*** Welcome to piglix ***

Goliath transmitter


Goliath transmitter was a VLF transmitter of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine near Kalbe an der Milde in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, which was in service from 1943 to 1945. It had a maximum transmission power of 1800 kW and was the most powerful transmitter of its time.

From 1943 to the end of World War II, Goliath was the main radio transmitter for German submarine radio communications, operating on frequencies between 15 and 25 kHz with a main working frequency of 16.55 kHz. Using up to 1800 kW of power, Goliath's transmissions could be received worldwide including submerged submarines in the Caribbean, but had difficulty penetrating Norwegian fjords.

Goliath used three umbrella antennae, which were arranged radially around three 210 metre tall guyed steel tube masts and were insulated against ground. At their edges these antennas were mounted on grounded 170 metre tall guyed lattice steel masts. Three of these masts carried two umbrella antennas to comprise 15 lattice steel masts.

Shortly after World War II, the Goliath transmitter buildings and antennae were reportedly destroyed by the Soviets. Today only one 170 meter mast base remains of the original installation.

According to the interview given in 2007 by the commander of the present-day Goliath facility in Russia, Captain 1st Rank Yuri Gorev, to the Nizhny Novgorod edition of Argumenty i Fakty, Goliath was rebuilt between 1949 and 1952 in the Kudma River valley, in the southern suburbs of Nizhny Novgorod (Kstovsky District; 56°10′19″N 43°55′54″E / 56.17194°N 43.93167°E / 56.17194; 43.93167). Since then, the station has been transmitting commands and time signals RJH99 for the Russian Navy. Since the 1960s, it has also participated in tracking spacecraft. The nearby settlement for the staff of the facility is known under the name Druzhniy.


...
Wikipedia

...