War Tuba

Wartuba

Did the Japanese really have giant War Tubas? Find out in today’s weird Wikipedia article, unearthed by the Wikiworm…

The Japanese war tuba (Known in Japanese as: “Large air sound detector ninety formula“) is a colloquial name sometimes applied to Imperial Japanese Army acoustic locators due to the visual resemblance to the musical tuba. The name derived from a misidentification, possibly in jest, of a historical photo from the 1930s featuring the Japanese emperor Shōwa inspecting the acoustic locators with anti-aircraft guns in the background.

Acoustic location devices were used by military services from mid-World War I to the early years of World War II for the passive detection of approaching enemy aircraftby listening for the noise of their engines. These typically consisted of large acoustic horns attached to stethoscope-type earphones worn by monitors. This technology was rendered obsolete before and during World War II by the introduction of radar, which was far more effective.
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About Author Profile: Worm

In between dealing with all things technological in the Dabbler engine room, Worm writes the weekly Wikiworm column every Saturday and our monthly Book Club newsletters.