A little location help needed

**M CD M** · January-10-10, 03:48 PM

Great work folks.
I was not even close to where I thought it was.
The siren in the picture was called Big Bertha.
This was the design before the ones that Detroit bought in the early 1950's.
I wonder when they decided to paint them all yellow?

http://detroitfirefighters.net/image...20PIC%2027.jpg
http://detroitfirefighters.net/image...20PIC%2041.jpg

**Meddle** · January-10-10, 11:18 PM

That garage roof looks to have been 2 or 3 floors lower than DAC. If that's the case, I would have hated to have been inside DAC when that thing cranked up. Rattling the walls would have been an understatement.

**karl jr.** · January-10-10, 11:39 PM

Big Bertha's right, Bell Labs.:
http://www.victorysiren.com/x/index.htm
lier Siren Models
Click on "earlier siren model" on the side bar.

http://www.victorysiren.com/x/photo-...bs/5bigb03.jpg

**larrym** · January-11-10, 01:44 AM

Back in the 50's, it was a eerie sound when the sirens were tested, I had my shelter under the front porch all ready. Thinking about it now, I doubt the lattice work would have offered much protection.

**Sandhouse** · January-11-10, 01:40 PM

I just noticed that in the picture the Hudson Company is missing floors 19 and 20 on its north face, which if I remember correctly means it pre-dates 1946. I would have to look it up to check, as I can't remember when those two warehouse floors were added.

**MikeM** · January-11-10, 01:48 PM

And if it's a Big Bertha, then it's 1942 or later.

**CountrySquire** · January-11-10, 01:58 PM

When viewing the 1942 Article about Big Bertha on the victory siren site there is a picture of the same siren on the same test truck.

**MikeM** · January-11-10, 02:07 PM

There's a brief section about it in the history of the Bell Labs. They started work on it in 1938. The only mention of testing it in public was on the Manhattan Bridge in March, 1942, in order to make sound measurements throughout the city. As the article says, Bell never produced any but transferred the technology to Chrysler. I was surprised to see pictures of it in New Orleans. Maybe they acquired it second hand?

**beachboy** · January-12-10, 10:31 PM

>Back in the 50's, it was a eerie sound when the sirens were
>tested, I had my shelter under the front porch all ready.

Was there a siren on top of Kern's? I remember being in Hudson's,
on the floor where they had pianos, and an air-raid siren went off
[[mid-1950s). It was frightening for a kid like me, from the boonies,
esp. when my parents told me the Russians were attacking...

[[Good to be back online after a year's travel, etc.)