Posted in Hearing Aids, Technology

Before There Was Radar There Were Great Big Hearing Aids

   Published Date: June 27, 2023
A German observation post in 1917 with two strangely equipped sentries,

The following pictures depict a very odd type of hearing aid that first appeared on the battlefields of World War 1.

This was a war when fighter planes and bombers made their debut.  It was also a time before the invention of radar so the best way to detect incoming enemy aircraft was to listen for the sound of their engines.

Of course, the further away you could hear them the better you could prepare so these early warning “acoustic listening devices” were developed.  Here are some weird and wonderful examples:

This Czech device was tested by the Dutch military. They concluded it had “fundamental deficiencies”.

 

This Dutch device “The Personal Parabola” is one of my favourites. Although this soldier apparently doesn’t agree.
This huge double trumpet system was deployed in 1921 at Bolling Field, an airbase in Washingon DC.

 

These Japanese detectors were nicknamed “War Tubas” and are seen here being inspected by Emperor Hirohito in 1935.

The “acoustic detection” era ended with the development of radar in WW2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Digby Cook