Warsaw radio mast: construction, operation, collapse

The Warsaw radio mast was not just a transmitting device, but was for about 17 years the tallest structure in the world. It was a design that all Poland was proud of. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, but the fall of this structure was unexpected for all. Why did the Warsaw Radio Mast fall, how it was erected and exploited? Let's find out the answers to these questions.

Reasons for construction

The construction of a new radio mast was carried out in order that the Polish radio could produce reliable broadcasting on the territory of Poland, as well as other European countries. To achieve the most optimal effect, it was required to build as high a design as possible. The existing main broadcasting tower in Poland, near Warsaw, had a height of 335 m. It was necessary to build a much higher structure.

The construction plan was designed by the famous architect Jan Polyak. According to him, the structure was supposed to have a height of 646.4 m, which is almost two times higher than the station before that. The Warsaw radio mast was to be located near the village of Konstantinov in the Płock Poviat of the Mazovian Voivodship, 84 km west of the capital.

The process of erection

The construction of the Warsaw radio tower began in January 1970. In the construction, which was headed by engineer Andrzej Shepchinsky, mainly Polish employees of Mostostal and other local organizations took part. But the bulk of the design - transmitters in the number of two pieces - was built by the Swiss company Brown, Boveri & Cie. The construction of the elevator was handled by the Swedish firm Alimak.

Finally, on May 18, 1974, after more than four years of work, the construction of a radio mast was completed, and on June 22 it was put into operation.

Main technical characteristics

Now let's take a look at the main technical characteristics of the Warsaw radio mast. So, what did the design represent?

The height of the Warsaw radio mast was 646.4 m. This made it at that time the tallest structure ever built in the world. The total weight of the structure was 420 tons. The base of the structure and its section were in the form of a triangle, the sides of which are 4.8 meters. Caracas were made of steel pipes with a diameter of 24.5 cm.

The building was not an integral structure, but a structure consisting of 86 parts. Each part had a height of 7.5 m. The stability of the construction was ensured by three braces in the form of steel insulated cables with a diameter of 5 cm each. The total weight of these braces was 80,000 kg.

In addition, the building had an elevator, which was specially made by the Swedish company Alimak. He developed a speed of 21 m / min. In order to rise from the base of the structure to its top, it took about half an hour. However, if desired, you could make the ascent and with the help of ordinary stairs.

Transmitting substation

The substation, where the transmitting part of the structure was located, was 600 meters from the radio mast in a closed building, which had a volume of 17,000 cubic meters. This is where the heart of the whole structure was located - two transmitters made by the company from Switzerland Brown, Boveri & Cie. Each of them possessed a capacity of 1 MW. In order to synchronize as accurately as possible the frequency of both transmitters, an atomic clock was used.

To power transmitters, whose electricity consumption was 6 MW, a separate power plant was built.

Operation of the radio mast

The Warsaw radio mast received the official name "Broadcasting Center in Konstantinovo". It was intended to transmit radio signals over long distances. She successfully coped with this task for 17 years. With its signal, it covered not only the territory of Poland, but all Europe. Polish radio could be heard even in North Africa and North America.

The uniqueness of the design was that this was the only semi-wave radio mast in the world for long waves. Actually, since that time no similar devices have been installed.

The radio mast was used by the Warsaw State TV and Radio Company. With the help of this design, the "First Program of Polish Radio" was broadcast, or in another way - "Program 1 PR". Its unofficial name was "Edinichka".

Structural collapse

It was a complete surprise for everyone that the Warsaw Radio Mast fell down. The collapse occurred in the first half of August 1991. This happened during the replacement of one of the guys. The structure was skewed, the steel pipes moved from the established point, the radio rod bent, and then it was destroyed right in the middle. In this case, the upper part fell near the base, and the lower half - in the opposite direction. This version is fully confirmed by architect Jan Polek.

The collapse of the giant structure did not happen without tragedies, victims were not among the victims.

