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Wartime News Broadcasts


Hawk914
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I posted a poll in another section asking if anyone was interested in hearing WWII-era radio broadcasts of various sorts. It seems there's a bit of interest so I posted a few links to MP3s for download.

 

I'd also asked for any opinions as to an appropriate section for posting these audio tracks on a regular basis, but nobody spoke up on that score so I'm posting them here in 'Homefront', as it seems to be the most appropriate place.

 

I'll be posting two or three links at a time and will leave the files available until my host fills up and rotation is necessary. When deleting older files I'll make an announcement to that effect.

 

Here's the first few...

 

 

The first is an eyewitness account from off the Normandy shore on the night of June 6th, 1944.

 

The second is an NBC news broadcast from the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

 

The third is a 'guest' broadcast by Jack Benny and his gang a week after their normal show went off the air for the season. It's cut off a bit at the beginning, unfortunately, and you might not get some of the running gags unless you're a JB fan, but it's still a good listen.

 

 

Right-Click and Save...

 

George Hicks Pool Broadcast D-Day 6MB

41-12-08 (NBC) News - War Reports 7MB

Camel Comedy Caravan - 1943-06-11 - Host Jack Benny 9MB

 

 

The dates go year-month-day.

 

 

Someone asked if I had anything dealing with the MTO...

 

42-11-08 (CBS) World News Today - Allies Invade North Africa 5.55MB

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

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There's about 6GB worth on the PC and at least thrice that on CD... I've kinda lost track of what's been burned to disc, actually!

 

But a good bit of what I have is stuff which I wouldn't necessarily post here. I want to try and post only tracks from the Second World War years, unless folks want to hear shows from the thirties and late forties to early fifities as well. And there are programs like Lux Radio Theater which, to be honest, can be boring as hell unless it's a war story or a comedy. So I would only post certain episodes from that series, such as stories like 'Air Force' and 'Twelve O'Clock High', etc.

 

As far as the news broadcasts go, there's about 1.7GB, although there might still be some dupes in there which I've yet to weed out.

 

I also have access to a ton more through my local OTR club. Literally tens of thousands of shows... waaaay too much to ever listen to!

 

I know this is a US-only forum, but I'd like to post some early war and pre-war stuff, beginning around 1938. Even though the USA was not in the war in '39-'40 and most of '41, we were already 'in the game' and some of the news broadcasts from that time are quite interesting to listen to.

 

I'll see if I can post some more tomorrow and will try to post tracks chronologically from now on... at least as far as the news broadcasts go.

 

 

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I don't think posting pre ww2 radio files will be a problem,as the u.s was slowly on the build up to the war like most nations.

 

Your imput to the usmf is greatly welcomed.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave.

 

 

There's about 6GB worth on the PC and at least thrice that on CD... I've kinda lost track of what's been burned to disc, actually!

 

But a good bit of what I have is stuff which I wouldn't necessarily post here. I want to try and post only tracks from the Second World War years, unless folks want to hear shows from the thirties and late forties to early fifities as well. And there are programs like Lux Radio Theater which, to be honest, can be boring as hell unless it's a war story or a comedy. So I would only post certain episodes from that series, such as stories like 'Air Force' and 'Twelve O'Clock High', etc.

 

As far as the news broadcasts go, there's about 1.7GB, although there might still be some dupes in there which I've yet to weed out.

 

I also have access to a ton more through my local OTR club. Literally tens of thousands of shows... waaaay too much to ever listen to!

 

I know this is a US-only forum, but I'd like to post some early war and pre-war stuff, beginning around 1938. Even though the USA was not in the war in '39-'40 and most of '41, we were already 'in the game' and some of the news broadcasts from that time are quite interesting to listen to.

 

I'll see if I can post some more tomorrow and will try to post tracks chronologically from now on... at least as far as the news broadcasts go.

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Thanks Dave!

 

Now if only I can make said input a bit more regularly, all would be groovy...

 

I'd hoped to post some things a few days ago but I'm doing a bit of re-organization so that things will be a bit more smooth on my end when I start to post these regularly.

 

In the meantime, here's a track that's not exactly war-related but one which folks may find interesting. It's the description of the Hindenburg incident as given by Herb Morrison.

 

This track can actually be found online HERE, although only as a RealAudio playlist file. So I've provided the link to download an MP3 if you'd like. It's still worth looking at that page for a little background on what happened and how the original report was broadcast.

 

Here's the MP3

 

37-05-06 Hindenburg

 

 

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I love listening to these radio shows and news broadcasts. I have the Jack Benny collection from the 30's to the 50's and most of the Command performance shows.

There was someone on E-Bay who was selling disc recordings on CD of news bulletins actually recorded from the radio during the war but doesn't seem to be selling them any more. I have a fully working ww2 U.S military short wave radio that picks up all round the world. I would have loved to go back in time to listen to these shows through this set.

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I love listening to these radio shows and news broadcasts. I have the Jack Benny collection from the 30's to the 50's and most of the Command performance shows.

