Collections: Mazda blackout light bulb
Dimming the city for safely: Blackout bulb
This Mazda blackout light bulb was used in Hawai‘i during World War II. Bulbs like these were put into production by the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor. They created a minimal light source during “blackout” nights, when the U.S. government suspected the imminent occurrence of a nighttime air raid.
On “blackout” nights, all normal bulbs were replaced with these blackout bulbs. The reduced light caused difficulty for enemy bombers to locate city targets. This particular bulb, which has a one-inch clear circle at the top to allow for a small amount of light, was used by the Saito family in Oahu.
As a teenager, Edith Saito Gima remembers “one school had a long trench dug, about 6 or 7 feet deep, just a plain one with no protection overhead. We would march single file with our gas masks over our shoulders. We had an air-raid shelter on our property, which was partly a gulch. My father and my brothers dug a cave, shored it up with lumber, and we stored water and some canned goods in it, but fortunately we never did have to use it.”
Gift of Edith Saito Gima
I have an actual blacout bulb from WWll. It was my grandfathers. They used to use it in Brooklyn, NY during the air raid drills. Not sure if it works though has stuff written on it from the manufacturer. Anyone know what it’s worth?