This Day in Eritreas History.
On
Jan 26, 1943, a US War Dep't Disposition Form was issued for the establishment of a War Department Fixed Radio Station in Eritrea & Kagnew Station was opened. The US spent, 77 million USD to build the Station.
Kagnew Station, was originally an Italian naval communications center. In 1941, the British took over the center from the Italians and gave the naval station to the US & the US used it as a naval station at first. The Base was re-designated, as the 4th USASA Field Station in 1958.
Kagnew Station was used to monitor nuclear explosions in the Soviet Union & was a good relay station for the mil system across the world, because of its location. It had provided the comms relay for
Kissinger’s early trips to China 1st the secret mission & then the
Nixon's visit.
It had the capability to communicate directly to Beijing from Asmara, & then relay it to Europe & then to the US. The rock-and-roll programming on Kagnew's 1,000-watt AM station was heard, as far away as Australia, Finland & Brazil.
At its peak in the mid-1960s, there were 6,500 Americans at Kagnew Station in Eritrea with massive operation with 13 sites. It did telecommunications relay, & tele intercept work. It had a huge dish antennae, that was some 80 feet across. Pic from
http://www.kagnewstation.com
Members of the US forces were immune from the criminal juris & in matters arising frm the performance of their official duties, from the civil jurisdiction. In the event of a fatality of a native, a solatium of a cow & 2 barrels of "SWA", the local drink used to be given.
In April 1977,
Mengistu ordered the expulsion of several Americans in Ethiopia and the closure of Kagnew Station by April 29. Over time, the US paid Ethiopia more than $360m in military aid as rent for Kagnew, billions of USD in today's value.
(History of Eritrea: @Erihistory)
