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Three Incarnations of the Same Boat

Dear Bay Weekly:

The story of my finding more on the Radio England/Britain Radio broadcasting ship Olga Patricia’s time as a Navy ship and of her present stint as a menhaden vessel now contains the absolute proof: The Earl J. Conrad Jr. IS the Olga Patricia and the USS Deal!
Special credits to the kind contributions of Ben Miller, Leslie Wright and Jeff Turner.
–Svenn Martinsen, Radio Historian, Box 100 N-5331; Rong, Norway

Editor’s note: Svenn Martinsen’s inquiry to Bay Weekly led to Ben Miller’s story about World War II military cargo ships being used as menhaden fishing boats in Reedville, Virginia. The lineage of the surviving boats is often obscure as their names and uses changed over the years. Svenn’s persistent research and Internet contacts led to the discovery of photographs showing painted-over raised letters of the names Olga Patricia and USS Deal on the Earl J. Conrad Jr.’s bow. It was from the then-Olga Patricia anchored off the coast of England that disc jockeys broadcast rock and roll music to Great Britain and Europe.
Read Ben Miller’s Bay Weekly story at http://www.bayweekly.com/old-site/year08/issuexvi7/leadxvi7_1.html
Read more of Svenn’s research on the Earl J. Conrad Jr. and Swinging Radio England at http://www.northernstar.no/chapter10.htm

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