Page QR CODE 12/241943

The U43 telephone was officially selected in 1943 to be used by official administrative offices following a competition won by the Ericsson Colombes company. 

This model, with a rotary dialler, contributed the most to the democratisation of the telephone in France and would be manufactured for almost 20 years.
The purpose of this telephone’s design was to be universal, as it was compatible with most common networks, automatic or manual, with a central battery. Its manufacturing cost had to be kept low in order to meet the high demand, and because of a shortage of metals, it had to be designed from the most available materials. The U43 was therefore made of Bakelite, and the components were designed to be generic. Its sturdiness is unbeatable!
A luxury model of the U43 made of white or ivory melamine was proposed in 1954. 

Another model was launched in 1955: the U43 generator, adaptable to all types of existing networks.
Despite the introduction of its successor, the S63 keyboard set, 20 years later, the U43 was still being sold—even into the 1980s.
Another characteristic of the U 43: coloured plastic shells were sold in order to cover the black Bakelite. 

In this show case you will find:

On the top shelf, the black and ivory U43 models and a model with a green shell.

On the middle shelf, at the bottom left, a wall-mounted U43, and in front of it, a model with a pedal.

On the bottom shelf, you’ll see a U43 intercom (small telephone exchange) on the left and a U43 wall-mounted pedal model on the right.