Operation Waverider
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| Operation Waverider | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States(IAPF) Inter-American Peace Force |
Unknown Operators | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| >250 US Navy personnel | Unknown | ||||||
Operation Waverider was a US military operation involving the tracking and locating of a previously unidentified moving radio transmitter.
[edit] History
During early 60's and 70's, radio stations transmitting long series of numbers could be heard from multiple locations all over the globe. Among radio amateurs and HAM operators, these became known as Number stations. In the early autumn of 1972, US Navy made a break-through in decrypting said signals, which resulted in Operation Waverider. A number of navy vessels, among them USS Fox where dispatched to track down the identified station, whose position had been calculated to within a few square miles of sea by triangulating from multiple receiving sources. Upon arriving at the position, radar confirmed a presence of another ship. However, upon arriving, USS Fox could confirm the transmission as originating from a civilian ship flying Nicaraguan colors and identifying itself as freighter Yonderbee, heading for Kingston, Jamaica. USS Fox backed off, and proceeded - as per orders received - to track said ship by radar and alert Naval Command to any deviations from course.
According to crewmen operation the radio aboard USS Fox, the station ceased to operate as soon as the civilian ship Yonderbee came within visual range of the USS Fox.
