It meant that a ship in distress in foreign waters had a language barrier to overcome with would-be rescuers, even if using International Morse Code. Having these multiple distress signals was confusing and potentially dangerous. The Marconi Company, which leased its equipment and telegraph operators to various ships, used “CQD.” The “German Regulations for the Control of Spark Telegraphy” of 1905 mandated that all German operators use “…-…”. Navy used “NC,” which was the maritime flag signal for distress from the International Code of Signals.

At first, different organizations and countries had their own “in-house” distress signals. They needed a unique signal that would transmit clearly and quickly and wouldn’t be confused for other communications. When wireless radiotelegraph machines first made their way onto ships around the turn of the 20th century, sailors in danger needed a way to attract attention, signal distress, and ask for help. So why use that specific string of dots and dashes if there’s no meaning to it? Because it was the best way to get the job done. Prior to 1906, the most widely recognized distress signal in use was CQD.A message received from the ‘Titanic’ using Marconi's preferred “CQD” distress signal, now held in Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. In Morse code, SOS is sent as an unbroken sequence of letters with no spaces (i.e., as. SOS was chosen because it is easy to send and could not be confused with other messages. Subsequently, the meanings 'Save Our Souls' and 'Save Our Ship' were ascribed to SOS, but these are both unofficial definitions.

The letters SOS were adopted as the international distress signal in Morse code at the International Radiotelegraphic Convention, held in Berlin in 1906. We are sinking three nautical miles southeast of the Portland Head light. The letters SOS are the international distress signal, used by shipping when in immediate danger and widely recognized as a cry for help, whether spoken, sent as a text message, or by flashing a light or arranging objects to spell out the letters. SOS means 'Save Our Souls' or 'Save Our Ship' It is the international distress signal.

What does sos mean