Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000T in ATTACK mode

Thunderbolt 1000T on Anderson (Wilson) school ground in Wichita KS - horn rotation set at 2 RPM. Originally intended to signal "the end of the world as we know it" from a Soviet nuclear missile launch during the cold war era, its mission now is to warn of a tornado in the area. Although the siren is Civil Defense yellow, I decided to tweak the video a bit by aging and going grayscale to give it a more ominous atomic age film look.
In elementary school when we would have an air raid drill, all the students would go to the school hallways and the teachers instructed us how to sit against the wall, bend over and put our heads between our legs with our hands on our heads. What they didn't tell us was that if this had been an actual attack, this served the purpose of kissing our butts goodbye.
The T-bolt in attack mode sounds eerie and considering it's original purpose it's fitting. Those too young to remember or didn't learn about it in school should Google "Cuban missile crisis" and see that those cold war years were some scary times indeed.
Digital audio recorder with Visivox mics and preamp used to simultaneously record audio.
Download the original stereo file:
www.mediafire.c...
Upload to your iPod or burn to CD and entertain the neighbors!

[@RideOp74]

At some point since this video was uploaded, this siren was replaced with what appears to be a 3200-watt ATI HPSS32, driving eight 400-watt speakers.

[@ThunderboltOverkill]

Thank you for your wonderful uploads! Sad to see such a classic siren go...

[@TheHudsonFlyer]

This type of siren is called a wail a.k.a attack wail tornado sirens use a alert siren but in some regions that alert siren is called an all clear siren which is the same siren u would hear when the fallout of a nuclear war is gone letting everyone know it is safe to come out the u.s. government and office of civil defense uses here in the u.s.a at the end of a nuclear war which we would never hear due to the current eas (emergency alert system) but if something were to happen to the wireless communication system that causes the emergency alert system to not work we would surely hear this sound again

[@I_also_like_sirens_hehe]

ATI sirens = trash

[@tornadof25]

@@I_also_like_sirens_hehe ikr

[@tornadof25]

@Bay_City_EOWS_812_Fan k

[@lilaj34siren]

how does one simply dislike this video? the is one of the best sounding thunderbolts i have ever heard. It does not make sense.

[@Saltedbiscuits]

This video is my childhood and the first video I ever watched on KZbin. I don't know how to feel about this.

[@terrimeakin-rosario2508]

i do...

[@Oof-bu4me]

Wow this is your first video you ever watched?! That's crazy

[@IamUSMC2019]

Brings chills down my spine. If people heard this during the Cold War, they knew it was over. The world was comming to an end. Creepy

[@deltaboy767]

Or when they heard this during WW2, they knew that shortly the bombes would begin to fall, and within minutes the town would be in ruins. My grandfather remembers hearing this during the Blitz.

[@starlingbaez6681]

@@deltaboy767 these sirens were not around during WWII

[@deltaboy767]

@@starlingbaez6681 I never said they had these particular ones during the Second World War, I said imagine hearing this as in hearing this sound during that time.

[@starlingbaez6681]

@@deltaboy767 oh, ok

[@HayTatsuko]

Having one of these go off for its daily noontime test less than 30 feet from me as I visited the Choctaw County Public Library in Butler, Alabama, was one of the most nerve-jangling experiences of my childhood. 126 dB, even through the wall/roof of a building, ain't no joke. Having a wristwatch alarm set to alert me to the impending sonic attack only let me dull it a bit -- even with fingers in ears, the very timbre of the sound was still jarring. 100% my favorite siren of all time, now that I've gotten more used to it. This is such a well-done video - thanks!

[@MrScottie68]

This sound, something I have not heard since my grammer school days made my skin crawl. I remember the air raid drills in school and quickly running out into the hallway, back against the walls, head down in between your knees.

[@chicotower]

Thunderbolts are absolutely the tops in warning sirens! When this siren goes off, you know you are hearing the best. This siren had the eeriest, but most effective tone ever. Too bad they are fading away from the siren scene.

