Civil Air Defense Phone

[MagicMo]

Hello,
Can anyone tell me about this phone and what it was used for?
Thanks,
Mo

[G-Man]

It is a standard telephone set and magneto subset that apparently Illinois Bell used for providing direct service to ARMY FLASH reporting centers.

The CDWS* subset is a 531A subset that has been modified with 4-neon lamps indicators which were operated by standard 4-party superimposed ringing with the ringer operating on a non-selective basis regardless of which ringing generator combination was applied.

Here is a link describing your subset and the system at large.

http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/document-repository/doc_details/359-981-281-100-se

Further information can be provided if needed.


*  "Civil Defense Bells and Lights Attack Warning System"   

[G-Man]

I forgot to add, the CDWS system was implemented during the 1950's at the start of the Cold War. It was primarily intended for use in the event of an enemy (Russia) attack using atomic bombs. These subsets were located in all schools, police stations and certain other locations deemed critical. They were tested once per week, hence the TEST indication.

In school were taught to immediately duck under are desk or if elsewhere to take cover or if exposed outside to run to, and jump into a ditch; DUCK, COVER, RUN! All of this was taken very, very seriously at the time.

[G-Man]

I'm sure some will find it humorous but at the time, as children we were
very concerned.

"Duck And Cover"
http://youtu.be/p56YYEbOJp4

"Atomic Alert"
http://youtu.be/d4pPYGcgAgo

Warning and Communications in Civil Defense
O.G. Smith, Chief Engineer, Illinois Bell Telephone Company
http://books.google.com/books?id=tg0AAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA283&lpg=PA283&dq=%22Bell+and+Lights%22+Air+Raid+Warning+System&source=bl&ots=dOGyHMKYkV&sig=7QXDonjoZ8ptS5ngX_FV6Z0HNrQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DgBFUcqLCdDLyAHX2IC4Ag&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Bell%20and%20Lights%22%20Air%20Raid%20Warning%20System&f=false

From Wikipedia-

The U.S. used several other sets of warning tones, which varied over time, by government structure, and by manufacturer.

The initial alerts promulgated during World War II were the Alert Signal (a 3-5 minute steady continuous siren tone) and the Attack Signal (a 3-5 minute wail siren tone, or series of short tone bursts on devices incapable of wavering, such as whistles).

The Victory Siren manual stated that when manual generation of the warbling tone was required, it could be achieved by holding the Signal switch on for 8 seconds and off for 4 seconds.
In 1950, the Federal Civil Defense Administration revised the signals, naming the alert signal "Red Alert" and adding an all-clear signal, defined as three one-minute steady blasts, with two-minutes of silence between blasts.[2]

Beginning in 1952, the "Bell and Lights" Air Raid Warning System,[3] developed by AT&T, was made available to provide automated transmission of an expanded set of alert signals:
•   Red Alert (attack imminent)
•   Yellow Alert (attack likely)
•   White Alert (all-clear)
•   Blue Alert (undefined)

The Yellow Alert and Red Alert signals correspond to the earlier Alert Signal and Attack Signal, respectively, and the early Federal Signal AR timer siren control units featured the "Take Cover" button labeled with a red background, and the "Alert" button labeled with a yellow background. Later AF timers changed the color-coding, coloring the Alert button blue, the Take Cover button yellow, and the "Fire" button red (used to call out volunteer fire fighters), thus confusing the color-coding of the alerts.

In 1955, the Federal Civil Defense Administration again revised the warning signals, altering them to adapt to deal with concern over nuclear fallout. The new set of signals were the Alert Signal (unchanged) and the Take-Cover Signal (previously the Attack Signal). The All-Clear signal was deleted because leaving a shelter while fallout was present would be hazardous.[4]

[paul-f]

Look around and see if you can find the cover for the indicators.  It just slips off, so is easy to lose.  Here are a few photos of a similar unit...

[G-Man]

Look around and see if you can find the cover for the indicators.  It just slips off, so is easy to lose.  Here are a few photos of a similar unit...

I'm not too certain that Maureen's subset originally had a cover. It looks as if it was an early version. Notice that the legends are different from later ones. From the article it appears as if Illinois Bell spearhead their development for the Bell System. It's possible that Maureen's father collected an early specimen.

[MagicMo]

I think I have the cover you're talking about. I just didn't take a picture of the side view.
Thanks
Mo

[twocvbloke]

There's a place here in the UK which still has an alert system in place (I think it may be Portsmouth), as they have nuclear powered submarines docking there, and of course if something goes wrong aboard the subs, they have to alert people living there to get out of the area fast, though I don't know what equipment they use today...

A lot of people today think nothing of the nuclear threats of the past, but, the threats that were prevalent for a long time did instil a lot of public fear of other countries at the time, and you had to take it seriously because if one politician said the wrong thing, it was game over for the human race, thanks to that "M.A.D." thing, or Mutual Assured Destruction, which was basically an agreement to fire all weapons to ensure that nobody survived, which frankly, like it's abbreviation, is madness...

Thankfully though the nuclear threats have died down, they're still there (and ageing so may not even work!!), but people these days just don't care, and politics are a lot more stable today than what they were 60 years ago so the likelihood of seeing a mushroom cloud over a major city in this day and age is minimal. Though that said, we are told to fear the terrorist, so we still have the fear of something that could kill us out there, if you pay attention to such things...

[paul-f]

I'm not too certain that Maureen's subset originally had a cover. It looks as if it was an early version. Notice that the legends are different from later ones. From the article it appears as if Illinois Bell spearhead their development for the Bell System. It's possible that Maureen's father collected an early specimen.

While anything is possible, it's also possible the cover was broken or simply slipped off in storage and handling over the years. It is made of plastic and appears fragile.

I have two in my collection.  One has lights labeled Y, B, R, and W, which corresponds to a 1961 BSP
  1961 BSP

Another has lights labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4, and corresponds with a 1968 BSP
  1968 BSP

Both BSPs show the plastic cover in place over the lamp assembly.

There were several different legends produced over the years for different installations.

Mo's unit appears to have a 1964 date on the front label.