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North, Orel, Bumblebee - famous Soviet radio stations of the Cold War

You can be three times brave and lucky, but all efforts turn into zero if you do not have a radio station.



The history of the emergence of special radio equipment to transmit intelligence messages originated in the 20 years of the last century. In 30 years, was offered the option of transporting such devices in a regular suitcase, which at first glance was not much different from civilian. This compact “invention” proposed by the French and German intelligence services soon became popular among the intelligence services of other countries. To say that such radio stations were cumbersome is to say nothing. Radio receivers and transmitters on vacuum tubes demanded more physical training. But as time went on, and with it, the design of devices improved.

The use of various or various, including the most advanced, technical means of pre-encrypting text messages is a necessary moment of intelligence work.

Radio North


At the end of the 30s, before the Second World War in the USSR, there was an acute need for the creation of small radio stations for military intelligence, the NKVD, partisan detachments and troops. The already existing radio stations used by geologists and polar explorers came to the rescue, such devices became the basis for the development of the well-known first shortwave radio stations: PP-16, Belka, Omega, the legendary portable three-lamp KV North telegraph radio station (later).

Radio North began production in 1941 at the Kozitsky plant (during the siege of Leningrad), the device was manufactured in the strictest secrecy. The volumes were impressive - in the first six months, 1000 copies were produced, and by 1943, 2000 devices were “stamped” every month. It should be noted that since 1942, after some improvements, the radio station began to carry the name “Sever-bis”.

A great victory. Volume VII. The codes of the scouts and partisans:
Precisely since, as in September 1941, the radio station "North" entered service. Before the advent of this radio, the losses of the agents were extremely large. With its adoption, our command made it possible not only to receive intelligence information from the enemy’s rear in time, but also to determine the areas of action of reconnaissance and partisan formations, assign them tasks, coordinate their actions with army units, supply everything necessary for everyday life and perform tasks behind enemy lines. , evacuate the wounded and sick, etc.

The Soviet radio station North was the most popular device, and the Germans were confident that this miracle of technology was an English development. A 2 W North station weighed only 2 kg (excluding batteries and antennas), worked in the shortwave range from 30 m to 150 m, the communication range was almost 400 km.

During the siege of Leningrad, radiograms were sometimes obtained at a very high price, the agents were children (12-13 years old) and women, they were sent en masse to the territory occupied by the enemies from Leningrad. They transmitted information about exactly where cannons, airfields and German troops are located.

In the early years of the war, new radio stations were actively produced: Kharkov Partisan and Volga, Saratov RPO Prima, variants of Belka radio stations, 4TUD-Belka, Nabla, Mars, Seal, Tenzor, Jack. Powerful radio transmitters were developed with the equally powerful name Leo, Volna.

The war showed what a huge role in the control of all armed forces as a whole, each branch of the army separately and in their interaction plays the radio.

Postwar years. Cold war


R-350 - Soviet spy radio, developed in 1955, the successor of the post-war radio station Electron. An electron power of 50 W with a communication range of up to 3,000 km was used to communicate with Japan. The station worked in the HF range, weighed 8 kg. During World War II and during the Cold War, long-distance wireless communication was often performed on radio frequency HF bands using Morse code.


Postwar Radio Electron

The enemy did not sleep and constantly tried to determine the direction (bearing) to the source of radio emission. To shorten the time of the broadcast to the maximum and transmit uzhatye messages - has become an urgent need. To this end, various systems have been developed to help reduce the length of messages. One of the methods was to replace long sentences and frequently used expressions with a special code (international Q-codes, the use of various military and civil code books). With the heat of the Cold War, the need to send more and more messages also increased, and in order to prevent detection and interception of programs, the development of more advanced protection methods began, and this was how a coder was created. Radio Electron was the first station in which such a device was used.

R-350 Eagle


The R-350 with the encoder was developed by the KGB Research Institute, most likely in Kuchino (Moscow region), in 1955. In 1957, the device was modified in the R-350M, codenamed Orel-M. In comparison with the Electron radio station, the R-350 was more reliable, it was used by special forces, GRU, mobile reconnaissance groups of the parachute assault forces of the MGB. There was a version with inscriptions on the front panel in Russian, as well as a version with inscriptions in English.


R-350 Eagle

The P-350 was extremely easy to maintain. All radio tubes could be removed directly from the front panel. Spare lamps were stored inside the top cover.









R-350 - Army HF radio station, the transmitter power was 3.5 W, telegraphy transmission rate - 150 groups per minute. The device consisted of a transmitter, receiver and power supply. Currently there is no information about the power source.

The R-350 was the first Soviet spy radio launched into mass production; for a long time the device was the most popular (until 1957). Later, the improved R-350M took its place, the radio station began to be delivered to other Warsaw Pact countries (East Germany). In the mid-1960s, the P-350 and P-350M were replaced with the P-354 (Bumblebee).