[@YouthfulElf]

When I was going to school in the fifth grade, the school I attended had one of these T-Bolt sirens. During tornado drills, the teachers taught us the same duck and cover procedures in the hallways, but in our case it was all about the tornados. Never did they mention anything of a nuke attack, and I have to say I wonder why. After all, it was the mid 80's and the Cold War was still going on I believe.

[@MrScottie68]

YouthfulElf: it probably depended on where you lived. I am from NYC and tornadoes are rare but NYC was (is) considered a “target” city so nuclear attack drills were very much still being practiced by schools at least into the very early 1980’s. If you were from a small town in the Midwest, a direct nuclear strike would have obviously been much less likely so maybe the drills were not routine.

[@jetdriver26]

Now this is what I grew up hearing!

[@KSE828]

Your "tweaking" looks awesome! I actually thought for a moment that it was from the 1950's. 5 stars!

[@woodencoasterfan]

I'm a Professional Truck Driver and I drive all over the US and Canada. I also like to ride roller coasters and I've been on 103 different coaster and counting with heights ranging from 20ft to 420ft high. But nothing scares me more than to hear one of these go off.

[@Siren1000T1]

In Thunderbolt siren ways, we say each chopper level setting to mean how much voltage the siren is running. I can't remember exactly how much voltage is running on this but judging by how it sounds, it sounds like chopper level 5. The highest chopper level setting ever on a Thunderbolt siren is 7.

[@megmolkate]

Also doubled as tornado sirens in Michigan probably other states as well. Anyway same initial procedure but a look at the sky would give a good idea to anyone with an ounce of sense. Heard it when I was a child playing outside while mom was weeding the flowers. Looked up and the sky was strange and we went to the basement. Dad was a sheriffs department sergeant and called to tell us to get below, he was just going on shift. Tornado killed 3 in the city of Kalamazoo spring of 1980.

[@HayTatsuko]

Can confirm they had these both in Butler and Lisman, Alabama as tornado sirens at least through the late 1990s. One of them was up on a pole above City Hall in Butler, right next to the public library, and they would set it off every day at noon. Just about always made me darn near jump out of my shoes when it went off while I was at the library, but the real scary was when it was used in earnest for impending tornadoes, because this was in Dixie Alley.

[@BenTheGamer300]

Childhood video and I still enjoy watching it. I was 9 years old when this was released, good old days!

[@ascalia]

THIS is the "menacing", cold war-esque tone that I remember hearing when I grew up in Bloomfield Township. STILL gives me chills. The tone has to be "low enough" to gimme that scary feeling!

[@heliotrope1920]

I have downloaded this for my iphone ringer. When I play this for my friends they think im going crazy, I close my eyes and grin. This IS one of the best sounds in the world! It sends a chill up my spine with anticipation of very bad things coming my way and I love it. Thank you, thank you thank you. I miss them, im in Austin and I havent heard a single one for a very long time.

[@HayTatsuko]

If I played this in public where I live, I'd likely get scolded by anyone old enough to remember the November 1989 tornado that ripped through the south end of the city, the worst natural disaster Huntsville, AL, has ever experienced.

[@jaysirrock]

Generals gathered in their massessssss.....Just like witches at black masses.....

[@ChristianGarcia-ih1up]

jaysirrock Evil minds that plot destructionnnnnn...... sorcerer of deaths constructionnnnnn

[@RideOp74]

Death and hatred to mankiiiiiind, poisoning their brainwashed miiiiiinds. Oh Lord yeah.

[@JetDom767]

Politicians hide themselves away, they only started the war!

[@trainerred2063]

Dom757200 Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor.

[@KatTheFoxtaur]

Take a last look around while you're alive, I'm an indestructible master of war!! ;3

[@dutchgerald]

Wichita (Sedgwick County) is currently putting up ATI sirens and taking down some of the old Federal T-bolts and 2t22s. LUCKILY this particular Thunderbolt has been spared.....it has been updated with a new ATI controller but at least that is all. My T-bolt at east high also gets to stay!

