What is this light?

[Little Jo]

Originally Posted by colin jones

Morning all, I have recently bought this big light and would like to know what is its history and ID. It is about 500-600mm dia and is brass and copper. I asume it is WW11 era and looks like something that would be off a ship. There are no markings that I can see but polished up would look great in any display. Any helpers out there.
Colin.

Hi Colin

I think I may have solved the ID of your strange light. Now bare with me....In the wartime movie. "ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC" Starring Humphrey Bogart, he is in the merchant navy and his ship is sunk by a German Submarine. The sub surfaces to finish them off, and low and behold I noted your strange light mounted on the conning tower and used to spot the survivors in the water.

Problem solved. If it is not your light, well then it must have a twin in the German Wartime Navy.

Cheers

Tony

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi Colin - had to trawl my archives for this one. My best guess is that it is a vehicle light, possibly a variant of an FWD spotlight. Images EO3 and E12 are South Australian. I can network to the owner you if you desire.

Bob

[colin jones]

Thanks Bob but my light would be double that size and is round at the back. Thanks to Tony, I'm convinced now that it came off the German sub that finished off Bogarts ship .
Colin.

[jack neville]

....................so the Germans must have found it floating in the Atlantic AFTER the Titanic sank. It all fits Col!!!! How lucky are you???

[Mike Cecil]

Bob,

The FWD lights were Acetylene powered (hence the vented outlet at the top), not electric with a large (frosted/white) bulb.

I agree with Lang: looks like a 'working lamp' for area illumination.

Mike C

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Thanks Mike. When I looked at Colin's images I did not take into account the size of the thing. I was looking more at the style of the swivel mounting on the hoop arrangement. I do not know whether that is a mounting unique to particular spot/search light manufacturers or whether it is a generic style.

It would be interesting to properly identify it and determine its provenance. Perhaps Colin has an annecdote from the seller of its origin to the seller.

I will canvas the image to some naval associates of mine.

In the mean time the romantic notion that it came off a submarine that attacked Bogies ship would be well fitting in Colin's night club shed talk around the bar.

Bob

[motto (RIP)]

Hi Colin.

The light you have appears to be the same as the one that I recently acquired and requested assistance to identify on this forum a few weeks ago. Unable to post pictures easily I gave a verbal description and the replies indicated that it was a Beach Defence Light.

Funny how these things happen. The weekend before last I was in Mildura and went down to look at the paddle wheelers that had gathered for the hundredth anniversary of the launching of the PS Melbourne. One of the paddle wheelers had two of these lights mounted on it. One on each front corner of the super structure. They were both polished up and looked like they really belonged there.

I have a friend in Mildura who is in the process of building his own side wheeler and I asked him how he was set for external lighting and he said he had nothing so I told him 'you do now'. He was well aware of the lights I had noticed and named the vessel they were on which was the Settler.

If anybody has one of these lights they wish to sell I would be most interested as I would like to present him with a pair if I could. I would buy a couple if I could get them as the one I have is somewhat knocked around.

David