Chrysler Air-raid Siren

Built during the Cold War era from 1952 to 1957 (second generation) by Chrysler, its power plant contained a newly designed FirePower Hemi V8 engine, with a displacement of 331 cubic inches and producing 180 horsepower .

They were 12 feet long, and weighed an estimated 3 short tons Its six horns were each 3 feet long. The siren had an output of 138 dBs (30,000 watts), and could be heard as far as 25 miles away.

These sirens revolved from on top of high buildings. Most had a tractor seat so that the operator rode with the machine. Some sirens were mounted on trucks.

HEAR THE SIREN!

(Be aware that NO computer speakers can come close to reproducing this siren sound)

The main purpose of the siren was to warn the public in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviets during the Cold War. The operator's job was to start the engine and bring it up to operating speed, then to pull and release the transmission handle to start the wailing signal generation. The Chrysler air raid siren produced the loudest sound ever achieved by an air raid siren

When I was a little kid in1955, I heard these sirens many times in Detroit. It was, and still is, the scariest sound that I recall from childhood. The way the sirens would echo off the buildings was frightening, and little kids seldom knew what the sound was for, they just knew it was scary as hell.

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