[@Boss-X]

I remember the first time I heard the test I was scared when I was a kid..!!! Believe it or not I still have a hidden fear of it even if I liked it that remind me of my childhood

[@matteng1997]

This is probably the best Thunderbolt 1000T recording on KZbin!

[@NicoleClarkAKPoptart]

Love the growly sound of this one!

[@waitaminute7257]

These were the best sirens ever! Love the grainy black and white, 1950s cold war civil defense video look. I can almost hear the clicking sound the old reel to reel projectors would make in the class room.

[@Battychief]

I can identify with every fact you're stating in your comments. I grew up in Dallas who had the Classic Thunderbolts like the one featured in your video. I was in first grade in 1960 and remember well learning how to "duck and cover". My Dad was a Dallas Fireman, and a Thunderbolt was placed at each Fire Station and at several schools. Oddly enough, I keep coming back and revisiting your video because of some odd attraction, or maybe because I remember the sound as if it was yesterday.

[@yourlocalretard582]

Yea Dallas’s thunderbolt 1000s

[@yourlocalretard582]

They still have ‘em and fired them up not too long ago

[@SPHSdrumline]

This is that classic, perfect eerie siren that you think of

[@Nycki1337]

Thanks for the nostalgia. I'm moving back to my hometown with this siren thanks to you.

[@StevoE7]

I used to live in kuwait during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. At the time, Kuwaitis were scared of a gas attack and we taped all our windows etc. My school had one of these sirens on top of one of the wings of the building. My classroom faced the siren and wing. I could see it from my desk when the door was open. Before the war started and as we were expecting it to happen, kuwait ran a lot of these drills. It was winter in kuwait which meant wonderful weather so the teacher would leave the door open. I used to watch this thing go off, echo against all the surrounding buildings, and terrify us all. Once a month at 10 am it would start with this attack pattern, then there were two other patterns at 10:15 and 10:30. My heart would jump every time. Even today as I play this video with a low volume knowing exactly what it will sound like, my heart just jumped as soon as it started. I was taken back to 2003 and me, a kid, sitting at my desk, helplessly watching this yellow instrument of torture turn. I hoped there would come a day where I would never see it turn again. My high school had one mounted on top. I think I only heard it go off once.

[@sailr]

I grew up with those sirens in Wichita!

[@jetdriver26]

These sirens are the ultimate attention getter. Indoor, outdoor, it doesn't matter. You'll hear it, feel it, and know its time to pay attention. These are the old fashioned hellfire preachers of the siren world

[@SynthMan65]

The greatest siren of all time. I wish they would make more as the ubiquitous Federal 2000's are whimpy sounding.

[@919hornet4me]

Best thunderbolt recording on utube

[@McGeeification]

I want to take a moment and than you for your effort. It is quite impressive. I would not have been aware of the sheer technology available to warn people of oncoming disaster. Now I am much better informed.

[@rdfox76]

@SevenCPA Actually, they started out as air raid sirens, turned into nuclear attack sirens after WW2, then, in the USA, became mostly used for tornado warnings. Most places in the US test either every month or every week.

[@bluehealer81]

“So what do you want this new siren to sound like?” “Can you make it sound like 100 million damned souls wailing in unison as they are consumed by atomic hellfire?” “Say no more.”

[@euphoria0311]

Nice video! I love the old Cold War style editing.

[@DaveWVideo]

I remember those as a kid growing of the month at 11 AM. Because of the times they were kinda scary, but I always liked their tone and thought they sounded great! Love to see a close up of the impeller, chopper, stator etc.

