page_title: Isfjord Radio
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Isfjord Radio / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Isfjord Radio, Svalbard, Norway, seen from the south
context_page_description: Isfjord Radio is a coast radio station, weather station and hotel located at Kapp Linné on the island Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. The station was established in 1933, and has played an important role in the telecommunications between the Svalbard archipelago and the outside world. The station was destroyed by both sides during World War II, and rebuilt in 1946. The station was important for ships traffic and air traffic. Satellite communications were established in 1979, but depreciated when a fiber optic cable between Svalbard and the mainland was finished in 2004. Isfjord Radio was automated and depopulated in 1999. Parts of the outdated installations have been preserved as a historical site.
context_section_description: During the early 1930s there were two main coast radio stations in Svalbard: Svalbard Radio in Longyearbyen and Barentsburg Radio. Ship traffic for export of coal increased during the period, but neither of the coast radio stations had good coverage and in 1932 there were two Soviet ships which went aground. Arktikugol took initiative to better the navigational aids in Isfjorden, including a better location for a coast radio station. Planning was carried out between the Lighthouse and Buoy Authority, the Telegraphy Administration, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Norwegian Polar Institute, resulting in Kapp Linné being proposed as a suitable location for a radio station. The plans were approved by Parliament on 16 May 1933, along with a grant of 100,000 Norwegian krone (NOK). On 19 June Parliament allocated additional spending to purchase the land Russekeila from Arthur S. Lewin.
  The Polar Institute was responsible for planning the building and appointed Anders Kristian Orvin to be in charge. The Telegraphy Administration was responsible for the technical equipment. The transmission and lighthouse equipment was shipped from Oslo on 24 June, arrived 8 July and was unloaded by 13 July. Construction was carried out by twelve men, working eleven-hour shifts, allowing completion on 13 September. The work included a radio transmitter, three buildings, a boathouse, a forge, a slipway and three lighthouses—at Kapp Linné, Festningen and Vestpynten. The main building was 63 square meters (680 sq ft), with the smaller buildings being 47 and 38 square meters (510 and 410 sq ft). The transmitter was a Telefunken telegraphy and telephony transmitter with a 300-watt capacity. It was decided that support for radio bearing would not be installed, as it would cost NOK 5,000. The station opened on 13 November 1933; at first it had three employees, later four. The crew were hired for one year at a time, with the telegraphist normally taking over the role as manager the following year. A fatal accident occurred on 10 October 1939, when Ole Sivertsen was hit in the head by a crank which had loosened from a crane.
  Ingøy Radio was bombed by the German Luftwaffe on 6 June 1940 during World War II. The Norwegian population on Svalbard was evacuated to Scotland on 3 September 1941. To avoid the infrastructure coming into the hands of Germany, Isfjord Radio and other radio stations were destroyed prior to the evacuation. The German battleship Tirpitz bombarded Isfjord Radio on 8 September 1943 as part of Operation Zitronella, as the Kriegsmarine did not know if the station was operative or not.
  Planning of the reestablishment of Isfjord Radio started in 1945, following requests from the Polar Institute and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Polar Institute was given the responsibility for building the station, while the Telegraphy Administration was given the responsibility for the technical equipment. Transport of equipment started on 29 June 1946 and arrived at Kapp Linné on 11 July. Construction started on 15 July and was at first led by Gunnar Horn; he died after only a few days and the work was subsequently led by Reidar Lyngaas. Twenty-seven men worked on the construction, of which nineteen lived in a barracks and the rest in tents. Seven soldiers and a Jeep were used to dig down 7.5 kilometers (4.7 mi) of cable. The main building was a copy of the pre-war building and was built on the foundation, which had survived the war. It was supplemented with a radio building and a barracks for 21 people. The slipway and boathouse survived the war. The new station was equipped with radio bearing.
  Following two ships running aground at the mouth of Isfjorden in 1949, demands were raised for Isfjord Radio to be equipped with radar. Neither vessel had been equipped with this and it was argued that a radio at Isfjord Radio could be used to aid vessels traveling up the fjord. Parliament granted funding and the radar was installed upon a 20-meter (66 ft) tall mast at the station in 1950. It remained in
caption: Isfjord Radio in 1933
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