The Deutschlandsender III was a 500 kilowatt

longwave In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...

transmitter, erected in 1938/39 near Herzberg,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Used for the ''

Deutschlandsender Deutschlandsender (, ''Radio Germany''), abbreviated DLS or DS, was one of the longest-established radio broadcasting stations in Germany. The name was used between 1926 and 1993 to denote a number of powerful stations designed to achieve all-Ger ...

'' radio broadcasts, the guyed mast reaching a height of was the tallest construction in Europe and the second tallest in the world.

Construction

The Deutschlandsender III used a tall guyed steel lattice mast of triangular cross section. This was used as a

mast radiator Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio ma ...

and was therefore mounted on a high

steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

insulator. At the top of the mast there was a lens-like

electrical length In electrical engineering, electrical length is a dimensionless parameter equal to the physical length of an electrical conductor such as a cable or wire, divided by the wavelength of alternating current at a given frequency traveling through t ...

ening structure with a diameter of and a height of . Because the mast was under high voltage during transmission, the aircraft warning lighting was realized in a very unconventional manner. On small poles near the mast multiple rotating searchlights were mounted which illuminated the lens-like structure on the top. It was planned to expand the facility to a circle group antenna. Therefore, ten tall masts should be built on a circle with a diameter of around the central mast. In 1944 construction of a backup antenna in form of a triangle antenna, carried by three tall masts, forming a triangle with sidelength, started on the location of the planned mast No. 9. This antenna could not be completed as a result of the war. On 21 April 1945 the transmitter was severely damaged by Allied bombing. The mast remained unimpaired, but it was dismantled by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupation troops, a task that lasted from July 1946 to 23 December 1947. The other parts of the facility were dismantled in 1959, when waterworks were built on the former station area. Nevertheless, there are still some remnants of the base visible at the location. It is unknown what happened to the mast after it was dismantled. It is sometimes claimed that it was rebuilt in the Ukraine, as "Kiev" was scrawled on the containers the components were transported in.

External links

* * http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b45271 {{DEFAULTSORT:Deutschlandsender Herzberg Elster Former radio masts and towers Radio masts and towers in Germany Buildings and structures in Elbe-Elster Demolished buildings and structures in Germany History of telecommunications in Germany Towers completed in 1939 Lost objects Elbe-Elster Land 1939 establishments in Germany

Construction

See also

External links