On Aug. 30, 1963, the hot-line communications link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow went into operation. (more)
The first generation of the hot line had no voice element at all; the memorandum called for a full-time duplex wire telegraph circuit, based on the idea that spontaneous verbal communications could lead to miscommunications and misperceptions. This circuit was routed Washington, D.C. - London - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Helsinki - Moscow. The Washington - London link was originally carried over the TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable. A secondary radio line was routed Washington, D.C. - Tangier - Moscow.
Leaders would state their message in their native language, which would be translated at the receiving end.
Leaders would state their message in their native language, which would be translated at the receiving end.
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| This was the Washington side of the hotline. In the foreground, an Air Force S/SGT is examining tape from the Teletype Corp. Model 28 ASR Automatic Send-Receive teletype (ASR) which is fitted with an "under the dome" reperforator. The reperforator is separate from the keyboard, printer, and T-D (reader), and was usually plugged into a patch panel. Directly behind the standing man is a Teletype Model 28 ASR. Also pictured are two identical sets of equipment at the right side: two Russian T63 teleprinters and two ETCRRM crypto units. The above configuration would have been duplicated in Moscow. (NSA photo enhanced by Jerry Proc) |
The first use of the hotline was in 1967, during the six-day Egypt-Israel War, when both superpowers informed each other of military moves which might have been provocative or ambiguous.
