Sky Raider

The Sky Raider, manufactured by Victory Games between 1942 and 1947, holds a notable place in wartime pinball history — not as an all-new design, but as a conversion kit for Exhibit's 1941 'Big Parade.' During World War II, materials shortages made building entirely new cabinets difficult, so companies like Victory Games sold conversion kits that let operators re-skin existing machines with new backglasses and names. The earliest known ad for the Sky Raider kit ran in Billboard on November 11, 1944, with the last appearing October 5, 1946, by which point Victory had raised prices on its kits from $9.50 to $12.50.

As a flipperless, single-player electro-mechanical machine, Sky Raider predates the invention of the flipper (which did not arrive until 1947). Play would have relied on skillful plunging and the ball finding its way through the layout's targets and lanes, in the style typical of pre-flipper pinball. No detailed theme or artwork documentation survives, though the name suggests an aviation motif fitting for its wartime release.

Little else is known about Sky Raider's specific gameplay or any design innovations it introduced. Still, as a surviving example of a wartime conversion kit, it offers a glimpse into how manufacturers kept games on location despite material shortages during World War II.