WWII US Army EE-8 Field Phone -
Communications in the battlefield are very critical. WWII witnessed several improvements in the field of electronics.

The item featured here is an EE-8 field phone. As issued to the US armed forces during WWII. Complete with the heavy duty canvis issued carrying case. A single snap secures the lid of the case in the closed position.

Field phones were a key part in any battlefield. From amphibious invasions to land operations. This phone kept communications in place. Orders from the rear could be communicated to the front. Status of operations could be relayed back to commanding officers. A larger version of a field phone was the TP-9 model .

The side of the case has an opening to provide access to the crank mechanism. Spining the crack causes the phone in the other side to ring.

The side of the handset has a toggle switch. moving it in one direction allowed the soldier to speak. Letting it go back to resting position placed the phone in the listen mode.

Multiple phones could be connected together using a field operator switchboard . This was a critical piece of equipment during operations such as D-Day, when a beachhead has been established and troops are attempting to push in-land in multiple fronts.

One disadvantage of the EE-8 phone was that it needed to be connected by wires to operate. Enemy soldiers could disrupt communications between commanders and the front simply by slicing the wires.

The job of laying or repairing communication wire was very dangerous due to sniper fire.

This WWII US military collectible may be currently reproduced. It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this item. Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of the collectible.