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HANDEL was the code-name for the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed.

If an enemy air strike was detected, a key on the left hand side of the console would be turned and two lights would come on. Then the operator would press & hold down a red button and give the message:

"ATTACK WARNING RED! ATTACK WARNING RED!

The message would be sent to the police by the telephone carrier wave frequencies used for the speaking clock
Speaking clock

A speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time.The format of the service is somewhat similar to those in radio time signal services....
, who would in turn activate the air attack sirens using the local telephone lines.






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HANDEL was the code-name for the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed.

If an enemy air strike was detected, a key on the left hand side of the console would be turned and two lights would come on. Then the operator would press & hold down a red button and give the message:

"ATTACK WARNING RED! ATTACK WARNING RED!

The message would be sent to the police by the telephone carrier wave frequencies used for the speaking clock
Speaking clock

A speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time.The format of the service is somewhat similar to those in radio time signal services....
, who would in turn activate the air attack sirens using the local telephone lines. The rationale was to kill two birds with one stone, as it reduced running costs (it would most likely be used only once in its working life, though it was regularly tested) and the telephone lines were under constant test by sharing with a public service. That means a fault could be detected in time to give a warning.

Message How it's received Action to be taken Notes
Attack warning Warbling note followed by message: "Attack warning RED!" This would be followed by a control signal, activating the powered ones. Sound warning by activating sirens, the attack warning will be a rising and falling note. Attack warning will be broadcast on all television and radio stations.
Fall out warning High pitched pip signal followed by a spoken message. For example: "Fallout warning BLACK, London!" Fire warning maroon (firework) three times. Though in some areas, it can be three gongs or whistle
Whistle

A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means....
s in short succession.		 Fall out warning will be broadcast on the radio.
Fall out expected within the hour High pitched pip signal followed by spoken message. For example: "Fallout warning GREY, Canterbury!" Sound siren and give a long blast followed by two short ones, making the Morse code
Morse code

Morse code is a type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic information using rhythm. Morse code uses a standardized sequence of short and long elements to represent the alphanumeric, punctuation and special characters of a given message....
 for the letter "D" (can also be done by a policeman on his whistle in some areas).		 Fell out of use by the late 1960's
All clear High pitched pip signal followed by a spoken message: "Attack message WHITE!". A steady control tone will activate the powered ones. Sound siren giving a steady note Further warnings may be broadcast on radio, along with information on aid for survivors and morale boosting broadcasts (There was also a "confidence tone" that demonstrated the system was working and told you to stand by for a warning at anytime).


A Handel Warning console can be seen at The Imperial War Museum in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 among their cold war
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
 exhibits, alongside the warning apparatus used by Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
 Police (which was located at Maidstone
Maidstone

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary....
 police station to activate the sirens).

See also


  • Four minute warning
    Four minute warning

    The four minute warning was a public alert system conceived by the Politics of the United Kingdom#Government during the Cold War and operated between 1953 and 1992 when the system was dismantled after the cold war finished....


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