Evening star., 1942-07-13
Official Auto BIockout Lights Approved;
Production Is Limited to 100000 Sets
Local Defense Councils
Or individuals May
Have to Foot Bill
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.


After months of experimentation,
ofncial blackout lighting for auto
mobiles has been approved and
specifications have gone to manu-
facturers, 1t was learned today.
The blackout lamps, which will
require special installation and are
operated on a separate switch. will
be distributed to emergency vehicles,
certain amount Of public trans
portation, some essential war work.
ers and q limited number of civilian
defense workers.
Production for the present has
been limited to 100000 sets Of
lamps.
Details Worked Out.
Details now are being worked out
for the most economical way Of
getting the lamps distributed to the
vehicles that must operate in black
outs.
The lamps will not be paid for out
of the National once of Civilian
Defense 800, 900 900 appropriation.
Whether local defense councils or
individuals will foot the bill for the
lamps still is to be decided.
The national OCD will set general
standards for distribution OF the
limited number of lamps, but local
councils will decide who will get
them. Motorists probably will have
to apply to their local councils for
permission to receive them.
Approved by the Army. the War
Production Board and OCD, the
lighting arrangement includes three
different types of lamps.
go Marker Lamps.
On the front of the vehicle are
blackout marker lamps, one on each
side. For military and emergency
vehicles, . white light is required.
For other vehicles, the light gleam-
ing family through two Sits Of
glazed glass will be amber. These
lamps, set at the outer edges of the
front tenders, are only about Z
inches in diameter. In pitch dark
ness, the Sits OF light are said to be
visible at q distance of 10 feet.
The blackout headlamp, which Is
about inches in diameter, is set
on the left side Of the front OF the
vehicle as far forward as possible
to avoid reflections. A bright light
shines through notches in the black
metal. projecting ray Of light for
ward but not upward since q shield
extends over the top of the lamp,
preventing light from being seen
from above. In total blackout. the
headlamp will project light about 20
feet.
On the rear OF the vehicle, near
the left side, is the blackout tail and
stop lamp. For wide vehicles, these
lamps will be placed at both sides
of the rear of the car The brake
light consists of four red-glazed
strips. The tail light 10 an amber
slit set in the black metal lamp.
The headlamp Is considered mid
way between the parking lights md
the dimss in providing nlunaue TIN.
Tested On Lands Car.
Lamps Of the approved type have
been installed on OCD Director
James M. Lands ofhcial car and
proved effective when he toured
the city during the last two black-
out tests.
Just how much the special lamps
will cost when distributed on q mass
scale was not revealed, but = me-
chanic who examined the installa-
ton declared that an amateur
couldn't install the lamps.
The special switch on the DASH
board outs in on the regular light
ing system of the car so that when
the switch Is pulled out to its first
notch, the brake light is automati-
cally switched to the blackout sys-
tenn while the blackout marker
lamps are lighted. The second
notch lights the headlamp for driv-
ing.
Since production 50 far has been
limited to emergency vehicles, 1t
was made clear that OCD is
not contemplating the movement
Of private vehicles In blackouts.
During practice alarms here only
emergency and other ofhcial cars
have been allowed to move. In
the last blackout practice, when
the alarm period extended for only
4 half hour OF the dusk-to-dawn
blackout. other vehicles were al
lowed to proceed except for the
alarm period.
OCD emphasized that, with the
blackout lamps, speed during .
blackout would still be limited to
Is miles an hour.