{{Short description|Person responsible for the operations of a radio system}} [[File:Polarstern radioroom hg.jpg|thumb|A radio operator aboard the RV ''Polarstern''''.'']]
[[File:Radio Times - 1923-12-21 - p500 (RAF advert).png|thumb|An RAF advertisement recruiting “Wireless Operators”, from the 21 December 1923 edition of ''The Radio Times'']]
A '''radio operator''' (formerly known as '''wireless operator''' in British and Commonwealth English), also referred to as '''radio officer''', is a person who is responsible for the operations of a ship radio station and the technicalities aboard.
The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of radio-based tasks in recent decades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes274013.htm|title=Radio Operators|website=www.bls.gov|access-date=2017-07-08}}</ref> Nevertheless, radio operators are still employed in maritime<ref>[https://www.edumaritime.net/stcw/requirements-for-gmdss-radio-operator GMDSS Radio Operator]</ref> and aviation fields.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://study.com/articles/Radio_Operator_Information_About_a_Career_as_a_Radio_Operator.html|title=Radio Operator: Information About a Career as a Radio Operator|work=Study.com|access-date=2017-07-08|language=en}}</ref> In most cases radio transmission is now only one of several tasks of a radio operator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.owlguru.com/career/radio-operators/job-description/|title=Being A Radio Operator: What You Really Do|website=www.owlguru.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-07-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol3no1/html/v03i1a10p_0001.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109201318/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol3no1/html/v03i1a10p_0001.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2008|title=Agent Radio Operation During World War II — Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-07-08}}</ref>
The role of 'Wireless Operator' aboard aircraft during WWII was often abbreviated to 'WOp' or 'WOP' in official documents or obituaries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fsgtroyedwardbrook.wordpress.com/wireless-operator/#:~:text=A%20Wireless%20Operator%20was%20in%20charge%20of%20managing,light%20needed%20to%20work%20by%20would%20not%20escape.|title=FSGT Roy Edward Brook|date=6 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/213643|title=Handley Page Hampden Mk I AD730, 18 Apr 1941 |date=25 July 2018 |website=aviation-safety.net |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WOP means Wireless Operator|publisher=All Acronyms |url=https://www.allacronyms.com/WOP/Wireless_Operator|access-date=16 Apr 2022}}</ref>
==History== Radio operators were indispensable at sea in the early days of wireless telegraphy, and many young men were called to sea as professional radio operators who were always accorded high-paying officer status at sea. Subsequent to the ''Titanic'' disaster and the Radio Act of 1912, the International Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) conventions established the 500kHz maritime distress frequency monitoring and mandated that all passenger-carrying ships carry licensed radio telegraph operators.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.imo.org/KnowledgeCentre/ReferencesAndArchives/HistoryofSOLAS/Documents/SOLAS%201948%20UK%20Treaty%20Series.pdf | title = International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1948, London, 10th June, 1948 | publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office | location = London | date = January 1953 | page = 169 | access-date = 26 January 2018 | archive-date = 12 April 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150412031150/http://www.imo.org/KnowledgeCentre/ReferencesAndArchives/HistoryofSOLAS/Documents/SOLAS%201948%20UK%20Treaty%20Series.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>
==Notable radio operators== * Harold Bride, assistant radio operator of {{RMS|Titanic}} * Harold Cottam, radio operator of {{RMS|Carpathia}} during the sinking of RMS ''Titanic'' * Jack Binns, last radio operator of {{RMS|Republic}} * Jack Phillips, chief radio operator of ''Titanic'' * Cyril Evans, radio operator of {{SS|Californian}} during the sinking of ''Titanic'' * Robert Leith, last chief radio operator of {{RMS|Lusitania}} * Graynella Packer, one of the first female radio operators aboard a ship.
== See also == * Wireless telegraphy * Telegraphist * Marconi International Marine Communication Company, one of the first wireless communication companies in history
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline|Radio operators}}
{{Merchant Marine Billets}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Radio operators Category:Professional titles and certifications Category:Occupations in aviation Category:Marine occupations
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