NAVAL COMMUNICATORS

During the 1980s, before modern satellite internet, GPS, and smartphone connectivity existed, a naval communicator (radio/tactical signaller) served as a vital sensory link between a warship and the outside world.

A naval communicator is a Navy member who establishes and manages communications systems for the Navy. They ensure that the Navy has reliable communications for mission success. The systems include HF, UHF, and VHF transceivers, HF data modems, etc. Radiotelephony, radiotelegraphy, flag semaphore, flag hoist, and signal lamp or blinkers are used for sending signals.

Like human communications on land, the naval communicators were initially oral, often through relays in small boats.

Sailors who work in Navy communication jobs are responsible for managing the Navy's public perception and uplifting sailors, civilians, and foreign dignitaries. You're constantly relied upon by your commanding officer, who uses the information you provide to make key strategic decisions.

Communication serves five major purposes: to inform, to express feelings, to imagine, to influence, and to meet social expectations.

KD Mutiara, a communicator at the Port of Madras, India, in 1985

Tactical Visual Signals on the Flag Deck

Effective communication is crucial to success in any field. Maritime English is the lingua franca at sea, so to speak, and is vitally important for a multitude of reasons, such as the safety of the ship crews, the efficiency of daily tasks, and the integrity of the ship.

• From the time of flag semaphores used as the primary means of communication for ships, naval communication has gone through a long and winding evolution through the years. The use of the signal flag (semaphore) dates back to ancient times. The Semaphore uses a series of flags to spell out a particular message, with every flag representing a specific letter.
• Flashing Light (Semafor/Light)—operating heavy carbon-arc signaling searchlights to flash flashing Morse Code messages to nearby ships during radio silence.
• Flag Hoists: Rapidly pulling and hoisting colorful Allied signaling flags up the ship's mast to broadcast maneuvering commands or tactical formations.

Encryption and Message Processing

Communicators were responsible for taking incoming strings of scrambled numbers and manually matching them against top-secret paper codebooks or basic cryptographic machines to extract the actual operational orders.

The Navy Communicator also uses crypto machines to encrypt and decrypt communications, protecting classified information from eavesdropping and manipulation. Crypto machines have been used in the Navy since World War II.

The successful carrying out of modern naval warfare is, in the main, entirely dependent upon the art of radio communication.

A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype, or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations.

They were invented in order to send and receive messages without the need for operators trained in the use of Morse code. A system of two teleprinters, with one operator trained to use a keyboard, replaced two trained Morse Code operators. 

Telex is an international system used especially in the past for sending written messages. Messages are converted into signals, which are transmitted, either by electricity or by radio signals, and then printed out by a machine in another place. A telex is a machine that transmits and receives telex messages.

In the Navy, telex machines, or teletypewriters, were used for communication, primarily for message exchange and relaying messages within the network. They played a key role in efficient operation of the tape relay system.

What is the difference between a teleprinter and a telex machine?

A teleprinter is a device that can send and receive typed messages over a network, while a telex machine is a specific type of teleprinter used within the telex communication system. In essence, a telex machine is a teleprinter designed to be part of a dedicated teleprinter network. 

Strong typing skills are crucial for a naval communicator, as they are essential for processing and transmitting messages, a core function of the role. Training for this role often includes keyboarding and message processing, ensuring communicators can efficiently handle various communication tasks.

Naval communicators heavily rely on radio communication for diverse purposes, including coordinating with other ships and shore stations, transmitting and receiving messages, and maintaining situational awareness. They utilize various radio technologies like VHF for short-range communication, HF for long-range, and satellite communication for reliable data transfer. 

In essence, radio technology is the backbone of naval communication, enabling efficient coordination, information sharing, and situational awareness across diverse scenarios. It is a good way to send messages undetected over long distances. 

The use of Morse code allowed ship-to-shore communication via radio during the early 19th century. The Morse code is the method where text characters are encoded as standardized sequences of two signal durations, dahs and dits.

Morse code transmitting continues to be used in the Navy, primarily for visual signaling using blinker lights, especially when radio communication is unavailable or undesirable. It also plays a role in information warfare, where sailors learn to intercept and analyze Morse code signals. 

A skilled 1980s communicator was expected to transcribe Morse Code manually onto paper or directly onto mechanical typewriters at speeds exceeding 15 to 25 words per minute. 

For me, what is the best of being a naval communicator? It's fun because you always learn something; it's fun to work with modern equipment and troubleshoot... Even though today communication at sea relies more on satellites than flag signaling, the fundamental role of the naval communicator remains crucial to the ship's operational effectiveness.

Among the books of reference used during our course as communicators:

Effective teamwork begins with communication.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

Ex-Naval Communicator

Lembah Keramat, K.L.

7 May 2025: 12.13 p.m.