Posted on Apr 1, 2016

What the SOS Distress Signal Stands For

27.1K

SOS is the international Morse code distress signal (· · · – – – · · ·). This distress signal was first adopted by the German government in radio regulations effective April 1, 1905, and became the worldwide standard under the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed on November 3, 1906, and became effective on July 1, 1908. SOS remained the maritime radio distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.[1] SOS is still recognized as a visual distress signal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOS

What the SOS Distress Signal Stands For

Posted from todayifoundout.com

Posted in these groups: Navy

Navy

Coast Guard Usaf logo

Air Force

Marines

Civilians

Posted >1 y ago

Responses: 9

PO2 Mark Saffell

Posted >1 y ago

well people tend to believe it stands for save our ship but what it really is are the two easiest letters in code from what I have heard.

(6)

Comment

(0)

show previous comments

MSgt Rena Schmidt

>1 y

The saying save our souls what I heard it stood for unless it's breakfast in the military and then it is on a shingle

(1)

(0)

CPO Neil Sauve

>1 y

The true meaning is Save Our Souls...not save our ship...the idea is your the sailor save the ship your self...if the ship is lost then the only thing left to save is the souls that were aboard...that is why aviators when done with hover checks and are leaving the safety of the boat they call green over green (instraments) fuel state (how much fuel they have ingiven in hours) and souls on board.

(2)

(0)

PO2 Jeffery Reiser

>1 y

All I can say is that if you found yourself in the middle of the ocean in a raft with a manual Gibson Girl set sending Morse Code, you were in deep s**t ...

(1)

(0)

TSgt Gwen Walcott

>1 y

PO2 Jeffery Reiser - ... .... .. -

(0)

CPO Greg Pioppi

Posted >1 y ago

In the early days of radio...They used spark gap generators(transmitters) that were very wide banded, that is, they generated a signal that covered a very wide swath of the radio frequency spectrum...When you had all of those transmitters going, you had plenty of "noise" to try to pick out a signal from, the original distress call was CQD _,_, __._ _.. tough to pick out from all of the garbage out there, so like others have stated SOS ... ___ ... is a lot easier to discern.

(3)

Comment

(0)