[@patcatania8582]

I'm only 14 and I know about the Cold War AND the Cuban Missile Crisis in depth; because my dad told me about how gruesome air raids were and how the drills went, how "HOLY F**CKING CRAP THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO END!"-like the air raid sirens sounded like (because they were all Thunderbolt 1000t 4/5's and 5/6's), and how they used to scare the living crap out of someone who never expects an air raid to come. It was great watching vintage videos about drills and all; but learning from my dad about how gruesome air raids were was terrifying.

[@PenisCupcakePoop]

+cg1245 I do.

[@camper1749]

+cg1245 Me too.

[@childishtombino1275]

It is interesting

[@armankordi]

not like they teach you that in school or anything also its not like most parents are baby boomers you're not special kid

[@Cascade-ci2sz]

Well now your 18.

[@notinuse60]

Amazing performance by the mighty Thunderbolt as always 😁👏 and I love the black & white too it's about as close as you can get to actually being there in the 50's watching it as a revolutionary spectacle 😍

[@Bluelunes]

This is exactly like the tornado sirens they have all over Little Rock, they are extremely loud - deafening up close, and scary. They air them the same day every week at noon, needless to say the first time I heard it I thought we were under attack.

[@Akos843]

i got shivers in my back when i hearing this sound.

[@du4lstrik3]

Where I grew up in MI we had one of these down the street. First Saturday of every month was always a bone-chilling day. Then they tore down the Thunderbolt and put in some pansy-ass siren.

[@ethanrain7505]

Thunderbolt 1000T siren.... Creepiest sound I ever heard in my life.

[@Nicecatholicgirl]

Darn right.

[@wendyokoopa7048]

E Rain it's my ring tone

[@andrewschannel4259]

Ethan Rain The Chrysler Air Raid Siren is much scarier than this.

[@AntiFnapTheLegendaryRobloxianY]

Yeah But for me Nah

[@AntiFnapTheLegendaryRobloxianY]

@@andrewschannel4259 yep your not wrong

[@dergin38467]

this sound just sends chills down my spine everytime

[@demonicpickles]

those sirens chill me to the core.

[@mattmatt115]

In my town in northern Ontario region of Canada, our air raid siren is located at the fire department and when they test it, it gives me a surreal feeling, and i cant help but look up to the sky seeking jets, or warheads comming down at me..... What an erie sound....

[@kd503]

All I can say is....WOW!This siren really tells you to get the hell out of dodge!Great Video!

[@thebradester]

Now that's what I call a doomsday whistle! We had Thunderbolt 1000's in Lincoln, NE up until a few years ago when they were replaced by Federal Signal 2001DC's. The T-Bolt will always have a special place in my heart for terrifying me as a little girl every Wednesday at 10:15am in the spring and summer.

[@paulsmith5398]

How well i remember the Thunderbolts in Springfield Illinois doing alert & attack on test day, sounded identical to this one, and mixed in with SD10s. They all were replaced in 2006/7 by ASC T-128s after the twister sisters went through in march 2006 and made hash out of a few of them.

[@mynamesfriday]

I remember these when I was in elementary school in the 1960's. The last Friday of every month we had air raid drills and we had to go to the shelter across the street from my school. Dam i miss the old days !!! Ha ha

[@venttobe]

That is a very eerie sound... but I like it. Thanks for posting this

[@CatManDEW]

@Helicopterpilot16, the Thunderbolt series all used a blower-chopper configuration. The blower unit is usually mounted below the chopper and horn.

[@RideOp74]

Thanks and yes, this one is still going strong, but there have been a few others in the county that have been replaced with new sirens as the old ones have "gotten tired."

[@aliultimate009]

man i can't hold my self when hearing it ... it's too scary specially in the NIGHT when you wake up hearing it !!!

[@chicotower]

This sounds like the real McCoy of sirens! I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, too! Yes, it was a very scary time indeed, especially since my dad was in the Navy!

[@form109]

it's almost 12 AM here in dallas,texas and they're running their sirens....i can hear the thunderbolts going off...man i tell you that is a fucking cool and bone chilling sound now this is what a siren should sound like...

