Notes

The 302 was the Bell System's mainstay phone for two decades, and the first Western Electric phone not to require a subset. The 302 was designed by famous industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss (1904-1972), who also designed John Deere tractors, Hoover vacuum cleaners, and streamlined trains. The shell of the 302 was intended to be cast out of metal. However, in 1941, the critical war-time need for metal caused Western Electric to retool to make the 302 out of molded thermoplastic. The 302 was the first WE telephone containing all of its circuitry within the base and not requiring a separately mounted subset box for the ringer.

Variations

Plain black or colored plastic body. Many variations: see Paul F's 300 series page.

More

• get number cards for this phone
• get wiring diagrams: TCI - ATCA
• read Wikipedia page on the WE302
• read about Western Electric Co.

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