CQD (Morse Code _._.  _ _ ._  _..) was a  radio distress call that was commonly used by British ships in the early 20th century. It is a modification of the earlier CQ signal which meant "all stations." (preseumably D stands for distress) Many believe that CQD stands for for "Come Quick Distress" or "Come Quickly Dammit" ...etc. However, this is not true.  While SOS had become the international standard in 1908, many Birtish radio operators weren't enthusiastico adopt a distress signal that originated in Germany and they continued to use CQD.

In Titanic, Captain Edward Smith gives an order to a confused Jack Phillips to transmit CQD after the collision with the iceberg. In a deleted version of that scene, Harold Bride jokingly tells Philips to send also send SOS as " it may be our only chance to use it."

This article is a stub. You can help James Cameron's Titanic Wiki by expanding it.