Which was the first ship to use the SOS signal??

Question

Which was the first ship to use the SOS signal??

Answer 1

Monkeypie is right. The lightship off Nantucket actually signalled HELP in morse code.

Answer 2

(There is no such vessel as 'Azaoahoe' - and 'twas not I who thumbed Dave M, who's answer is very helpful)

However …

"It is sometimes said that Titanic was the first ship to send an SOS, but this is not so. That dubious distinction probably belongs to the American steamer Arapahoe, which, in August 1909, was disabled by a broken propeller shaft off Cape Hatteras. According to some sources, another candidate is the Cunard liner Slavonia, which struck a reef in the Azores on June 10th, 1909. She had better luck than Titanic and all her company were rescued by Hamburg-Amerika's Batavia and Norddeutscher Lloyd's Prinzess Irene."¹

Also …

"The first time the 'SOS' signal was used in an emergency was on 10 June 1909, when the Cunard liner SS Slavonia was wrecked off the Azores. Two steamers received her signals and went to the rescue.

This was nearly three years before the Titanic made her famous signal!"²

And, interestingly (though both these sources seem to be a bit at cross purposes on the point) …

"The first RADIO DISTRESS SIGNAL was transmitted from the East Goodwin Lightship on 17 March 1899 when the merchant vessel Elbe ran aground on the Goodwin Sands. The message was received by the radio operator on duty at the South Foreland Lighthouse, who was able to summon the aid of the Ramsgate lifeboat."² (Much more credible, I feel, than the lightship being rammed and summoning help, herself!)

Despite all these excellent sources, I must also note, with interest, Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne's remarks (above) with regard to the RMS "Republic" and the foggy nature of the problem as to when "SOS" actually replaced "CQD" - in actual use. Because you do specify "SOS".

Great question! (But basically: the Jury's still out!)

¹ http://users.senet.com.au/~gittins/radio...

² http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/sos...

Answer 3

Here is the CORRECT ANSWER>>>

I quote:....

"The first SOS to be broadcast was in August 1909 when the American Steamer Azaoahoe was disabled with a broken propellor shaft"

Also quoted...regarding sos...

"came into force on 1 July 1908"

"The three letters were chosen because they were easy to read and make in Morse Code-three dots, three dashes, three dots- but they did not stand for "Save our Souls", as is often thought."

Answer 4

RMS Titanic?

Answer 5

The first time the 'SOS' signal was used in an emergency was on 10 June 1909, when the Cunard liner SS Slavonia was wrecked off the Azores. Two steamers received her signals and went to the rescue.

This was nearly three years before the Titanic made her famous signal!

Answer 6

titanic

Answer 7

The British were among the LAST to change their distress call from CQD (intended originally as All Stations Urgent) or an easier to remember Seek-You-Danger to SOS.

SOS was chosen, not because it actually stood for anything, but in morse code, (dit-dit-dit-DAH-DAH-DAH-dit-dit-dit) SOS was easy to transmit and be received by even novice wireless operators.

The steamship "Arapahoe" appears to have been the first vessel to send a call for assistance using SOS on August 11, 1909 after breaking a propeller shaft, some three years before RMS Titanic as documented in the New York Times in 1910.

Answer 8

The first SOS was sent in 1909 when the liner RMS Republic was rammed off Nantucket.  The actual mayday signal at the time was CQD.  This was changed to SOS in 1912, Titanic being the first ship to use the new signal to summon assistance.

Answer 9

after striking an iceberg, the titannic started sending the older distress signal "CQ" which meant "come quickly". Then the wireless operator was asked to try the new signal which was of course "SOS" which is meant as either "save our souls" or "save our ship" depending on who you believe. This is the first recorded use of the signal "SOS".