Delco Radio Advertisement - Control of the Air
April 1945 QST

Here is an advertisement for Delco radios that I scanned from page 91 of my copy of the April 1945 QST magazine. "'Control the Air' has a new meaning today." That's the tag line referring to the need to dominate wireless communications in the effort to conduct effective warfare. Radio certainly wasn't a new science in 1945, but secure communications - including spread spectrum techniques - was a vital technique both for transmitting and receiving messages and for jamming the communication of our enemies. Even though Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr and music composer George Antheil  came up with the concept of frequency hopping spread spectrum in the early years of World War II, the U.S. Department of War (now known by the more socially acceptable and less formidable handle of Department of Defense) stuck mostly with codebook encryption techniques through the end of the war. Delco, as was common in the World War II era, encouraged citizens to buy War Bonds.

Delco Radio Advertisement

"Control of the Air" has a new meaning today.

Yes, we're talking about a different kind of air control than that established by Allied fighters and bombers. For the air today is full of high-frequency impulses, launched by varied types of radio and electronic equipment and performing varied functions of communication, detection, ranging and safeguarding. From compact mobile radio sets to highly intricate radar equipment, Delco Radio products are helping to bring new "air supremacy" to America's armed forces. Delco Radio Division, General Motors Corporation, Kokomo, Indiana.

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