Causes of the crash

What are the reasons for the collapse of the Warsaw Radio Mast? The collapse of the structure, no doubt, is the result of an error made by the workers when replacing the brace. All the conditions for ensuring complete safety were not properly observed. The specialists considered the approved replacement plan for the brace enough to ensure that everything went smoothly.

Another reason for the collapse should be called too large dimensions of the structure. It was they who made it difficult to safely replace the braces.

The further fate of the radio mast

However, the government of Poland was not going to put a cross on the radio mast. Nobody thought that after the fall, this structure will never be restored. Immediately the engineers were entrusted with a plan for restoring the structure, which by that time, because of being in a reclining position, had managed to acquire in the people the playful nickname of "the longest tower on Earth". Already in April 1992, the recovery plan was ready.

The restoration work itself began in 1995. But here on the way to the goal there was an obstacle, which no one even thought about. And it did not concern the sphere of financial security or the issue of permits. Against the construction of the building were the residents of the village of Konstantinov, located very close. They claimed that the radiation caused by the work of the radio mast adversely affects the health of the villagers, particularly causing headaches and other ailments. It was also alleged that in the few years that the station was not functioning, the villagers began to feel much better. As a result of these protests, the restoration project of the Warsaw radio mast had to be closed forever.

Since August 1991, the Warsaw State TV and Radio Company has returned for the purpose of broadcasting to operate the old 335-meter mast. Of course, this significantly narrowed its technical capabilities and coverage area. Until 1995, there was a hope that the Warsaw radio mast could be restored. Then the radio company had to accept that this would never happen.

The location of the Warsaw Radio Tower among the other tallest structures on Earth

As mentioned above, for about 17 years (from 1974 to 1991), the Warsaw Radio Mast was the tallest building on Earth, having a height of 646.4 meters. Until 1974, the KVLY TV and radio station, located in the city of Blanchard, in the US state of North Dakota , took the lead among the tallest structures . The height of this building is 628.8 meters.

As you can see, the height of the Warsaw mast was less than eighteen meters more, which is not so much for buildings of such magnitude. This fact gives rise to the conjecture that such a high radio mast in Poland was built not least in order to break the record of KVLY. In this case, the height of the mast was justified not so much by practical necessity as by a vain desire to become the first. Actually, as we found out earlier, the size of the Warsaw radio mast also served as one of the reasons for its collapse. Thus, as always, the desire for fame leads to disaster.

Compared to other large buildings, the world's tallest television tower, the Ostankino, was more than 100 meters behind the Warsaw Radio Mast and was 540 meters in size. However, in 1976 the highest tower was the CN Tower, which in Canada The city of Toronto, with a height of 553 m, but still it was 93 meters less than the radio mast in Poland. To date, the world's tallest television tower - Tokyo Skytree, built in the Japanese capital of Tokyo in 2012, however, having a height of 634 meters, it loses about 12 meters to the contrite Polish giant.

The highest skyscrapers of the time - the Willis Tower, built in Chicago in 1973, the New York World Trade Center (1973) and the Empire State Building (1931) had a height of 443.2 m, 417 m, respectively 381 m, which again is much smaller than the length of the Warsaw radio mast.

After the collapse of the building in Konstantinov, the palm tree of the highest construction in the world once again returned to KVLY. But here the title of the highest ever existing structure the American mast could not take away. The already crushed Warsaw Radio Mast owned this title until 2008, when the Burj Khalifa skyscraper was built in the largest city of the United Arab Emirates in Dubai. This structure has a height of 828 meters, that is, an entire 182 meters more than the height of the Warsaw giant. Until today, Burj Khalifa remains the tallest building and structure ever built by man.

General characteristics of the Warsaw radio tower

At one time, the Warsaw Radio Mast was the highest building in the world (646.4 m). However, perhaps this was precisely the purpose of the engineers in its construction, and not the practical tasks of improving the quality of broadcasting and increasing coverage. Just the size of the mast and caused its collapse.

And what do we have in the dry residue? The construction has been in disrepair for more than a decade, and the title of the highest structure of all time is lost in 2008. Already, very few people remember this giant building, but in time it will be remembered by even fewer people until the building becomes only the property of statistical reference books.