Make Contact with Museum Ships in the U.S. and Around the World on June 7-8, 2025
June 6 marks the 81st anniversary of the Allied forces joint naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France, better known as D-Day. Such a massive operation, the largest in history, required expert precision, iron-man-like resilience, and constant communication—typically done over radio.
During this time, around 25,000 hams served in the U.S. Signal Corps, the Royal Corps of Signals, and other units across the Allied forces. They were relied on for their technical knowledge, familiarity with Morse code, and ability to adapt to any situation. Hams worked battlefronts, outposts, and naval vessels, most of which were well equipped with radio equipment.
Note: Hams who did not serve eventually convinced the government to form the War Emergency Radio Service. Check out our article on that service here.
On June 7-8, 2025 around 100 military ships will be on the air in celebration of Museum Ships Weekend. The event was established to foster an appreciation of the Navy’s role in American history by showcasing vessels as museum ships or memorials, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. The annual event is not a competition, but rather a fun way to highlight the significance of these ships and the people who bravely served on them.
Nowadays, with their war-fighting days behind them, the vessels serve as museums or are preserved at museums and are no longer fully operational. Hams interested in participating can connect to a bevy of different ship types and classes like destroyers, cruisers, cargo ships—even an ironclad gunboat from the Civil War.
What makes this even more interesting is that some of these ships are located around the world. For example, the Krasin, R1LK, is an icebreaker that’s stationed in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the HS Georgios Averof, SZ1AB, is in Paleo Faliro, Greece. Not only is Museum Ships Weekend a cool way to connect to an important piece of history, it’s a good opportunity to keep your operating skills sharp as there are certain to be pileups to contend with.
“It was a thrill to contact this station, but it was more of a thrill to operate from the radio room on board when I visited Hawaii,” he recalled.
Here are a couple of other participating ships worth checking out:
- USS Midway Museum Ship, NI6IW, San Diego: June 7-8; 1600Z-2300Z; 14.320, 7.250, 14.070; PSK31, D-STAR on Papa System Repeaters.
- Nuclear Ship NS Savannah Amateur Radio Club, K3SAV (the first nuclear-powered merchant ship), Port of Baltimore: June 7-8; 1330Z-2100Z; 7, 14, 18, 21, and 28.
You can find the full list of participating ships here. If you want to work them all, be prepared for some serious time on the air. Ship operating times will vary depending on the organization running the station.
