Images(7)

Telephone, Field

Object number2015.42.41

Manufacturer Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation

Date1939-1945

MediumMetal; Plastic; Rubber; Canvas

Credit LineGift of Susan Muir

DescriptionMiltary field telephone. Metal framework and case painted dark green. Green canvas strap with metal fittings attached to case. Front opens upward via hinges along top; clasps close on front. Interior contains a black telephone with black rubber phone line. Inset antenna on right side. Black stenciled text on front at bottom with name of equipment. Interior of lid has off-white plastic sheet riveted to metal featuring operating instructions. Interior of lid has black and silver metal plate with serial number and maker's marks.Dimensions11.125 x 12 x 8 in. (28.3 x 30.5 x 20.3 cm)
InscriptionsVarious other switches and nodes inside with associated text.
MarksInterior of lid has black and silver metal plate with silver text "SIGNAL CORPS U.S. ARMY / TELEPHONE TP-9 / 1412 / ORDER NO. 29396-PHILA-44-22 / Federal Telephone & Radio Corp."

Black stencil on front at bottom: "SIGNAL CORPS / U.S. ARMY / TELEPHONE TP - 9".

Interior of lid has off-white plastic sheet with black text and diagrams "DIRECTIONS FOR OPERATING TELEPHONE TP-9..."

Inscribed text below maker's plate "WTE - 2505 - 3 / 6 P".

Orange stencil on right side in bottom right corner "SC / 37/0 / A".

Telephone handset has imprinted and stenciled text "TS-9-AN" and "SC613A".
Historical NotesU.S. Army Signal Corps field telephone TP-9 Gabe Torisky used while serving with the 99th "Checkerboard" Division during the Ardennes campaign-the battle of the "Bulge" in Belgium. The 99th performed heroically and is credited as one of the U.S. units that ultimately helped to defeat the German counter-attack. Part of a collection of WWII-related artifacts from the military service of Gabe Torisky of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who served with the 99th “Checkerboard” Infantry Division during the Ardennes campaign in Belgium. Martin Gabriel "Gabe" Torisky was of Slovak ancestry and was born on November 11, 1911, in Uniontown, PA. He moved to Pittsburgh in the 1920s and was drafted and sent to 99th Division during World War II. The 99th Division is especially important in relation to Pittsburgh, as the Division was originally headquartered in the city in 1942, and the unit insignia, a black shield with a checkerboard band of nine alternating white and blue squares (for “99”) was derived from the coat of arms for William Pitt and thus, also the city seal of Pittsburgh, on which the checkerboard also appears.

Previous owner Martin Gabriel Torisky (born 1911)

Related institution United States Army Signal Corps

Related institution 99th Infantry Division

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