Command Performance #5

Some of the troops stationed overseas who heard JRN’s radio appearance on COMMAND PERFORMANCE might have been listening to a radio like this one: a Zenith Model 7G605 Trans-Oceanic “Clipper.” Introduced only days after Pearl Harbor, the Clipper was not only the first Trans-Oceanic, but also the first portable radio to offer shortwave bands. Only about 35,000 of them were made before Zenith stopped producing consumer radios in order to do war work for the U.S. Government. Even though they sold for the relatively high price of $75 (the equivalent of about $1097.00 in today’s dollars!) many Clippers were bought by U.S. military personnel, who took them into combat zones around the world. Zenith soon began receiving letters telling of Clippers that had been subjected to extreme tropical heat and humidity, sand storms, enemy bombardments, being dropped into the surf during amphibious landings, and all manner of rough treatment, and had still continued to work. In many of the out-of-the-way places where U.S. troops found themselves, someone’s personal Clipper was often the only means of getting news and entertainment from back home. With no new Clippers available at any price, considerable ingenuity was used to keep these deployed sets operational. (Zenith files contain an account of one Clipper that was successfully repaired using parts salvaged from captured enemy radio equipment.) It is probably safe to say that, wherever U.S. troops served during World War II, a Clipper or two was also there, serving along with them.