Military type Autovon sets

These sets were built to meet the needs of the US military during the cold war to be able to set priority of a call on the now decommissioned Autovon (nuke hardened) phone network. These lines were berried 35 feet or more under ground and encased in conduit and concrete. It was hoped that this network would survive a first strike by the USSR.

The extra coulomb of keys set the priority of your call, Priority,Immediate.Flash & Flash Override

 

This is a WE military 1A2 key Autovon set I got from a military auction, said CMC spare on bottom. Note the extra four buttons for setting priority of call.

A single line version Autovon set.

A TA838 field phone (not WE but Autovon type) can run point to point or hook to the network like a normal phone.