The DXCC Pre-WW2 Entities Lijst (1937) "...the number of countries worked is increasingly becoming the criterion of excellence among outstanding DX stations." (Clinton B. DeSoto, W1CBD, October 1935 QST)ARRL had to do something with the proposal of W1CBD, Clinton. There should be a List, mentioning all Rules, applying to the DX Century Club. But first of all there had to be something of a Countries List, showing all countries from which you could get a credit,. And you had to show the proof of the contact, the QSL-card, to the A.R.R.L. This fact did increase the QSL system.Radio Call lettersIn 1913, the Department of Commerce of the USA published a government document, Radio Call Letters [C11.2:R115], which reported United States radio station call letter policies, as of May 9, 1913.The distribution of call letters among nations thus authorized is showed above for the guidance of operators of all stations, ship and shore, of the United States. As you can see on the list, The prefix-block OAA - OFZ was not assigned in 1913. And there was no assignment for Australia. Australian stations did use the prefix OA, as is proved in the QSL card of Reverent R.J.R. Delbridge, OA4RJ. However the prefix OA was assigned to Peru. Mister Delbridge later signed VK4RJ when the prefix of Australia changed from OA to VK.The first Countries ListARRL started to produce an ARRL Countries List, and showed this list in the January, 1937, QST, together with the explanation how this countries-List was made. (see below) Every DXer was invited to shoot at the list, making the list even more complete. In February 1937, QST followed with a short extra explanation of the published list. “.. Note also that there are two countries using the same prefix, VP2, the Leeward Islands, which include Antigua, and the Windward Islands, which include Grenada and St. Lucia. Five countries use the prefix K6: Guam, (unofficial OM), Hawaii, Midway Island, U.S. Samoa, and Wake Island. VK4 should not be passed up, since it can be either Australia or Papua Territory.”In this first ARRL Countries List you can find more problems than expected. Also a mistake got into the list. Zanzibar should have the prefix ZK1 and not VK1. This was corrected in the same issue of QST, February 1937. But this correction was done too fast. Te second correction ( in a later issue of QST) listed Zanzibar without a prefix.Strange names and prefixesIf you look to this first Countries List, you will see strange names for countries. And you will see strange prefixes for known countries. Both country-names, and prefixes have changed since the publication of this first list. In the next pages of this story, cross-lists will be available to make things clear.Worked All StatesHams could also apply for tte W.A.S. the Worked All States award. This award was also not very easy to get.Up to July 1936, 348 awards found their way to the hams who did apply for the award. Only 6 stations outside the United States did get the award; OA4J, K6CGK, XE2C, XE2N, K6MVV and VK6SA. The last one did get number 346.The call K6CGK was changed later in KH6IJ, a call familiar to most of the Old Timers under us.X2C was the call from XE2C in 1933. Sometimes it was a hard job to find out the country of the station who did sent a QSL card.Much more of these old QSL card can be found on the site of K8CX, www.hamgallery.com.Until July 1936, NO stations from Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah did apply for the WAS award.WAC growthAfter December 1935 there was a tremendous growth in the number of WAC certificates issued. And even foreign countries like Germany, Great Brittain, and Australia had over a hundred hams who did get the WAC award.Listed in the spreadsheet on the right are the W and VE districts, the American possessions, and the countries with more that 50 WAC holders.The WAC phone list did also grow more than expected.Strange is the fact that no station from Germany (D) did get the WAC-Phone award. And the table shows two K6 totals, the first one is the total from Hawaii (6), and the other one is from Guam (3).The WAC challenge was too easy. DXCC was needed, getting confirmation of at least One Hundred Countries.
