Seattle/Tacoma Thunderbolts

[TelcoJoe]

When I was younger, I remember seeing a thunderbolt on 22nd avenue, but never heard it activated. Likewise, I remember seeing a couple in Tacoma. Does anyone know when they stopped testing them in Seattle/Tacoma? How where they activated (POTS lines, metallic pair, radio?). Lastly, I remember seeing a documentary called WW III in Seattle on PBS channel 9 in the 80's that talked about the civil defense efforts during the cold war, but have been unable to track that documentary down.

[shodowhater]

First off, welcome to airraidsirens.com! We hope you enjoy your stay here!

Seattle was an early adopter of Thunderbolts, purchasing their system of what we call "Bumblebolts" in 1952 or 1953. Sadly, the end of Civil Defense meant the end of Seattle's thunderbolt system. None remain.

The term Bumblebolts refers to the paint scheme on these early sirens- black and yellow, like the stinger on a bee.

Somewhat recently, Seattle purchased DSAs, and we believe at least one has shown up on eBay.

This thread may be of assistance: https://airraidsirens.com/forums/viewto ... A&start=15

[Mark N]

I recall Daniel (an expert of sirens in that area of the US) saying the state of Washington got rid of Civil Defense in the 1960s, and all the thunderbolts disappeared, either sold or scrapped. It may have been from there that the former Waldport 1000s came from, Christian would know better about that than me however.

[shodowhater]

I recall Daniel (an expert of sirens in that area of the US) saying the state of Washington got rid of Civil Defense in the 1960s, and all the thunderbolts disappeared, either sold or scrapped. It may have been from there that the former Waldport 1000s came from, Christian would know better about that than me however.

I ran a search of the board and didn't find that. Also, if i recall, the Waldport 1000s were from Portland.

[coastalsyrolover]

I recall Daniel (an expert of sirens in that area of the US) saying the state of Washington got rid of Civil Defense in the 1960s, and all the thunderbolts disappeared, either sold or scrapped. It may have been from there that the former Waldport 1000s came from, Christian would know better about that than me however.

The waldport ones came from spokane. Portland last I remember didn't have any thunderbolts. We only had chrysler sirens (7 to be exact.) and some buell horns. The seattle bolts are gone. Also westport WA had a system of bolts that are all gone. Yakima still has 2 (Jailbar and hornless) and stevenson WA has a 1003 and Longview, Kelso and Kalama still have their systems just... Rotting on their poles... Although 2 have been removed in somewhat recent years. My thunderbolt (In my profile picture) is one of the waldport ones. Sorry for being all over the place. Getting a bit hot and tired.

[TelcoJoe]

Yes. I did a search of the board and found the picture of the one on 31st and King. The one on 22nd was mounted the same way (on a platform supported by two telephone poles). I saw it there in the late 70's/early 80's and it was painted with the bumblebee style.

That thing terrified me as a kid as I could imagine how loud it could be. My bother, who was one for practical jokes, told me that his friend had a box that would, "set it off." That freaked me out even more.

I would like to see more pictures of the ones in Seattle if anyone has them.

I also remember Tacoma had some in the 70's

[coastalsyrolover]

Yes. I did a search of the board and found the picture of the one on 31st and King. The one on 22nd was mounted the same way (on a platform supported by two telephone poles). I saw it there in the late 70's/early 80's and it was painted with the bumblebee style.

That thing terrified me as a kid as I could imagine how loud it could be. My bother, who was one for practical jokes, told me that his friend had a box that would, "set it off." That freaked me out even more.

I would like to see more pictures of the ones in Seattle if anyone has them.

I also remember Tacoma had some in the 70's

I was born up in the seattle area and lived there for the first few years of my life but believe it or not the first bolt I heard was in Nebraska on top of an elementary school I went to that they tested at recess time. The thing was unbelievably loud. And potent... That's the biggest thing about them is that they are potent. Scared me out of sirens for quite a while when I was younger... ESPECIALLY that wind down... Oh man that supercharged wind down was terrifying especially as a kid. Rattled every bone in my body. But yes in seattle they were all painted with the "bumblebolt" painting as mentioned before. They also had the jailbars in them (like the one in Yakima) and to my knowledge were all single tone??? Maybe someone can chime in and straighten those words out a bit. I know of some bolts down in california that were dual tone so they might have been but if they were bumblebolts then I HIGHLY doubt it. Anyways the thing that I find interested about the WA state thunderbolts is that the current standing and disconnected systems, the ones that still run and the ones that once stood there would have sounded epic. ESPECIALLY with the tall buildings in seattle and the wide open space. The echo would have probably been insane. Even when you consider the supercharged wind down.

[Stormsetter4]

All of them were single toned. Dual tone was not introduced until later.

[coastalsyrolover]

All of them were single toned. Dual tone was not introduced until later.

Yea that's what I thought. If I remember it right dual tone didn't come in until... 1963? 65? I am probably way off but yea they were all single tone. Thanks stormsetter.

[Brendan W]

All of them were single toned. Dual tone was not introduced until later.

Yea that's what I thought. If I remember it right dual tone didn't come in until... 1963? 65? I am probably way off but yea they were all single tone. Thanks stormsetter.

Dual tones have been around since the late '50s. I think the earliest dual tone unit was a 4/5 that dated back to 1956 or 1957 that I believe was in either Minneapolis or Cincinnati.