The transmitter and receiver of the radio station R-350 could be removed without difficulty; it consisted of the following functional blocks:



Transmitter

Element base of the radio station - radio tubes series 227. The radio was powered from the AC network, and could also work from batteries, including the car.


Receiver

The complexes of radio centers allowed to automatically rebuild transmitters and receivers to 10 pre-prepared radio frequencies, which significantly reduced the time of communication sessions and accelerated the passage of information. The text of the information was accumulated on a standard film (35 mm) and transmitted at a speed of 150 groups per minute. The information received at the radio node was recorded on a disk tape recorder.

The kit of the radio station included a device - a telegraph transmitter with “speed”, a film was inserted into it, in case the operator could not send messages in Morse code, an electric pen was provided, it had to slide 10 slots over the device.



The digital message was first stored on a photographic film, standard 35-mm films were used in the USSR, firstly they were widely available throughout the world, secondly their purchase by an agent would not attract attention abroad. The film was inserted into the slot of the perforator, the operator pressed the corresponding buttons on top of the device. Each number on the button meant a specific hole on the film, the film automatically moved one step each time it was pressed. When the entire radiogram was packed, the machine was connected instead of the key and scrolled at normal speed through the encoder.







R-350M Orel-M




The P-350M, a Soviet spy radio receiver, was developed in the former USSR (in 1957). As already written earlier, this device was the successor to the early R-350, it was used not only in the Soviet Union, but also in other Warsaw Pact countries. Like its predecessor, the R-350 radio station, the R-350M was available in “Russian” and English versions. The latter was used outside the USSR.



Radio station R-350 was improved, modernized and it began to be produced as R-350M. The transmitter frequency range is from 1800 to 1200 kHz (167-25 m), and the output power was at least 6 W. The frequency range of the receiver ranged from 1800 to 7000 kHz (167-42.9 m).

The radio was powered through a converter from a 6 W battery, consisting of 4 silver-zinc batteries. The battery charge was enough for 5 sessions: 20 minutes - reception, 10 - transmission. The station was charged (in field conditions) from a hand-held generator E-348M or from an AC network of 220 V (or 127 V / 50 Hz) through a portable charger or charger ZU-1. The backup battery was a dry battery: 2 anode batteries and one battery (A-3).



The radio operator took only 3-4 minutes to assemble / disassemble the radio station. The transportation and operation of the device was “on the shoulders” of one operator. The radio station functioned at temperatures from -40 C to +50 C at a relative humidity of up to 98%. At temperatures below zero, the E-348M manual generator was used to charge the batteries. The dimensions of the metal case of the radio station are 325 x 306 x 151 mm, the weight of the entire device is at least 12.8 kg. The body of the radio station protected the device from mechanical damage and from vibration during transportation, from snow, rain, dust and dirt.

The transmitter frequency range was divided into individual 11 sub-bands:


The frequency range of the receiver was divided into 2 sub-bands:


The receiver and transmitter are two separate units that were connected to each other using an adapter. The dimensions of the devices are 315 x 148 x 100 mm, the total weight is 12.2 kg. The transmitter was built on 8 radio tubes, 5 of which are of the type 129 and 3 lamps of the type 124. The receiver worked on 5 1Sh29B radio tubes.

The transition from one mode of operation to another Acceptance / Search / Send was carried out using the mode switch (push button switch) and the corresponding buttons.

Dimensions of the memory device for storing numerical text on 35 mm film - 110 X 73 x 45.5 mm, maximum weight 480 grams. The device was clad in an aluminum casing, inside there was a memory mechanism itself (consisting of a film, a film-promoting mechanism when pressing buttons and a hole punch), and outside - buttons. When you click the "Interval" button on the film did not make holes, it just scrolled one step further.

Proper arrangement of the antenna system is an important task to ensure a reliable connection. The radio station had to be installed either on a hill or on the edge of a forest, a clearing, and an antenna was hung on a tree. The radio station should not be located close to telecommunications and high-voltage power lines, should also be avoided reinforced concrete structures nearby. With all this, it was necessary to think about and disguise the device.

After the radio operator completed the session, it was necessary to turn off all the buttons, turn the Glow knob counterclockwise until it stops, disconnect the antennas and counterweight and attach them to the top of the casing (cover), pack all the accessories, respectively, in the upper part of the device, close the suitcase .



The batteries, which were used to power the radio station SC, had a huge advantage over acid or alkaline batteries - stable voltage when discharged by intensive modes. The advantages of such batteries can be considered as a specific capacity of 4 - 5 times greater than in other batteries, high efficiency, small self-discharge. Unlike acidic silver-zinc batteries, they allow an incomplete charge or a premature termination of charge without any undesirable consequences. Used, as a rule, in military technology, radio equipment. But they should be stored in a discharged state.

