The first ship to transmit an SOS distress call appears to have been either the Cunard liner on June 10 , 1909 , according to `` Notable Achievements of Wireless '' in the September , 1910 `` Modern Electrics '' , or the steamer SS `` Arapahoe '' on August 11 , 1909 .
The first ship to transmit an SOS distress call appears to have been the Cunard liner `` Slavonia '' on June 10 , 1909 , according to `` Notable Achievements of Wireless '' in the September , 1910 `` Modern Electrics '' .