AN/FRT-39 HF transmitters
1954 - 800' tower for 50KW LF xmtr
(US Navy Official Photo)
1920 - original towers
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AN/FRT-39 HF transmitters |
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1954 - 800' tower for 50KW LF xmtr (US Navy Official Photo) |
1920 - original towers |
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In 1910, the Navy purchased a 180 ac property from Theodore Corner, which consisted at the time of four structures and what appeared to be an orchard (U.S. Naval Academy, Public Works Department [USNA, PWD] 1916). Initially, the Naval Academy operated a small dairy farm at Greenbury Point. However, this small operation failed to meet the needs of the Academy, and in 1913, the Navy moved the dairy farm to a much larger tract in Gambrills, Maryland. The Academy subsequently established a hog farm on the 100 ac southern portion of the former Corner parcel. This farm, which contained four dwellings, a milk house, cook house, a hog house, four barns, and a wagon shed, was established primarily as a means of disposing of garbage generated in the dining halls in Bancroft Hall, located on the Academy's campus (USNA, PWD 1918; Midshipmen's Store and Service Division 1929). The Academy prided itself on maintaining a scientific operation, complete with hog houses, breeding platforms, and built-in concrete troughs on the 10-ac developed portion of this facility. The remaining 90 ac were used for pasturage, livestock exercise lots, and alfalfa and corn production. None of the average 350 hogs raised on the farm were utilized to feed the corps of midshipmen. Most of the excess stock was sold to the stockyards in Baltimore, and some meat was sent to feed the unmarried employees at the dairy farm in Gambrills (Midshipmen's Store and Service Division l929:2 1,26).
The northern portion of the former Corner farm was developed as a radio transmission facility. The Navy had began testing wireless apparatus as early as 1899, and in 1900, radio stations were established at Washington, D.C., and at the Naval Academy itself. During the ensuing 15 years, the Navy established additional naval shore and ship stations on both coasts, as well as its own radio research laboratory in Anacostia, and a high-power transmitting station at Arlington, Virginia (Gebhard 1979%; Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 1961:3-4). With the advent of World War I, the Navy Department assumed the responsibility for establishing and operating a transatlantic communication system. This system included former commercial properties, transmitting facilities, receiving stations, testing facilities, communications schools, and additional high-power transmission stations on United States possessions in the Pacific and in the Caribbean (Best 1996). By the end of the war, the Navy's communications network included the highest powered arc transmitters in the United States, and was capable of communicating with Navy ships throughout the world (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 1961:7-9; U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of Yards and Docks 1921:365).
The Naval Radio Transmitting Station [NAVRADSTA (T)] at Annapolis was established in 1917 to provide a secure communications link between the United States, France, and England. The Annapolis site was selected due to its remote location along the Chesapeake, as well as for its proximity to Washington (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6; "Radio Transmitting Facility Annapolis, Maryland", n.p.). In 1918, the Navy entered into an agreement with France for the Navy to construct a high-power, long-wave station in France (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 196 1 :9). NAVRADSTA (T) Annapolis, established in 19 18 as a high-powered Very Low Frequency (VLF) station, was designed to operate in conjunction with the French transmitter.
The station was commissioned in August 1918 using two 500-kw Poulson Arc Converter VLF transmitters built by Federal Telegraph Company of San Francisco under a contract from the Bureau of Steam Engineering. Four 600-foot radio towers (Nos. 1-4), designed by the Austin Company, were erected as part of the original construction campaign (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6; "Radio Transmitting Facility Annapolis, Maryland", n.p.). ,--- In addition to the towers, the transmission site also contained a power house and transmitter house, an operator's dwelling, Marine barracks, the residences of the officer in charge and the chief petty officer, a wharf at Possum Point, and a water-supply system (USNA, PWD 1918). The two 500-kw arcs installed in the operations building (Building 5) provided coverage for the Atlantic Ocean, England, and Europe. The station was completed by the summer of 1918, and the first message was sent to France in early September (Gebhard 1979:9). At the time of its completion, the Annapolis station was one of the most powerful in the United States and the world (U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of yards and Docks 1921:365-366).
The transmitter facility was expanded and modified during the 1920s. In 1922, two additional towers (Nos. 5 and 6) were constructed (Best 1996). The Marine barracks were modified to accommodate married enlisted men's quarters, and artesian wells, septic systems, and a technical support building were constructed. North of the fenced facility, the installation's wharves were expanded and several barns were constructed (USNA, PWD 1928). The Naval Academy Hog Farm continued to occupy the land south of the transmission facility.
Development of the northern portion of North Severn proceeded along a different track during this period. The former Taylor property went through a series of owners, including Thaddeus Davids, L. A. Palmer, and C. E. Remson, who acquired it in 1889 (Hopkins 1878; USNA, PWD 1934). An undated survey of this property showed that land use during this period was devoted to agriculture. Approximately 59 ac at the northernmost point of the tract remained wooded, while the remainder had been divided into fenced fields of 8-28 ac. Two peach orchards were present within the property, and a residential complex of three buildings was located overlooking Mill Creek. At the head of Carr's Creek near the southern boundary of the property, a small portion of land was designated as a "Mineyard;" this parcel may have been associated with the rifle ranges then under development on the neck of land between Carr's Creek and the Severn River (USNA, PWD n.d.). At some time prior to 1934, the Remson farm was acquired by the Greenbury Land and Development Company, presumably for development as a recreational or vacation complex. One small 7 ac parcel bordering Mill Creek was owned by the Acme Realty Company of Maryland (USNA, PWD 1934).
