Zoeklicht, signal light, General Electric, Searchlight

Wij bieden dit unieke zoeklicht aan. Een waar museumstuk compleet met manuel. Op verzoek kunnen we ook nog videobeelden laten zien waarop te zien is dat de spiegel nog intakt is en alle mechanische bewegende onderdelen naar behoren functioneren. Lees hier onder verder voor een uitgebreide omschrijving en de specificaties:

US NAVY SEARCHLIGHT / SIGNAL LAMPThis is a rare General Electric 24 inch U.S.N Navy carbon arc searchlight from 1944 (WW II). These lights were used for signaling, visual search, navigation and even fire control.
This model, 93113 / spec. 17S21, was used on USS Destroyer Escort's during WW II and were mounted on the signaling bridge on both port and starboard.
The recently restored museum ship USS Slater had still fitted these massive lights.

LOCATION: Zijtaart, The Netherlands
YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION. 1944
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. United States of America
MANUFACTURER General Electric
TYPEModel 93113, Spec 17S21
ESTIMATED PRICE €12,000 - €18,000
CONDITION Neat unrestored condition

CONDITIONS
The searchlight is in a neat unrestored condition. As far as we know, it is complete including the manual. All manually operated mechanical parts work, as can also be seen in the videos. It has some rust spots here and there and a dent in the tailgate (also visible in the photos, the mirror is intact), but no major damage. Furthermore, a few small things such as missing bakelite handles and a locking latch that is stuck and needs to be made operable. Considering its age, it is in good condition. Any restoration would mainly involve cleaning and electrical connection. No major repairs needed.

TECHNICAL DETAILSManufacturer General Electric
Model 93113, 24-inch carbon arc
Manufacturing date 1944
Height 6 ft (1.82 m)
Width 4 ft (1.22 m)
Depth 3 ft (0.91 m)
Weight 800 lb (363 kg)
Diameter (beam) 24 in (0.61 m)
Range (beam) Up to 80 mi (128 km)
Train 360°
Elevation 110° to 120°
Depression 30° to 40°
Current 105 to 125 voltsCrew 1

USES OF NAVAL SEARCHLIGHTS DURING WWII

This type of signaling and searchlight was used on WW II warships, for example the 'Destroyer Escort' (DE). The Destroyer Escort was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a 20-knot (37 km/h; 23 mph) warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.

Ships used a day or night system of sending Morse Code signals via flashing light, using 12" and 24" signal lamps. This was a rapid way of communicating but was rarely used at night for fear that the light would reveal one's position to the enemy. Infrared hooded lenses were used to mask the bright lights of the signal lamps; to limit their visibility.

These lights were designed for signaling, visual search, navigation and even fire control. This light was equipped with a handle on each side of the barrel for left or right handed operators to send visual (light) Morse code. The 24-inch carbon arc was very brilliant and the signals (at night) could be bounced off the cloud cover and around the curvature of the earth. It has been told in visual communicators circles that a Morse signal sent by light has been confirmed (by radar) to have been sent up to a distance of two ships 80 miles apart!

The 24-inch searchlight is a general purpose light and although it may be used for fire control purposes, generally it is used for long range signaling. These searchlights are not equipped with remote control for train and elevation. The light sometimes is equipped with the remote control signal key. This lamp has both the iris and vane type shutter.

REQUIREMENTS OF A NAVY SEARCHLIGHT

A Navy searchlight must have a narrow, pencil-like light beam. The light must be non-flickering and of a blush white color. It must operate properly from any position, under all weather conditions, and give trouble-free operation over a long period of time. The train and elevation characteristics of most lights are: train through 360°, elevation of 110° to 120°, and depression of 30° to 40°.

THEORY OF CARBON ARC SEARCHLIGHT

When an electric current at a moderate voltage is passed through two carbon rods, considerable heat is developed at the point of contact. Now if the carbon rods are separated a short distance a flaming arc will be drawn out. The act of making contact between the two carbons is necessary to start the arc and is called 'striking the arc'. When contact first occurs, a high current flows through the carbons. The high current produces heat which vaporizes the soft center of the positive carbon. This vapor acts as a conductor for the current as the carbons are drawn apart and will keep the current flowing until the distance between the carbons becomes too great. As the distance between the carbons increases the resistance of the arc circuit increases. The carbon vapor concentrates as a small ball in a depression in the positive carbon. This depression is called the 'crater'. This ball of flaming gas in the crater is intensely luminous and is located at the focus of the reflector. The reflector thus projects the light from the arc crater into a beam of light, just as the reflector in your automobile projects the light from the lamp filament into a light beam. High intensity arcs work on the same principle as low intensity types except that the current is increased and the diameter of the carbon decreased, to obtain a more brilliant and concentrated source of light.

The carbon lamp was designed for operation in series with rheostat (which was mounted below deck) from a d-c source of 105 to 125 volts.
The arc current had to be adjusted for 75 to 80 amperes with 65 to 70 volts across the arc. One set of carbons would burn approximately 1 ž hours.