[@telecasteredtodeath]

this is brilliant.. im taking monday off to stay home and watch this siren.. mad..

[@Rocket_scientist_88]

In Louisiana, we would hear this siren (in the 1970s) every day at noon. I kind of miss it, I grew up not understanding the significance…

[@twotailedavenger]

@GladiatorsFan1 Federal was considering an electronic Thunderbolt replica series (speaker horn was square, modulator-based drivers were housed in "solenoid boxes", radio hardware and battery were in a mock blower box, tone was a professionally made thunderbolt synth), but the project was put aside due to the popularity of the 2001-130 and Federal's misfortune with previous electronic sirens. *cough*SIRATONE*cough*

[@919hornet4me]

Todays sirens don't even compare to this! Bring back the Thunderbolt1000T

[@EstateManor]

this recording really captures the up close sound without simply compressing it...it gives us a taste of how these t-bolts shake up the spinal cord!

[@HoboApprentice]

That's because a steady pulse from one of these is to denote "Alert". The Rising-Falling alarm is to designate "Attack" such as a missile or air strike.

[@Nellinator23]

We have five of these here for our warning sirens... I still shudder every time I hear them go off. Even though they've only gone off once that I heard that wasn't a test (the other time, I was in school and couldn't hear them). Gotta love it, though.

[@Cheyennebremari]

This video took me back in time to when I was in elementary & middle school. I remember being ushered n2 the hallway by our teachers & told to assume the position!(sitting down,shoulder2shoulder w/our heads tucked down between our knees w/our hands clasped over our heads2supposedly protect us).

[@will2993]

This is one of the most horrifying sounds a person can hear. I was thankfully born right after the fall of the Soviet Union, but something about the way these sirens sounds chills me right to my core

[@crazyfvck]

@will2993 Well, now that the Cold War Nuclear Treaty is falling apart, there is a still a possibility that we might hear them again (though most of them would be more modern-sounding sirens.) I was just reading today that Russia's new hypersonic missiles, traveling at almost 2 miles per second, would be able to hit targets in the U.S. within 5 minutes of being launched from their submarines. There would be almost no warning for us civilians. Scary stuff. Kind of makes me glad that I live in the middle of the U.S., and about 40 miles from any major cities.

[@xtaxplayer]

Its been awhile but I remember. . . Sends chill's down my spine to think about it.

[@msteven515]

By far, this is the finest air raid siren video on youtube.

[@douro20]

A standard activation for one of these sirens in Sedgwick County places it in three minutes of alert and about 45 seconds of attack/fast wail.

[@keithsutton8317]

Thunderbolts have the best sounding attack setting ever. Sounds like the end of the world

[@chicotower]

This is the most scary thing you could hear during the height of the Cold War!

[@Nicecatholicgirl]

Yep.

[@bigg34691]

I Remember these! They used to sound those things off every last Friday at the end of the month at 9:00 a.m! I wish they bring them back nowadays for earthquake warnings and Tsunami Alerts!

[@matteng1997]

That is what the Thunderbolt 1000T sirens in Pontiac,IL sound like. All of them are in very good shape.

[@NickSilcox3]

this gives me the chills

[@RileyStanchina]

Great video, thank you for posting this.

[@bigroy38]

It either meant there was a tornado warning or our asses were gonna get nuked.She definitely put the fear of God into ya.

[@Nicecatholicgirl]

Yep.

[@AUSTINwazhere]

The buzzing noise it makes does make it more unsettling than other alarms

[@DOHC66]

There was a yellow fall out shelter sign on the building it was on top of. I believe it was the theater which was partially below ground that was designated as the shelter. But the school was built in 1958 and there could have been some area in the building I didn't know about that was below ground, down some little known staircase.

[@RideOp74]

Thanks - I corrected the title. This area was a prime missile target back in the day and also in tornado alley, so there are lots of old Tbolts still around here. When I was growing up the only time you heard one was during a tornado warning or once in a blue moon when they tested them. Now they test every week. I'll see if I can find a 1000 and post a video.