R-354 Bumblebee


In the early 1960s, the P-350 / R-350M were replaced with an improved P-354 (Bumblebee). R-354 Bumblebee - Army HF radio station, used by agents (spies), special forces, troops, the KGB of the USSR. The P-354 was probably the most common Soviet spy radio during the Cold War. The radio station was also used by the countries of the former Warsaw Pact (Poland, GDR and Czechoslovakia). At the end of the 1960s, the radio station changed the R-353. The device is a block structure, the blocks are attached to the control panel with screws; the design of the receiver and transmitter is similar.



The element base of the radio station consisted of miniature radio tubes and transistors. The transmitter frequency range is 2500–15 000 kHz, the receiver frequency is 2000–15 500 kHz, it was divided into 5 sub-bands:




The radio was powered by a 6 volt battery consisting of 4 silver - zinc batteries with a capacity of 5 ampere hours. The battery was placed in a container that was sealed with a lid. Using a short cable located on the front panel, the radio receiver was connected to the battery, the station could work autonomously for 15 minutes. As soon as the battery was discharged, it could be charged using a hand-held generator; it was also supplied in the kit. Alternatively, the radio station’s power source could be either a car battery or an external power supply unit (ROM).

The receiver (located on the left) and the transmitter (located on the right) had their own controls and frequency display; their optical scale device consisted of a bulb, microphotoscale, lens and screen. The power of the Bumblebee transmitter was not less than 10 W, and the communication range was 150-1500 km.



A Morse sensor was used to transmit information, as in the P-350 / P-350M there was a device for pulling the film. To register information at the Center, a tape recorder was made, after which it was listened to.

There were three ways to use Morse code to transmit information.

  1. The first was to use a small black Morse key (manual manipulation with a telegraph key), located just above the keyboard. Messages could be sent directly, but only in emergency situations.
  2. If the operator was not trained in Morse code, he could use the numeric buttons to send a pre-coded (numeric) message by simply dialing the appropriate numbers. In case of an error, I could press the button "······"
  3. However, the normal mode of operation consisted in using the embedded Morse signal transmitter, pre-coded digital messages were sent at very high speeds, which minimized the risk of interception and radio direction finding. For this message, it was first stored on the film as a series of holes. A standard 35 mm photographic film was used; it was easily available in most countries of the world. Agents in the field could buy a 35-mm film in almost any store, without attracting any attention. Such a film was previously cut in half (17.5 mm each), after which it was used by the operator; the film consumption was 150 -160 m per 100 five-digit groups.



The P-354 was usually supplied in a backpack, which made it possible to carry it on its back. On the backpack there were several pockets in which parts and accessories were kept.



Originally, the P-354 was supplied with a film-type perforator of the old model - a square device. The cancer film of the LCh-35 type was fed through a perforator, using a pen on a rotating disk, numbers were entered from a pre-coded message, it was like dialing on an old dial-up telephone. Each number was represented by a series of holes (rather than one hole, as in the P-350).



Later, the old-fashioned film puncher was replaced with a much less bulky one. He fit perfectly in one hand. Each number was represented by a series of holes.







With some radio stations, the P-354 supplied a small box containing a number of spare parts and accessories. The composition according to the list, which was glued to the lid of the box:





















Bumblebee rom


A portable charger was needed to charge the battery from the AC using a lighting lamp (109 W / 220 V).





If there was no power, the batteries could be recharged from a small portable e-348 generator. Charging the batteries is not an easy task and took several hours. Such a generator was stored in a backpack.



With the P-354, almost any type of headset could be used (headphones). In most cases, the kit included a Soviet military headset, which was usually used with military radio stations in tanks, and could be worn under a helmet.



The radio station was designed for long-term operation at temperatures from - 30 C to +50 C at a relative humidity of 98%, the design of the device made it possible to transport it using any vehicle (even when jumping with a parachute).

Bumblebee worked on one transceiver antenna (16 m) of the “inclined beam” type with a counterweight (16 m). To deploy the radio station, an open area (forest clearing, edge) was chosen in the direction of the radio center, close to the tree (10 -12 m), at least 8 -10 m high (to accommodate the antenna). In case there was no object for hanging the antenna (tree) - an antenna mast was used.

The Bumblebee radio station was easy to use, intended for one operator who could use it without even knowing Morse code. In order for the radio station to always be “in battle,” a whole range of maintenance was carried out: checking, measuring the basic parameters, replacing. Monthly, semi-annual, annual technical inspections were carried out. Replacement of parts and parts occurred only after their failure. The device was stored in a dry, warm, dark room, and the batteries had to be removed from the radio station.

The material used is the amazing Crypto Museum , a guide on the use of Techuische Beschreibung und Bedienungsanleitung zum Funkgerat R - 350 M.

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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/411383/

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