The B&M Air Raid Siren

[NotVoyager]

Thought I would prove to you I’m not what you believe non useful, so I made something I thought might make accessing information of this siren easier.

Let’s begin.

The B&M Model 15-AR-15 is a strange siren, since B&M is known mostly for being vehicular mobile siren company. I recently came across this siren and I haven’t found much about it on the surface.

So I went digging.

On the surface

When you search this siren up, you will be greeted by videos of this rare siren. There is one post on the board about how this siren was recently put back into service, explaining it’s rust on the siren in the videos. The siren is claimed to be quite loud since the intake ports are smaller than the chopper. That makes the air coming in more impactful acting like a blower into the siren which makes it a lot louder, consdiering it’s 5HP.

Among the weird remarks about how loud it is and the “religious 7th Horn” jokes, information is scarce on the surface. The siren is located in Sierra Madre if you want to go see it or something… nice place!

The shallow waters

If we look a bit deeper, we can find out the siren were produced on a small line family of 5 sirens with B&M’s vehicular sirens as the main focus. The air raid sirens that they dished out to people were similar to the Carter like trend of constructing sirens, with two intake ports to boost the power. This ended up benefiting the siren incredibly. It was 14/16 port, making it extremely loud.

What I found later on

After a few days of not finding anything and being busy, I came across a poster about B&M’s actual air raid sirens! There were 5 different models, the model 6-AR-1, model 10-AR-2, model 15-AR-5 (the only unit still left), the Model 20-AR-7, and the Model 20-AR-10. They boasted having twice the noise of any other siren of the same size at the time, and probably still now, and more noise up against any other siren of the same horsepower.

It was designed for towns and small compact communities up to the largest metro-politician areas at the time. They said that all exposed metal parts were protected by protective methods, although the rust on the 15-AR-5 in Israel says otherwise. The motor was specially designed for the siren, ball bearing, weatherproof (really?) built for long life and was two or three phase. They could be used for power plants, outdoor warning, atomic projects and even air bases!

Few facts:

B&M is the oldest siren company, being productive since 1913.

The air raid siren series they made never had good resistant paint against nature, presumably because it’s an old siren and has been against the weather.

The poster was made in 1943 presumably, in the war while sirens were needed. This explains how they used these sirens as a jump on the wagon for sirens manufacturing height in WW2.

This used reliable information and facts to make finding facts about this siren easier.

Info:

Poster: https://wiki.airraidsirens.net/B%26M

Extra facts: https://www.airraidsirens.net/forums/vi ... hp?t=24397

(Best recording) the last B&M siren: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_JN7F6YwJU


Credit to Edaan freeman for the recording.

[ArxCyberwolf]

Comment removed due to outdated, incorrect information.

[championsiren]

Here's the previously mentioned B&M on a water tower. It's a 20-AR-7. Long inactive.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1935594 ... 384!8i8192

the Model 20-AR-10.

Another correction, it's 25-AR-10.

[LukeH]

B&M is the oldest siren company, being productive since 1913.

model 15-AR-5 (the only unit still left)

Federal Electric started making the Model 2 siren in 1907 (and still makes them today), so that's incorrect. B&M doesn't make civil defense sirens anymore, either.

There are multiple B&M sirens still out there, not just that 15-AR-5. Somebody owns a 20-AR-10, and I'm pretty sure there's another B&M on a water tower somewhere. Now, if you're talking about ACTIVE B&M sirens, that 15-AR-5 in California is the last one.

Also, Edaan's last name is Friedman, not Freeman.

Other than that, not a bad writeup.

I'm curious where you found this information? The earliest date I can find for Federal Electric is 1915, with their Type B. As I understood the model x sirens didn't make their debut until the mid to late 1920's.

[ArxCyberwolf]

Comment removed due to outdated, incorrect information.

[DangerousNoodle]

That's what the ARS wiki says, and TrainsandSiren1 owns a Federal Electric Model 2 that he says was built in 1911, so the timeframe checks out.

Yea also, I believe the Federal Signal website says that their Model 2s have been made since 1902...

[DangerousNoodle]

Although, I couldn't find it on the FS website I did find this in the wiki on the ARS website.

[LukeH]

You kids are taking a user edited wiki as the gospel. Federal Electric did not commercially produce or market sirens until atleast 1915. Federal Electric was founded in 1901 and originally manufactured incandescent signs and washing machines. Unless I see official documentation stating otherwise the information posted above is worthless at face value.

[Non-Zero]

I believe the B&M shop in CA has a spare siren that is an 8/10 dual rotor/stator. Cannot recall if it's a B&M or a Hedberg, but if I recall correctly it is a 3 phase and looks similar to a 2T22 without horns.