On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 09:39:03 +0100, "Roger Basford" Roger at new-gate
dot co dot uk wrote:


"Jon Teske" wrote in message
.. .

I'm going a vague memory here, but one of the fellows did look like
Bill Halligan who 10 years later was often pictured in Hallicrafter's
ads. I remember he had a two letter suffix in his call and for some
reason I thought it was W9AN.

See www.geocities.com/w8jyz/W9AC.pdf

Thanks Roger for that link. I wonder how he pulled off that two letter
call suffix having had a three letter one before. That must have been
quite rare or perhaps some sort of "reward" for his WW II engineering
service. I have no idea how that worked in those days. By the time I
got into radio (1956 as a teen) two letter suffixes were VERY rare in
the US until they became available as a sort of reward for having the
Extra Class and a certain amount of longevity. Later they became
available as a "vanity" program in conjuction with holding certain
classes of license. 1X2 calls don't seem to become available very
often now.

Allowing for changes in eyeglasses and a bit of aging, it does appear
that the fellow pictured in your link is the same guy I think was
Halligan in the movie. I knew one fellow who had worked with him
during the war and he said that Bill Halligan was a real gentleman and
a brilliant engineer.

Jon Teske, W3JT