Two consumer-grade walkie-talkies (PMR446-type)

Some Walkie-talkies

How the back-pack version was used.

Noemfoor, Dutch New Guinea, July 1944. A US soldier (foreground) uses a handie-talkie during a battle. (Photographer: Allan F. Anderson)

A walkie-talkie is a hand held two way radio receiver/transmitter or transceiver. It was developed in the Second World War.

Radio engineer Alfred J. Gross worked on the early technology behind the walkie-talkie between 1934 and 1941. During the war it was developed by Donald L. Hings and engineering teams at Motorola led by Henryk Magnuski.

Typical walkie-talkies today are phone sized and have a push-to-talk button. Walkie-talkies are used for various reasons, in the military, for amateur radio, and for personal use.