According to its manufacturer, Sylvania, it was "designed for service in electronic computers".

[1] The tube was developed in 1948,[2] designed at the request of L. D. Wilson for use in the Whirlwind computer.

[3] Significant attention was directed towards its manufacturing process in order to ensure the part's reliability.

[2] IBM, however, switched to more compact miniature tubes, starting with the IBM 604 in 1948.

This computer hardware article is a stub.