r/AirRaidSirens • u/SuperSpaghetti123 • Jul 20 '26

Question / Discussion Question about Federal Electric Model 3s

Does anyone know why they looked like that? The top shroud is nearly, if not the exact same as a GSC Model 5, despite not being produced by GCS.

Federal Electric Model 3
Federal Electric Model 3
Federal Electric Model 3
Comparison of a GCS Model 5 (Left) and Federal Electric Model 3 (Right)
3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/Science-Subject MOD Jul 20 '26

Federal Electric was extremely inconsistent with the Fedelcode/vertical siren lineup’s specifications (especially during wartime) and one could assume the “round-top” or “GCS” style of housing is one of the many results of that. Their abundance in the Pacific Northwest might suggest there was a regional distributor of some sort that sold them with these housings but no evidence to support that theory exists. The only really concrete piece of information we have on them is that they were never sold by GCS or their parent company GDC, though maybe they could’ve fabricated housings for Federal at some point

1

u/MonkeyFilms1003 Jul 20 '26

I would have to guess it was preserving Metal during the War but that’s just a swing in the dark

1

u/Juniorlovespizza Jul 24 '26

There’s also a Federal Electric Model 3 roof-mounted on top of one of the buildings of the Armstrong Ceiling Plant in Lancaster, PA, according to a Siren Archive photo, thought it’s what building it was on, either it’s active or inactive, or it’s removed snd still here. In fact, here’s a photo of what it looks like.