Report of Air Raid Shelter Committee of the San Francisco Civilian Defense Council; Bulletin No. 2

San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Civilian Defense Council, Air Raid Shelter Committee, c1942. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Stapled twice at center. 12 unnumbered pages. Illustrations/diagrams. Footnotes. Tabular Data. RARE. The Air Raid Shelter Committee of the San Francisco Civilian Defense Council presented in this Bulletin No. 2 information supplementing that included in Bulletin No. 1, together with several suggested designed for Air Raid Shelters for residential districts, flats and small apartment houses. Both Bulletins had been prepared by a committee drawn from the building design and construction industry of the city. Its personnel included members of the American Society of Civil Engineers, The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, the State Association of California Architects, the San Francisco Society of Architects and the Associated General Contractors. The Committee had profited by a study of the published data on the experiences of bombed communities. With reasonably good construction the designs presented were considered as being able to provide a good measure of protection from most bomb splinters, blasts, falling fragments and machine gun and rifle fire. All bulletins prepared by this Committee exclude detailed reference to protections against incendiary bombs, fire, unsanitary conditions and gas attacks. The Committee considered that construction of any air raid shelter was unwarranted at that time. The data and designs were presented in recognition that the public should know something about the effects of aerial bombing and how best to protect themselves therefrom if and when such protection should appear to be justified. Diagrams of Type 1-A, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 presented. On the evening of Dec. 12,1941 the residents of San Francisco and the larger Bay Area – from San Jose to Sacramento – waited in a deadly silent, utterly motionless city. Warned at 7:20 p.m. by familiar sirens, citizens and city workers proceeded to cloak the area in darkness. The city held its breath while planes roared overhead. Officials cited the danger of Japanese bombers in the vicinity as the reason for the sirens’ activation, but they did not confirm the flight of enemy planes, and no bombs were dropped. The city resumed life at 10 p.m. After the blackout, San Francisco continues to prepare for an evacuation. “No need for panic, no need for individual action in the matter of evacuation,” said Max P. Lilienthal of the Civilian Defense Council. “We want every citizen to know that a workable complete plan is ready to function should the necessity arise.” The Pacific coast has become essential to the war effort in the last two years, because of its abundance of large manufacturing plants for aircraft production. Key words derived from the document include: Civil Defense, Air Raid Shelter, Aerial Bombing, High Explosive Effects, Blast, Splinters, Structural Protection, Risk Assessment, Home Refuge, Outdoor Shelters, Fireproof Construction, Building Permits, and Inspections. Condition: Good.

Keywords: Civil Defense, Air Raid Shelter, Aerial Bombing, High Explosive Effects, Blast, Splinters, Structural Protection, Risk Assessment, Home Refuge, Outdoor Shelters, Fireproof Construction, Building Permits, Inspections

[Book #83901]

Price: $100.00