This year’s Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show will get off to a rousing and memorable start. At the 10 a.m. opening, a Chrysler Air Raid Siren, the most powerful siren ever built, will pierce the air to signal the beginning of the show.

The siren is the size of a car, measuring near 12-feet in length, and stands more than 6-feet tall. It weighs twice as much as today's typical car.

This gigantic siren is powered by an 180-HP Chrysler Industrial V-8 HEMI® gasoline engine. The super-duty engine directly drives a three-stage compressor that blows 2,610 cubic feet of air a minute, at nearly 7 PSI, into a giant siren rotor. The compressed air screams through the chopper and out through six giant horns with an exit velocity of 400 miles per hour.

The result is an incredibly loud 138 dB sound (measured 100 feet from the siren). The loudness of this siren is unmatched by any other warning device ever sold, ever. It's also considerably louder than the largest steam whistle or horn. As if that were not dramatic enough, the whole unit, engine and all, slowly rotates one and one-half times a minute on its iron turntable base.

“This siren is a truly remarkable machine that played an important role in history,” said Co-Chairman Bob Pelikan.

Visitors to the Dream Machines know they can count on a unique experience … the siren will certainly add to that.

“We want to be sure that residents and those attending the show understand that the siren signals the start of the show, not an advancing tsunami or other disaster,” said Pelikan.
The Pacific Coast Dream Machines will be held on Sunday, April 27 at Half Moon Bay Airport.