[@Nycki1337]

This is my town's siren. I am so proud.

[@MattA1GP]

Yeah, we've got a few over here in Southington, CT, primarily used now as an alarm for the fire department.

[@Hpiratesbasketball2]

In Hannibal Missouri, this is our tornado siren, and it doesn't go on and off like this. It goes on, and stays on until the tornado is over.

[@onefootinthegroove39]

@TheTubbenator The siren used in Silent Hill was actually a Federal STL-10. Both the Thunderbolt and STL-10s were used for the same purpose during the Cold War.

[@gowestward1]

i used to live near a weight loss clinic and not too far from there was an all-u-can eat buffet. I remember every Tuesday evening this siren would sound as the porkers left the clinic for a snack at the buffet. This siren was to warn people of the surrounding neighborhood to lock their refrigerators. Vey scary moments indeed!

[@ausme10]

The T-bolts are the meanist sounding sirens of them all!!! It'll get your attention, that's for sure!

[@MarcusToroian]

@lordjames78 They ARE tornado sirens if they are used for the purpose of tornado warning. If you wanna get technical, they are all outdoor warning sirens. Us siren geeks tend to title sirens by their purpose. Volunteer fire department sirens, tornado sirens, tsunami sirens, chemical spill sirens, air raid sirens, prison/institution escape sirens, etc. It's the application, not the device itself that gives the title. This thunderbolt could be considered any one of these depending on it's use.

[@RainbowManification]

I saw one of these driving on I-29 on saturday after thanksgiving somewhere in missiouri or kansas, a small little town. Civil Defense yellow.

[@skullz89]

there's 1 of these over the old Fitch Highschool in Austintown, Ohio and I remember when it used to go off I always jumped out of my seat or screamed...great memories

[@seawind0721]

The b&w film effect makes all that much spookier. Like it should cut to a scene of school children doing duck & cover in the '50's.

[@McFrozenNuggets]

I like the ominous look!

[@blzbug242]

coolest looking siren by far

[@SnorkinOrkin]

lisasffek "it sends a shiver down my spine" Me too!! Love it!

[@United_HVAC_and_Fans]

This is an amazing video! Awesome sound to it and amazing video and audio quality for being 2007.

[@ValenDRV]

This needs WAY MORE views!!!

[@rdrdphidz]

F-ing awesome! I am totally going to download to iPod and entertain my neighbors. Not only that, it'll sure do a number on the voices in my head! Thanks a boatload!

[@KatTheFoxtaur]

Very awesome video, and thank you for posting that beautiful stereo MP3 version of it! =D

[@gowestward1]

I grew up near a weight loss clinic and every Tuesday evening after the class ended, this same siren would go off in attack mode to warn the neighborhood of an impending Big Mac attack.

[@Regency500]

My county just put up a Thunderbolt about a week ago, great shape too! It's blue colored and the wind down is sooooo cool. It takes forever for it to wind down, in my opinion, that's the best part!!!! It's only been tested once, and it's about 625ft away from my house. I listen in to the County Civil Defence on my scanner to find out any scheduling for its tests, and when it's time for one of its tests, I'll be sure to upload a video of it. It's a real beautiful siren.

[@RezSnake]

That sent chills down my back...sounds like the end of the world.

[@jetdriver26]

That's the exact sound of our old thunderbolts, but we haven't had them in years. The new ones we have are wimpy, and you wouldn't be able to hear them in a storm if ya tried.

[@mrv2rocketman]

same one my town has they were put in during the cold war for the civil defence to warn people for soviet attacks there still in use and sound great

[@stephqaz]

im 17 now and i remember in elementary school doing bomb drills, we would be away from all the windows and stand in the hallways with our backs against the walls

[@terminator6267]

oh god...whenever i hear this my adrenaline rush will kick in in half a second and start running for cover...for this reason is the impending doom that will end us all and the ominous sound it produced