maritime communication. Previously seagoing vessels had adopted a variety of standardized visual and audio distress signals, using such things as semaphore flags, signal flares, bells, and foghorns. However, initially cooperation in standardizing radio distress signals was limited by national differences and rivalries between competing radio companies.
In 1903, an Italian representative at the Berlin
Preliminary Conference on Wireless Telegraphy, Captain Quintino Bonomo, discussed the need for common operating procedures, including the suggestion that "ships in distress... should send the signal SSS DDD at intervals of a few minutes". However, procedural questions were beyond the scope of this conference, so no standard signal was adopted at the time, although Article IV of conference's Final Protocol stated that "Wireless telegraph stations should, unless practically impossible, give priority to calls for help received from ships at sea".
In the absence of international regulations, individual organizations were left to develop their own practices. On 7 January 1904 the
Marconi International Marine Communication Company issued "Circular 57", which specified that, for the company's worldwide installations, beginning 1 February 1904 "the call to be given by ships in distress or in any way requiring assistance shall be
'C.Q.D.'. An alternative proposal, put forward in 1906 by the U.S. Navy, suggested that the
International Code of Signals
The International Code of Signals (ICS) is an international system of signals and codes for use by vessels to communicate important messages regarding safety of navigation and related matters. Signals can be sent by flaghoist, signal lamp ("bl ...
flag signals should be adopted for radio use, including "NC", which stood for "In distress; want immediate assistance".
Germany was the first country to adopt the distress signal, which it called the ''Notzeichen'' signal, as one of three Morse code sequences included in national radio regulations which became effective on 1 April 1905. In 1906, the
first International Radiotelegraph Convention met in Berlin, which produced an agreement signed on 3 November 1906 that become effective on 1 July 1908. The convention adopted an extensive collection of Service Regulations, including Article XVI, which read: "Ships in distress shall use the following signal: repeated at brief intervals".
![RMS Slavonia, 10 June 1909 (Instituto de História Contemporânea)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/RMS_Slavonia%2C_10_June_1909_%28Instituto_de_Hist%C3%B3ria_Contempor%C3%A2nea%29.png)
In both the 1 April 1905 German law and the 1906 international regulations, the distress signal is specified as a continuous Morse code sequence of three dots / three dashes / three dots, with no mention of any alphabetic equivalents. However, in International Morse, three dots comprise the letter "S", and three dashes the letter "O", and it soon became common to informally refer to the distress signal as "S O S", with the 12 January 1907 ''Electrical World'' stating that "Vessels in distress use the special signal, SOS, repeated at short intervals." (In
American Morse code
American Morse Code — also known as Railroad Morse—is the latter-day name for the original version of the Morse Code developed in the mid-1840s, by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail for their electric telegraph. The "American" qualifier was added ...
, which was used by many coastal ships in the United States through the first part of the twentieth century, three dashes stood for the numeral "5", so in a few cases the distress signal was informally referred to as "S 5 S".)
The first ships that have been reported to have transmitted an distress call were the Cunard liner on 10 June 1909 while sailing the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, and the steamer SS ''Arapahoe'' on 11 August 1909 while off the
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
coast. The signal of the ''Arapahoe'' was received by the
United Wireless Telegraph Company
The United Wireless Telegraph Company was the largest radio communications firm in the United States, from its late-1906 formation until its bankruptcy and takeover by Marconi interests in mid-1912. At the time of its demise, the company was opera ...
station at
Hatteras, North Carolina
Hatteras is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras, at its extreme southwestern tip. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 504. Im ...
, and forwarded to the steamer company's offices. However, there was some resistance among
Marconi operators to adopting the new signal, and as late as the April 1912 sinking of the the ship's Marconi operators intermixed
CQD and distress calls. In the interests of consistency and water safety, the use of CQD appears to have died out thereafter.
Later developments
Additional warning and distress signals followed the introduction of SOS. On 20 January 1914, the London International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea adopted as the "Safety Signal" the Morse code sequence "TTT" (three "T's" ())—spaced normally as three letters so as not to be confused with the three dashes of the letter
O ()—and used for messages to ships "involving safety of navigation and being of an urgent character".
"Mayday" voice code
With the development of audio radio transmitters, there was a need for a spoken distress phrase, and "
Mayday" (from
French "help me") was adopted by the 1927 International Radio Convention as the spoken equivalent of SOS. For "TTT", the equivalent spoken signal is "
Sécurité
Sécurité (; French: ''sécurité'') (often repeated thrice, "Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité") is a procedure word used in the maritime radio service that warns the crew that the following message is important safety information. The most co ...
" (from French "safety") for navigational safety, while "
Pan-pan
The radiotelephony message PAN-PAN is the international standard urgency signal that someone aboard a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle uses to declare that they have a situation that is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an immed ...
" (from French "breakdown"; Morse "XXX") signals an urgent but not immediately dangerous situation. French was the international language at the time that these were formalized.
World War II suffix codes
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, additional codes were employed to include immediate details about attacks by enemy vessels, especially in the
Battle of the Atlantic. The signal "SSS" signaled attacked by submarines, while "RRR" warned of an attack by a surface raider, "QQQ" warned of an unknown raider (usually an
auxiliary cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...
