Sub, Battleship share historic radio call

An historic radio exchange took place Tuesday afternoon between the Battleship North Carolina and the new submarine USS North Carolina. Capt. Mark Davis and ham operator Bill Morine communicated with the Battleship from atop the submarine.

"When the Battleship was decommissioned in 1961 the radio equipment aboard was taken off the vessel," Morine said. "Since 1997 local ham radio operators have restored the equipment and brought it back up to speed. The only way for the two vessels to communicate was via voice communications through amateur radio."

The windy conditions Tuesday made the communication a bit difficult. But overall the historic exchange with Battleship director Dave Scheu up the river was deemed a success.

"It's a thrill," Ed Redington of the Azalea Coast Radio Club said. "This is a big part of my life being able to come down and being able to be on the submarine."

This is the first known conveyance of radio greetings between two namesake military vessels since the cold war era. This weekend the ham radio station aboard the Battleship will be activated sending greetings to hams around the world.