During the 1930s, the mission of NAVRADSTA Annapolis was expanded to include high frequency radio transmissions. During this period, High Frequency (HF), Medium Frequency (MF), and Low Frequency (LF) transmitters were added to support the original VLF arc converter transmitters (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6). In 1937, the original VLF transmitter was replaced, and a new antenna system installed (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6; "Radio Transmitting Facility Annapolis, Maryland", n.p.).
Other modifications included the addition of one new building at Possum Point and the extension of the unpaved Greenbury Point Road from the transmitter station complex to the southern tip of the point. In 1935, the Hog Farm was relocated to the northern portion of the tract, between the transmitter facility and the wharf at Possum Point (USNA, PWD 1935a, 1935b). Between 1939 and 1940, these facilities augmented fire protection capabilities at the station. The facility also made minor infrastructure improvements with the construction of a pumphouse (NA76), a concrete dam (NA77), and reservoir.
By 1940, the Navy's radio communication system encompassed a global chain of high, medium, and low fkequency transmitting stations, receiving stations, and supplementary stations. The Bureau of Yards and Docks' construction program for radio stations in the continental United States during World War II was relatively modest, with allocations for buildings and structures totaling $25,000,000. Additional funds allocated for new equipment under the Bureau of Ships were used to make improvements to both west and east coast facilities, including Annapolis. The major emphasis was directed towards expanding
overseas radio facilities at Hawaii and other advanced bases (U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of Yards and Docks 1947:401). World War I1 forced a tremendous expansion of the capacity of the Annapolis Station. During the war, NAVRADSTA Annapolis became the "primary transmitting station for communication command and control with deployed units" (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6). The station's capacity was upgraded with the construction of 50 kw LF transmitters, and a continuous "modernization plan" was instituted. The station's pre-war complement of 24 radio operators was increased to 50 during the war, and the number of radio transmitters almost tripled (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 1946:45-46).
Expansion of the facility's mission necessitated changes in land use at the installation. The former Remson Farm property bordering Mill Creek was acquired in 1942, and was utilized to accommodate the expanded transmission facilities, including five transmission towers, a receiving station, a bachelor officers quarters @JA74), and a golf course (USNA, PWD 1943a). On the transmitter parcel itself, the site of the former hog farm was developed for additional residential housing, and the wharf facilities at Possum Point apparently were dismantled (USNA, PWD 1943b).
The post World War I1 era was dominated by increased hostilities in Soviet-American relations and a proliferation of new technologies in communications. Developments at NAVRADSTA Annapolis responded to and reflected these outside influences. In August 1953, the Annapolis facility became part of the U.S. Naval Communications Station, Washington, D.C., which consisted of a communications center and two other radio stations (Cheltenham and Arlington). In 1955, microwave communications were installed between Cheltenham and Annapolis to replace telephone land lines.
Construction activity at Annapolis during the late 1940s and 1950s included a transmitter building (Building 128); a helix house; a battery house (Building 138); a Communications Control Link Building (Building 150); an ANJFRT-4 transmitter; an 800-foot vertical radiator tower; three AN/FRT-39 transmitters in Building 60; seven AN/FRT-25 transmitters; and, Communication Moon Relay (CMR) transmitter building (Building 151). A microwave duplex teletype circuit also was activated with Fort Ritchie, Maryland. In 1958, a 200-foot steel tower was erected at the north end of the Annapolis radio station, and a 190-foot steel tower was constructed adjacent to Building 60 (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6).
The 1960s and 1970s were a dynamic period for Annapolis, as many of the earlier, now obsolete transmitter systems were upgraded to accommodate newer, state-of-the-art systems. The original 1918 radio towers (Contract 2650-1918) were demolished in 1969. Transmitters were removed or transferred to other facilities. The Model TBJ VLF system, installed in 1938, remained in continual use until 1969, when it was upgraded to a new system (Model AN/FRT-87 VLF) designed by Continental Electronics. The VLF system was capable of communicating with submerged submarine 50 to 60 feet below the surface (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6; "Radio Transmitting Facility Annapolis, Maryland", n.p.; J. Schorpp, personal communication, 17 November 1995).
The station was renamed Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) in 1974 and became a component of the Naval Communications Area Master Station (NAVCOMTELSTA), Atlantic. As a department of NAVCOMTELSTA, NRTF Annapolis was a vital link in the communications system that served the fleet and the Defense Communications Agency. The mission of NRTF Annapolis was to "operate and maintain those facilities, equipments, devices and systems necessary to provide reliable communications for the command, operational control and administration of the Naval establishment ashore and afloat, and to perform such other functions as may be directed by the Commanding Officer" (Naval Radio Transmitter Facility n.d.).
As communications technology improved, old systems requiring manpower were replaced with computer and satellite equipment. This allowed manpower reductions and consolidation of space required to operate the station. During the 1970s, the station's total acreage was reduced. The acreage containing the golf course was transferred to USNA. When the requirement for HF operations was eliminated in 1976 with the introduction of satellite communications, the MF and HF transmitters at NRTF Annapolis were removed or transferred. In contrast, an upgrade of communications equipment, communications to the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleet units.
In 1988, the submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia was linked with NRTF Annapolis, providing them with LF and VLF communications capabilities via Annapolis. In October 1988, a CVLF terminal was installed at NRTF, which was designed to meet the needs of submarine tenders, and NATO submarine and surface platforms (Nimitz Library, Miscellaneous Records of the Naval Station, Box No. 1, Folder No. 6).