yog Posted September 22, 2012 Share #1 Posted September 22, 2012 Hey folks, new member here. I'm not really a militaria collector (although I do have a few clothing items in my closets--love N-1 deck jackets!) but I'm always out in the field finding cool military pieces from time to time. I intend on remaining a member here to absorb the wealth of knowledge on these forums......I do find militaria fascinating.... Anyway, this past week I found a piece I feel is fairly unusual and was wondering if any of the advanced collectors/dealers have ever seen this thing. I can't find a thing about it online. It's an electric field organ. US Dept. of Defense contract dated 1967. Looks like a foot locker but when opened is assembled into a little organ with mic. I even have the manual that came with it. I've provided numerous pictures. Anybody with any info let me know, I'm super curious about his piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted September 22, 2012 Share #2 Posted September 22, 2012 I don't collect this later era, I have seen many WWII models but never one like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yog Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share #3 Posted September 23, 2012 Hmmm, yeah the only thing I found online was a PDF army file that indicated these were prone to malfunction out in the field. Also, the maker of this organ, Karlton Instruments, appears to be hopelessly obscure. I'm curious, when a private company got a military contract, did they sometimes create a different name to fulfill that contract? I just find it sort of strange that this company got a military contract when it appears they were not in business very long. I guess I'm wondering if "Karlton Instruments" was some sort of offshoot of a larger established company.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chap15 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #4 Posted September 24, 2012 Interesting piece. Never seen or heard about it being use by chaplains. Still, I am sure they would if they could. I've only seen/heard about chaplains using the pump organ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yog Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted September 24, 2012 I'm calling this a chaplain organ because that's how the manual refers to it. Now whether it actually saw use by chaplains is another question altogether. Something tells me not many of these were made and were probably not that popular....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yog Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share #6 Posted September 24, 2012 Chap15, here is a photo of the description part of the manual where it refers to the organ as a chaplain piece: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chap15 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #7 Posted September 24, 2012 I checked and in "Confidence in battle", page 169 states that the pump organ was replaced with the electric organ and then the cassette recorder with pre-recorded hymns. The footnote references "Chaplains Go Mobile" in Soldier Magazine June 1971. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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