There was someone on E-Bay who was selling disc recordings on CD of news bulletins actually recorded from the radio during the war but doesn't seem to be selling them any more. I have a fully working ww2 U.S military short wave radio that picks up all round the world. I would have loved to go back in time to listen to these shows through this set.

I often wonder what it was like to listen to these when they were first broadcast...

 

I've got that same set of Jack Benny too... it's great stuff! Unfortunately, I found out that at least one of my discs is deteriorating and some data is corrupted. Luckily I made some copies for friends and can hopefully recover some good files from them. This leads me to a bit of advice for those who store stuff on CD... if you're going to store things on disc use CD-RWs if possible because they don't have as high a failure rate as CD-Rs.

 

I hadn't seen that collection of News shows on epay... if it was a relatively large compilation I might have been interested and it might have saved me some work. Most of the news shows I have were found through P2P networks over the course of a year or so. But then again, I think searching for 'em was alot more fun than buying a ready-made collection would have been. I like the hunt! Still, that disc from epay might have been useful for plugging some holes in the collection.

 

Anyhoo, here's some Bob Hope shows from 1938. I'll post some more news broadcasts next time 'round... and who knows what else.

 

38-09-27 - Guest - Constance Bennett 6.5MB

38-10-04 - Guest - Olivia DeHavilland 6.34MB

38-11-01 - Guest - Martha Raye 6.16MB

38-11-08 - Guest - Chico Marx 6.65MB

38-12-20 - Guest - Dagwood & Blondie 6.23MB

 

 

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I love the the ribbing and insults between Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and guests. :D Can you enlighten us more about deteriorating discs as i would hate to see my stuff wiped off. How can you tell, what are the signs. Are there rogue makes of disc etc. Is there something better to store your collection on.

I have noticed that some recordings need going through an editing process, I am not worried about the hiss and pops but the clarity and loudness of the show being played. One of the Command performance shows hosted by Bob Hope, North African show 1943 staring the cast of 4 Jill's in a Jeep, you have to turn the sound up full just to here it. There seems to be an echo or tinny sound to it as on on some other broadcasts. Any good editing packages that would rectify the quality a bit and enhance the sound. Do you also know where the original recordings come from. It sounds as if they are all copied from recording discs.

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That's what I like about these old comedy shows... the witty banter. Even if it is scripted, it's still hilarious... especially if they're running gags.

 

 

Audio software... there are some programs which you can use to do a bit of restoration work in order to improve the sound of a track, but I have yet to dive into the deep end of that pool. If and when I learn more about it I shall let you know.

 

 

Now, to address your questions about CDs... I have no truly concrete answers, unfortunately. I've done only a small bit of research and don't fully understand all the ins and outs and pros and cons of CD data storage.

 

I can tell you however, that the problem I've encountered doesn't have anything to do with degradation of sound quality, but rather with the actual data on the disc and how it's stored on the disc. If there is a problem of this nature you will get an error message of some sort, usually (but not always) referring to a 'read error'.

 

Anyway, here's one problem which I don't fully understand and which is the scariest of all data loss problems because I don't think we as consumers can do much about it:

 

Recordable CDs utilize a dye which is instrumental in writing data onto the disc and in retaining it on same. You've seen different colored CD-Rs? Most of them have a blue or green tint on the 'read' side... that's the dye. It seems that this dye is one of the prime causes of data loss. I wish I could give you a concise explanation; I have yet to do my homework on this particular data loss problem, but it seems that there are two separate issues with the dye.

 

One has something to do with a code of some sort that is pre-installed on the discs during production. This code is supposed to match the dye being used and help disc readers and writers to read and write properly... and some manufacturers do not use the proper code/dye combination.

 

There is also a problem with the dyes themselves. Some are more stable than others, and if the dye begins to break down then data loss is probable.

 

As to which manufacturers you have to wary of, I think for the most part you should be safe by sticking with the big names. However, I recall reading that some manufacturers contract work out... so an otherwise trustworthy 'brand' name may not guarantee quality in the case of CD-Rs.

 

I think that's the basic gist of the dye problem, but am not sure... perhaps someone who knows more about this stuff can either corroborate or correct what I've said.

 

 

Here are some problems which we, as consumers, can control... and they're mostly common sense.

 

First and foremost, keep your discs in good condition. Store them properly in a jewel case or disc sleeves, (preferably the former) don't stack them loosely all over the place. And keep them away from environmental extremes such as heat and cold.

 

Do not let discs get wet and remain wet. If you find the need to clean a disc, first make sure that there are no cracks or deep scratches which might allow water to seep inside of the disc. If there is such damage, do a local wash in the area that needs a cleaning.

