On April 22, 1952, the first-ever air raid siren test sounded in Wichita. Some of the oldest Thunderbolt sirens in the United States were still in use across Sedgwick County up until late last year.

Sedgwick County Emergency Management will test the attack mode function of its 70-year-old Thunderbolt siren system on Monday. The attack mode function was last tested in 2015.

That's because the Caledonia fire siren, a 1962 1003 air raid siren, Thunderbolt, was actually a civil defense siren. Last February, CFD retired the 50 year old siren and installed a new ...

Wichita has the four oldest Thunderbolt sirens in the United States, installed in 1952 after then-President Harry Truman signed the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950. “Their original intent was ...

Justin Birchfiel, who has saved and restored a Knoxville Thunderbolt air raid siren from Prosser and Buffat Mill roads, has said only three sirens remain from the Cold War era system that was ...

The air raid siren at City Hall that was successfully tested in October at Mayor Wally Scott’s behest is indeed a relic. But just how rare is it to find an intact Civil Defense siren like Rea… ...