The Warsaw Radio Mast was
the world's tallest structure from 1974 until its collapse on 8 August
1991. It is the second tallest structure ever built, being surpassed as tallest
by the Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010.
The mast, which was designed by Jan Polak, was 646.38 metres (2,120.7 ft) tall. Its construction, started in July 1970, was completed on 18 May 1974, and its transmitter entered regular service on 22 July of that year. It was located in Konstantynów, Gąbin, Poland, and was used by Warsaw Radio-Television (Centrum Radiowo-Telewizyjne) for longwave radio broadcasting on a frequency of AM-LW (long wave) 227 kHz before 1 February 1988 and AM-LW (long wave) 225 kHz afterwards. Its base was 115.2 metres (378 ft) above sea level. Because a voltage potential of 120 kV existed between the mast and ground, it stood on a 2-metre (6.6 ft)-high insulator. It operated as a mast radiator (half-wave radiator), so its height was chosen in order to function as a half-wavelength antenna at its broadcasting frequency. The signals from its 2 megawatt transmitters could be received across essentially the entire globe. Its weight was debated: Polish sources claimed 420 tonnes (930,000 lb).
At 16:00 UTC on 8 August 1991 a catastrophic failure led to the collapse of the mast. The mast first bent and then snapped at roughly half its height. The helix building and the transmitter building (including the transmitter devices in it) were not damaged. The construction coordinator and the division chief of the company which built and maintained the mast were found liable for the collapse, and both were sentenced to two years in prison.
Since the collapse of theWarsaw radio mast, the tallest structure in Poland
Current State
The mast, which was designed by Jan Polak, was 646.38 metres (2,120.7 ft) tall. Its construction, started in July 1970, was completed on 18 May 1974, and its transmitter entered regular service on 22 July of that year. It was located in Konstantynów, Gąbin, Poland, and was used by Warsaw Radio-Television (Centrum Radiowo-Telewizyjne) for longwave radio broadcasting on a frequency of AM-LW (long wave) 227 kHz before 1 February 1988 and AM-LW (long wave) 225 kHz afterwards. Its base was 115.2 metres (378 ft) above sea level. Because a voltage potential of 120 kV existed between the mast and ground, it stood on a 2-metre (6.6 ft)-high insulator. It operated as a mast radiator (half-wave radiator), so its height was chosen in order to function as a half-wavelength antenna at its broadcasting frequency. The signals from its 2 megawatt transmitters could be received across essentially the entire globe. Its weight was debated: Polish sources claimed 420 tonnes (930,000 lb).
Collapse
At 16:00 UTC on 8 August 1991 a catastrophic failure led to the collapse of the mast. The mast first bent and then snapped at roughly half its height. The helix building and the transmitter building (including the transmitter devices in it) were not damaged. The construction coordinator and the division chief of the company which built and maintained the mast were found liable for the collapse, and both were sentenced to two years in prison.
Since the collapse of the
Except for the
mast and the radio frequency transmission line that led to it, nearly all
components of the facility remain in place, unused and slowly deteriorating.
Replica Erected in Brazil
Eldorado do Sul
RBS Radio Mast, a mast radiator in Eldorado do Sul , Brazil
An American Rival
The KVLY-TV
mast (formerly the KTHI-TV mast) is a 2,063-foot-tall (629 m) television-transmitting
mast in Blanchard, Traill County , North Dakota , United States ,
used by Fargo Warsaw Shanghai Tower ), the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere , and the tallest radio mast in the
world.
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