Zenith TransOceanic Advertising

Here are two famous TransOceanic advertising photos, plus an ad brochure.

When I bought a small collection of TransOceanics, I got a slew of assorted supplies and memorabilia. Wherever they came from, the 8.5x11 photo prints look wrinkled enough to be original. Perhaps they were passed out to dealers for promotional purposes.

The first pic is said to be taken in Pakistan, 1954, portraying Captain Ransom Fullinwider, USN, clutching his TransOceanic in the company of a sleepy camel and three stiff companions.

What the photo doesn't portray is that a 1950s TransOceanic loaded with battery pack is an awkward and heavy appliance. Captain Fullinwinder's left leg may have gone to sleep by the time they finished this photo op. And the notion of riding a camel with a TransOceanic dangling from your wrist is about as practical as riding a dachshund with a washing machine in tow.

The second photo shows a bunch of homesick GIs sitting outside a bunker, listening to 1952 election results on their faithful TransOceanic.

The radio is a civilian model H500. A military model R-520/URR would have a metal nameplate below the latch on the front bottom of the case.

I have seen ads featuring letters about the original 7G605 Clipper in action, but no actual photos of this type. If anybody out there has a photo of Dad or Grandpa in WWII with Clipper in hand, send it my way. I'll be happy to add it to this page.

The third picture is a full-color image from a brochure advertising the Zenith L600.

For more information about 600 series TransOceanic radios, see my T600 article.