), and "AAA" indicated an attack by aircraft. They were usually sent in conjunction with the distress signal. All of these codes later switched from three repeats of the letter to four repeats, e.g., "RRRR".
None of these signals was used on its own. Sending as well as the urgency signal ("XXX" in
CW, and "PAN-PAN" in voice) and safety signal ("TTT" in CW, and "SECURITE" in voice) used similar procedures for effectiveness. These were always followed correctly. Following is a hypothetical example of an signal; the portions in parentheses are an explanation only.
Audio tone signals and automatic alarms
Ships and coastal stations would normally have required quiet times twice an hour to listen for priority signals, for 3 minutes, at different times for
500 kHz and
2182 kHz.
![Radioroom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Radioroom.png)
Since many merchant vessels carried only one or two radio operators, no one might hear a distress signal when both operators were off-duty. Eventually, equipment was invented to summon operators by ringing an alarm in the operator's cabin, and on the bridge, and the only switch able to disable the alarm was only permitted to be in the wireless telegraph room.
The alarm was sent by the operator on the ship in distress transmitting the radiotelegraph alarm signal (auto-alarm) signal—twelve extra-long dashes, each lasting four seconds with a one-second gap between them, and transmitted in A2 (modulated CW). The alarm signal was normally sent with a mechanical or electronic timing circuit to ensure it was sent accurately. However, ships radio room clocks typically had markings on the dial to guide operators in sending the signal manually. The regulations for the auto-alarm were defined in the 1927 ''Safety of Life at Sea'' (SOLAS) international maritime regulations, and in Article 19, § 21, of the General Regulations annexed to the ''International Radiotelegraph Convention'', 1927.5 5.
The Auto Alarm receivers were designed to activate upon receiving four such dashes. Once four valid dashes are detected, the automatic alarm is activated. The distressed ship's operator would then delay sending the message itself to give off-watch radio operators time to reach their radio room.
The radiotelephony equivalent of the radiotelegraph alarm signal is the radiotelephony alarm signal, which is the transmission of alternating tones of 2200 Hz and 1300 Hz, with each tone having a duration of 250 ms. Automatic alarm systems aboard ships must activate when such a signal is received and the receiving vessel is within of the transmitting vessel's position, or if the distress position is in the polar areas (latitude greater than 70° N or 70° S). The alarm should also activate when the call is received and the distance between the vessel in distress and the receiving vessel cannot be determined.
Historical SOS calls
*
Steamship ''Kentucky'' sank in 1910, early use of SOS which saved all 46 lives on board
* (which used
CQD as well), sank in 1912
*, torpedoed in 1915
*
HMHS ''Britannic'', sank in 1916
*, sank in 1956
See also
*
500 kHz
*
2182 kHz
*
CQD
*
Distress signal
A distress signal, also known as a distress call, is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a soun ...
*
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is a worldwide system for automated emergency signal communication for ships at sea developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) as part of the SOLAS Convent ...
(GMDSS)
*
Mayday
*
Pan-pan
The radiotelephony message PAN-PAN is the international standard urgency signal that someone aboard a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle uses to declare that they have a situation that is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an immed ...
*
Prosigns for Morse code
Procedural signs or prosigns are shorthand signals used in Morse code radio telegraphy procedure, for the purpose of simplifying and standardizing radio communication protocol. They are separate from Morse code abbreviations, which consist mainly ...
*
Save Our Shores
Save Our Shores (SOS) is a marine conservation nonprofit dedicated to "foster thriving and sustainable ecosystems in the Monterey Bay and surrounding habitats through equitable environmental action.”
Over the last 43 years, Save Our Shores has ...
*
Sécurité
Sécurité (; French: ''sécurité'') (often repeated thrice, "Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité") is a procedure word used in the maritime radio service that warns the crew that the following message is important safety information. The most co ...
*
Vessel emergency codes
In addition to distress signals like Mayday and pan-pan, most vessels, especially passenger ships, use some emergency signals to alert the crew on board. In some cases, the signals may alert the passengers to danger, but, in others, the objective ...
References
Further reading
* Baarslag, Karl, ''SOS to the Rescue'', Cadmus Books, Chicago, 1935. (Later editions are titled ''Famous Sea Rescues''.)
* Collins, Francis A.
"Some Stirring Wireless Rescues" from ''The Wireless Man'', 1912, pp. 104–141.
* Dilks, John H. III, "Why SOS?" in ''QST'', June 2007, pages 88–89. (Reprint of certain sections of Baarslag, above.)
* Herman, Jeffrey
"My First SOS at NMO" 1994 (radiomarine.org).
* Leech, Arthur
"Thrills That Go with SOS: What Happened When the ''Merida'' Was Rammed" ''Radio Age'', December 1924, pp. 29–30, 67–69. Reviews 1911
''Merida'' collision and sinking.
* Worts, George F.
"Adventures of a Wireless Free-Lance: A Thrill that Came Thrice in a Night-time" ''Radio Broadcast'', June 1924, pp. 147–151. First hand account of a c. 1913 episode when a single shipboard operator had to coordinate responses to three simultaneous Pacific Ocean emergencies.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sos
Distress signals
Emergency communication
Encodings
Morse code
Rescue
Survival skills