Prewar DXCC
DXCC-Countries A-FAbyssinia, see Ethiopia,Aden,Aegean Islands,Afghanistan, YAAlaska , K7Albania, ZAAldabra Islands,Algeria, FAAndaman Islands,Andorra,Anglo Egyptian Sudan, STAngola, CR6Arabia, see Saudi Arabia,Argentina, LUAscension Island, ZD8Australia, VKAzores Islands, CT2Bahama Islands, VP7Bahrein Islands, VS8Balearic Islands, EA6Baluchistan,Barbados, VP6Bechuanaland,Belgian Congo, OQBelgium, ONBermuda Islands, VP9Bhutan,Bismarck Archipelago,Bolivia, CPBorneo, Netherlands, PK5Brazil, PY British Cameroon, see Nigeria,British Honduras, VP1British North Borneo, VS4Brunei,Bulgaria, LZBurma, XZCameroons, French, FE8Canada, VECanal Zone, (K5)Canary Islands, EA8Cape Verde Islands, CR4Caroline Islands,Celebes and Molucca Islands, PK6Ceylon, VS7Chile, CEChina, XUChosen (Korea), J8Christmas Island, ZC3Cocos Islands, ZC2Columbia, HJComoro islands,Cook Islands, ZK1Corsica,Costa Rica, TICrete,Cuba, CM-COCuracao and Netherland West Indies,PJCyprus, ZC4Czechoslovakia, OKDanzig, YMDenmark, OZDominican Rebublic, HIEaster Island,Ecuador, HCEgypt, SUEritrea,Estonia, ESEthiopia (Abyssinia), ETFaeroes, The, OYFalkland Islands, VP8Fanning Island, VR3Federated Malay States, VS2Fiji Islands, VR2Finland, OHFormosa, see Taiwan,France, FFrench Cameroons, see Cameroons,French Equatorial Africa, FQ8French Indochina, FI8French Oceania, FO8French West Africa, FF8
DXCC-Countries O-ZOcean island, see Gilbert & Ellis Islands,Oman,Palau (Pelew) Islands,Palestine, ZC6Panama, HPPapua Territory, VK4Paraguay, ZPPersia, see Iran,Peru, OAPhilippine Islands, KAPhoenix Islands,Pitcairn Island, VR6Poland, SPPortugal, CTPortugese India, see Goa,Principe and Sao Thome Islands,Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, K4Reunion Island, FR8Rhodesia, Northern, VQ2Rhodesia, Southern, ZERio de Oro,Roumania, YRSalvador, YSSamoa, U. S., K6Samoa, Western, ZMSandwich islands,Sarawak, VS5Sardinia,Saudi Arabia,Seychelles, VQ9Siam, HSSierra Leone, ZD1Socotra,Solomon Islands, VR4Somaliland, British, VQ6Somaliland, French, FL8Somaliland, Italian, South Georgia, VP8South Orkney Islands, VP8South Shetland Islands, VP8Southwest Africa, see Union South Africa, ZS3Sovjet Union,U-- European States,U1-7-- Asiatic States,U8-9-0Spain, EASpitsbergen, see Svalbard,St. Helena, ZD7Straits Settlements, VS1Sumatra, PK4Surinam, see Guiana Neth.,Svalbard (Spitzbergen),Sweden, SMSwitzerland, HBSyria,Taiwan (Formosa),J9Tanganyika Territory, VQ3Tangier Zone,Tannu Tuva,Tasmania, VK7Tibet,Timor, Portuguese, CR10Togoland, British see Gold Coast,Togoland, French, FD8Tokelau (Union) Islands,Tonga (Friendly) Islands, VR5Transjordan, ZC1Trinidad and Tobago, VP4Tristan da Cunha, ZU9Tunisia, FT4Turkey, TAUganda, VQ5Union Islands, see Tokelau Islands,Union of South Africa, ZS-ZT-ZUUnited States, W [N]Uruguay, CXVenezuela, YVVirgin Islands and Puero Rico,K4Wake Island,K6Windward Islands (Grenada), VP2Wrangel Island,Yemen,Yugoslavia, YT-YUZanzibar,VK1
DXCC-Countries G-NGalapagos Islands,Gambia, ZD3Germany, DGibraltar, ZB2Gilbert and Ellis Islands and Ocean Island, VR1Goa (Portuguese India), CR8Gold Coast (and British Togoland), ZD4Gough Island,Great Brittain, GGreece, SVGreenland, OXGuadeloupe, FG8Guam, K6Guatemala, TGGuiana, British, VP3Guiana, French, and Inini, FY8Guiana, Netherlands (Surinam), PZGuinea, Portuguese, CR5Guinea, Spanish, Haiti, HHHawaiian Islands, K6Hejaz, HZHonduras, HRHong Kong, VS6Hungary, HAIceland, TFIfni,India, VUInini, see Guana, French),Iran (Persia), EPIraq (Mesopotamia), YIIreland, Northern, GIIrish Free State, EIItaly, IJamaica and Cayman Islands, VP5Japan, JJava, PKKenya, VQ4Kerguelen Islands,Korea, see Chosen,Laccadive Islands,Latvia, YLLeeward Islands, VP2Liberia, ELLibya,Liechtenstein,Lithuania, LYLuxembourg, LXMacau, CR9Madagascar, FB8Madeira Islands, CT3Maldive Islands, VS9Malta, ZB1Manchukuo, (MX)Marianas Islands,Marshall Islands,Martinique, FM8Mauritius, VQ8Mesopotamia, see Iraq,Mexico, XEMidway Islands, K6Miquelon and St. Pierre Islands, FP8Monaco,Mongolia,Morocco, French, CNMorocco, Spanish, EA9Mozambique, CR7Nepal,Netherlands, PANetherlands West Indies , see Curacao, PJNew Caledonia, FK8New Foundland and Labrador,VONew Guinea, Netherlands, PK6New Guinea, Territory of, VK9New Hebrides, British,YJNew Hebrides, French,FU8New Zealand, ZLNicaragua, YNNicobar Islands,Nigeria (British Cameroons), ZD2Niue, ZK2Non-Federated Malay States, VS3North Borneo, see British North Borneo,Norway, LANyasaland, ZD6
Bismarck ArchipelagoThe first European to visit these islands was Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616.The islands remained unsettled by western Europeans until they were annexed as part of the German protectorate of German New Guinea in 1884. The area was named in honour of the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.