Questions regarding air raid sirens prior to the Cold War.

[zombiegomoan]

I am working on a speech for a communications class about the air raid sirens of Los Angeles. It's gonna be a timeline of their history.

I've seen a lot of websites mention that a number of sirens went up prior to the Cold War as a means of warning civilians of incoming air raids from Japan. Other than that however, I am unable to get more information. I would like to know an estimated number of sirens that went up prior to the start of the Cold War. What type of sirens were they? Cost of the program? Was it still the County Sheriffs Office that maintained them prior to the Cold War? If anybody could assist me by linking me to credible sources (with more information) or pointing me in different directions, that would be greatly appreciated.

I've used coldwarla.com for a lot of information, but once again they dont talk about the sirens before the Cold War (which makes sense, considering the website's name).

[ruralchief]

You may want to Google "World War 2 era siren systems" or something similar to that. The West Coast probably had more necessity for a warning system, since there was the threat of Japanese attack.

Good luck in your research.

[Valra Bellkeys]

Please correct me if I am wrong.. but I think Chrysler Bell Victory air raid sirens were in LA, but I'm not sure if that was PRIOR to the cold war.. don't quote me on this... you should check.

[Unit of Civil Defense]

World War II (Japan, Nazi Germany) and the Cold War (Communist Russia) are two completely different eras in time....

[Unit of Civil Defense]

.....I am going to elaborate on this a little bit more......

With the Cold War it was every Naval port, every Air Force airfield and every Army post on heightened alert.....you can throw the Coast Guard in as well (coastal waters off of Florida , Pacific Northwest/Alaska) the Marines had a score to settle with the Korean War and Russia was going to pay ..if need be.

The Cold War was a whole lot different than WW II ...with the Cold War came the threat of an ICBM attack on the United States...from this we get "Duck and Cover" along with the Chrysler and Thunderbolt Sirens which would later come in useful during Tornado warnings.

By the mid 60's ,the threat from Russia was presumed to be a thing of the past and all the sirens got a new lease on life either warning of Tornados or alerting a volunteer fire dept. to report to the fire station or both.

There where sirens in WW II and the 2 or 3 years preceding the events of Dec. 7th. 1941 as Nazi Germany was beginning its rise to power in the late 30's. There had to be a way to muster the troops and a siren would have been the most effective way...whether it was a small hand crank or electric version. I am not as knowledgeable as most on these forums as far as manufacturer and model number of those types of sirens used...perhaps someone else can chime in with that information.

Locations that where key permanent military points in the Pacific theatre during WW II that where/are stateside including Hawaii that would more than likely had sirens are as fallows.

CALIFORNIA

San Diego Naval Station
Long Beach Naval Station
USMC Camp Pendleton
U.S Army Ft. Ord
U.S Army Fort MacArthur ( San Pedro, Los Angeles, California)
Palmdale Army Airfield /United States Air Force Plant 42
Edwards Air Force Base
*NOTE: Los Angeles Air Force Base was commissioned in the early 60's during the Cold War era.

HAWAII

Hickam Air Force Base
USN Pearl Harbour
U.S Army Ft. Shaftner
Wheeler Army Airfield / Schofield Barracks
Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay/ Fort Hase/ USMC Air Station Kaneohe Bay

WASHINGTON

U.S Army Ft. Lewis
McChord Air Force Base