Alaska Communications System (ACS)
Encyclopedia
The Alaska Communications System (ACS), also known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), was a system of cables and telegraph lines authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1900 and constructed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The communications lines were to serve both military and civilian needs in the territory of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. By 1904, ACS comprised some 2100 miles (3,379.6 km) of undersea cable, 1,400 plus miles of land lines, and a wireless segment across at least 107 miles (172.2 km). On May 15, 1936 WAMCATS was renamed the Alaska Communications System. The Alaska Communications System remained under the control of the Army Signal Corps until 1962 when it was taken over by the U.S. Air Force.
The Alaska Communications System (ACS), also known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), was a system of cables and telegraph lines authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1900 and constructed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The communications lines were to serve both military and civilian needs in the territory of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. By 1904, ACS comprised some 2100 miles (3,379.6 km) of undersea cable, 1,400 plus miles of land lines, and a wireless segment across at least 107 miles (172.2 km). Answers.com US Military Dictionary "Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System" WAMCATS On May 15, 1936 WAMCATS was renamed the Alaska Communications System. 59th Signal Battalion "Voice of the Arctic" The Alaska Communications System remained under the control of the Army Signal Corps until 1962 when it was taken over by the U.S. Air Force.
The Alaska Communications System (ACS), also known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), was a system of cables and telegraph lines authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1900 and constructed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The communications lines were to serve both military and civilian needs in the territory of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. By 1904, ACS comprised some 2100 miles (3,379.6 km) of undersea cable, 1,400 plus miles of land lines, and a wireless segment across at least 107 miles (172.2 km). Answers.com US Military Dictionary "Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System" WAMCATS On May 15, 1936 WAMCATS was renamed the Alaska Communications System. 59th Signal Battalion "Voice of the Arctic" The Alaska Communications System remained under the control of the Army Signal Corps until 1962 when it was taken over by the U.S. Air Force.The ACS handled the radioteletype
Radioteletype
Radioteletype is a telecommunications system consisting originally of two or more electromechanical teleprinters in different locations, later superseded by personal computers running software to emulate teleprinters, connected by radio rather than a wired link.The term radioteletype is used to...

, radio telephone, 500 kHz ship-to-shore frequencies, collected communications intelligence, and other services for more than half a century in Alaska. Records of the office of the Chief Signal Officer

The Army Signal Corps (which develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of all the U.S. armed forces) connected military posts with each other and with the continental United States. This system of thousands of miles of suspended landlines and submarine cable included the first successful long-distance radio operation in the world. The telegraph was also the first major contribution to Alaskan infrastructure provided by the U.S. federal government, marking the beginning of the government's central role in the development of Alaska. "Connecting Alaska: The Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System" By David Eric Jessup, University of Washington

At the turn of the 20th century, when the United States was committing American troops to military engagements around the world, the incredible work of the Signal Corps in Alaska worked to make sure military communications could flow. An important message, such as General MacArthur's World War II demand for the surrender of the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 was received and automatically recorded as printed text and parallel punched holes on paper tape and could then be relayed on to other stations. "General MacArthur's Surrender Order To The Japanese, Text by: Janice Reynolds Cook, based on Information Provided by Charlie Burrow

The ACS also provided a vital lifeline - sometimes quite literally - to the many remote and almost inaccessible communities across Alaska: it enabled the icebound city of Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...

 to alert the outside world about a diphtheria outbreak which led to the successful 1925 serum run to Nome
1925 serum run to Nome
During the 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy," 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska in a record-breaking five and a half days, saving the small city of Nome and the surrounding communities from...

.

History

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alaska was a cold and inhospitable place where travel, let alone news, took a month or more to happen. In 1870 during the height of the Klondike gold rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...

, the U.S. Army Weather Bureau began to establish isolated forts (meteorological stations) throughout the state. These stations were usually not much more than cold, lonely little Quonset huts manned by a single radio operator or soldier. US Army lineage of Signal Service in Alaska

In 1900 the Congress appropriated nearly a half a million dollars for the purpose of establishing a land and underwater communications system connecting the various military posts in Alaska with the rest of the United States.

The communications system was operated by signal soldiers assigned to the depot companies at the various forts around Alaska. WAMCATS soldiers reported directly to the Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army.

Wired telephone poles eventually were put in place in Alaska, however they were not too reliable. One of the problems was that heavy snow and ice typical in Alaska, would cause the telephone poles to fall over, breaking the connections. During the winter there might be six feet of frozen snow that could topple poles. "The Alaska Communications System By B. McCalley Laying cable underwater would solve part of that problem, and would also help the military with ship to shore communications.

The first submarine telegraph cable laid by the United States Signal Corps was in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 in 1899. Soon thereafter, underwater cable was first laid in Alaska in 1900, when the vessel CS Orizaba connected Unalakik to St. Michael and St. Michael to Safety Island, Cape Nome. "History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications: U.S. Armed Forces Cables by Bill Glover

Between 1900 and 1905, Army soldiers of the 59th Signal Battalion (also known as the "Voice of the Arctic") constructed a telegraph line linking the U.S. Army posts across Alaska with each other, including a 107 miles (172.2 km) wireless system crossing Norton Sound on the west coast of Alaska. In 1903 an underwater cable between Sitka, Alaska and Seattle, Washington was also laid, allowing rapid communication between Alaska and the lower continental U.S.

By 1918, the 1st Signal Service Company was activated at Valdez, Alaska
Valdez, Alaska
Valdez is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,020. The city is one of the most important ports in Alaska. The port of Valdez was named in 1790 after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdés y...

 and 2nd Signal Service Company at Fort Gibbon to operate WAMCATS in Alaska. The 2nd Signal Service Company was not formally inactivated until 1927.

The vessel CS Dellwood undertook the laying of a new submarine cable in 1924 between Seattle and Alaska with a post at Ketchikan.

From 1931 the Army Signal Corps did not own a cable ship and so the system deteriorated until the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

in 1941.

The first submarine telephone cables were laid in 1956 with CS's Albert J. Myer and Basil O. Lenoir undertaking the work. The cable came ashore at around 40 miles (64.4 km) intervals.

The ACS was eventually transferred to the Air Force in July 1962.

U.S. Army Cable Ships

  • Orizaba
  • Hooker
  • Romulus
  • Burnside
  • Liscum
  • Cyrus W. Field
  • Samuel Mills
  • Joseph Henry
  • Dellwood
  • Silverado
  • Glassford
  • Basil O. Lenoir
  • Albert J. Myer
  • William Bullard
  • Ellery W. Niles

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK