Philip W. “Phil” Morrell was an American radio amateur active during the 1940s. Morrell, who successively used the call signs W3SO, W0JOJ, and W0SO, also worked as a radio operator for TWA (Transcontinental & Western Air), one of the major American airlines of the period. Period sources indicate that Morrell worked on international flights between Europe and various other continents.
The W0SO QSL card dated April 26, 1947, which is part of our QSL Museum collection, is one of the remarkable documents where Morrell’s aviation career and amateur radio activities intersect. In the “Remarks” section of the card, the expression “TNX QSO AM” includes AM, meaning Air Mobile, indicating that the contact was made while the aircraft was airborne. The card also bears Turkish postage stamps postmarked in Ankara, as well as a Kızılay charity stamp reflecting the postal culture of the period.
Morrell’s connection with Turkey was not limited to this QSL card. In the December 1947 issue of QST magazine, the phrase “W0SO planted the DX bug in Ankara” was used, indicating that Morrell played a role in encouraging the development of DXing and amateur radio activity in Ankara. During the same period, another important figure was active from Ankara under the call sign TA3SO: Mehmet Aritay.
Period sources list him as “TA3SO, M. Aritay, Devlet Hava Yolları, Ankara, Turkey,” showing that the TA3SO call sign belonged to Mehmet Aritay. Aritay was an aviation employee working in the field of radio communications for Devlet Hava Yolları and was also an active radio amateur. Later American civil aviation records also mention Mehmet Aritay as an aviation radio communications specialist from Turkey and as a radio amateur holding the call sign TA3SO.
The fact that Philip Morrell and Mehmet Aritay’s paths crossed in Ankara is particularly noteworthy considering their professional backgrounds. Morrell worked in radio communications for TWA, while Aritay worked in the same field for Devlet Hava Yolları. QST’s statement that Morrell had “planted the DX bug in Ankara” also suggests that the connection between W0SO and TA3SO extended beyond amateur radio activities and was linked to the aviation and communications world of the period.
The existence of physical TA3SO QSL cards is also confirmed by period records. An issue of CQ Amateur Radio from early 1948 states that TA3SO had his cards printed for QSOs made from Ankara and that his wife helped with mailing them.
An example of a surviving 1947 TA3SO QSL card is also preserved in the HamGallery archive. The reverse side of the card has not been shared. It is not part of our museum collection.
W0SO Philip served as the QSL manager for TA3SO Mehmet. The November 1947 issue of Short Wave Listener magazine announced that he was acting as his QSL manager. The QSL cards were produced by printing on postcards issued by TWA. An example of such a postcard is shown in the images below.
The story of W0SO Philip Morrell and TA3SO Mehmet Aritay is a fine example of how closely amateur radio and civil aviation were intertwined during the 1940s. The traces of these two radio amateurs, whose paths crossed in Ankara, continue to live on today in both old QSL cards and amateur radio publications of the period, such as QST and CQ.