 

I would not recommend a 'disc-washer' of any sort. Water and a mild liquid dish detergent, or soft soap will do fine... work up a lather with your hands and gently scrub the disc, trying to avoid a circular motion. Rinse thoroughly and either let air dry, or dab with a soft cloth or kleenex. If you have to draw a cloth or kleenex across the surface of the disc for any reason, do so in a straight line from the inside out (or vice versa), again avoiding any circular motion. That way, if a scratch is made, there's less of a chance that it will run along an entire sequence of code on the disc. (The sequence of code written on CDs is equivalent to the groove on a vinyl record... it runs in a continuous line in a circular pattern, albeit from the inside out rather than outside in, as is the case with a record. A relatively straight scratch running perpendicular to the lines of code will cause little trouble, more often than not. However a scratch which runs along the code line, in a circular pattern, has more potential to cause problems.)

 

Speaking of scratches... this has been a hotly debated topic among audiophiles for years. There are those who assert that scratches on the 'read' side (bottom) of a disc aren't usually as troublesome as some make them out to be... which is true to a point. I've seen discs that are scratched all to hell, with relatively fine scratches, which play fine on any machine they're put into. If you take a big 'ole gouge outta 'yer CD, well then that's a bad thing. But light to moderate scratches on the read side of a disc usually don't mark the end of the world.

 

The REAL problem with scratches, dings and dents is the label side (top) of a disc. There is a very thin aluminum layer encased inside of a CD which is where the data is actually stored. This aluminum layer is very near to the surface of the label side of the disc and is more prone to damage than the read side. That's why you're advised to write on discs with a felt-tipped pen rather than a ball-point... ball-points will make an impression in the aluminum and possibly cause data corruption.

 

So if you have to be careful with one side of the disc as opposed to the other, make sure it's the label side that receives the most protection.

 

Speaking of labels, another problem is stick-on labels for CD-Rs. DO NOT USE THEM. They're a great idea, but a bad risk. In talking with a number of folks about this, the general consensus seems to be that there is a disproportionately high number of failed discs among those which have had stick-on labels applied. Apparently chemicals in the adhesive from some of these labels can leech through the thin plastic layer to the aluminum layer and wreak havoc. If you do have a disc with a label, I'd say that you should check to see if it's ok and then transfer the data to another disc.

 

Regular backing-up of back-ups is a good idea. If you have data stored on any medium, CD or not, it's a good idea to check it out every so often and see if things are still A-O-K. If you think that you need to make a fresh back-up, do so.

 

I've specifically mentioned CD-Rs and not CD-RWs. Both types are vulnerable to all of the problems mentioned. But it seems that, in my experience and that of many folks I've talked to, CD-RWs are less vulnerable than CD-Rs. Matter of fact, knock on wood, I've yet to have any trouble of any sort with a CD-RW. (Except the one we dipped in the fryer when I was a kid working at the local slaughter-hog... but that's a different story!)

 

The bottom line is this: keep your discs in good shape. Don't leave 'em loose around the computer or wherever else you may use them. Check each disc every so often to make sure there are no problems and make new back-ups periodically.

 

 

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Even though this material is 60 to 70 years old its new material to me with the banter and songs etc, much more entertaining than stuff put on the TV these days. I think it won't be long before TV does itself a diservice and ends up being less popular as radio was to TV 50 or so years ago. I always thought that data was burned onto disc and the trouble came from disintegrating CDs.

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I have just look into this problem of storing data on these CD R discs and Blackwolf is right. It is worrying as i thought everything i saved was alright and saved forever. crying.gif

I was wondering if you could store and save all recordings on a memory stick or similar device that you could re do Cd's that have lost the data. I am sure that these Data devices don't have the same dye technology. Any other methods of storing data for long term. think.gif

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Sorry for not posting here in a while...

 

Alternate methods of storage that I'm considering do include memory sticks and cards. I'm also thinking of getting an external hard drive, which seems to be one of the best alternatives as I see it.

 

Anyhoo, back to the soundz... I wanted to try and post some stuff in more or less chronological order but will probably post some things out of order now and again.

 

A thread in the Aircraft section inspired me to upload this one... it's a Bob Hope show circa 1942 which saw 'ole shovelnose and crew broadcasting from Las Vegas Army Air Field where the AAF had a gunnery school.

 

43-11-09 - Guest - Jane Wyman Las Vegas AAF Gunnery School 6.23MB

 

 

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Oops, I made a typo... that was a show from 1943, not 1942...

 

Here's another Bob Hope show, this time from 1951. It was broadcast from Edwards AFB with guests Ava Gardner and Chuck Yeager, who sounds pretty good and might have made a decent radio actor! He even does a slight bit of ad-libbing which turned out to be pretty funny...

 

51-03-06 - Guests - Ava Gardner & Chuck Yeager Edwards Air Force Base 6.28MB

 

 

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File not found or URL is incorrect when trying to down load the Chuck Yeager file

Grrrrrr... I keep forgetting that this host I'm using doesn't allow certain characters as part of a file name. Here's a new link that should work...

 

51-03-06 - Guests - Ava Gardner Chuck Yeager Edwards Air Force Base 6.28MB

 

 

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