Pyro Large Series Army Sound Detection Truck with Operator - Olive Green HP

From the Forgotten & Found Foto Files: Pyro's Large Series Army Sound Truck

We've covered a couple of sound trucks here on the blog before but they were civilian versions. Today, we'll look at Pyro's Army version. Before the days of fancy electronics, militaries depended on rather crude ways of detecting incoming planes. Radar helped of course, once it cam along, but another method was to simply listen utilizing huge cones! Awkward as heck, I'm not sure how well they actually worked, but it is an interesting tidbit of forgotten military hardware. It measures: 5" (12.7cm) L x 2" (5.08cm) W x 3.125" (7.93cm) H. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed

American Dimestore #30092 Sound Truck

At first this American Dimestore sound truck with it's "I Like Ike" motif may seem rather strange. Sound trucks were very common in the States from the 1920s 'til about the late '50s early '60s. So why would American Dimestore produce a truck with a presidential campaign slogan? Well, it's a catchy slogan to be sure and the truck is appropriate to the era, but my guess is that it was made as a companion to Lionel's D.D. Eisenhower Presidential Campaign Car No. 6-9529 put out I believe in the '70s. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Thomas Toys #T-140 Loudspeaker / Sound Truck

We've got another Nifty '50s  toy truck tonight, the Thomas Toys #T-140 Loudspeaker Truck. Waaay back before the Internet, before the Web, before personal computers (about, oh, a million years or so ago) some advertising was done through the use of loudspeaker trucks also called sound trucks. Fire and police departments used them to announce emergency situations, and political candidates blared out their messages with them and they're still used in many countries for disseminating political messages. I don't know when they were first used but the photo below shows one early (and large) loudspeaker truck:

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Political campaign sound truck 1940

Courtesy Wikipedia

Our Thomas version has condition issues - the rear speaker is broken off, but otherwise is a good example and measures  3 7/8" (9.8cm) L x 1 1/4" (3.2cm) W x 1 3/4" (4.4cm) H Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina