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A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely
bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People *Bright (surname) *Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage name ...
source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of
light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...
of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction. It is usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.


Military use

The first use of searchlights using carbon arc technology occurred during the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
used searchlights in 1882 to dazzle and prevent Egyptian forces from manning artillery batteries at
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...
. Later that same year, the French and British forces landed troops under searchlights. By 1907 the value of searchlights had become widely recognized. One recent use was to assist attacks by
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...
s by dazzling gun crews on the ships being attacked. Other uses included detecting enemy ships at greater distances, as signaling devices, and to assist landing parties. Searchlights were also used by battleships and other capital vessels to locate attacking torpedo boats and were installed on many coastal artillery batteries for aiding night combat. They saw use in the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
from 1904–05. Searchlights were installed on most naval capital ships from the late 19th century through
WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, both for tracking small, close-in targets such as
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...
s, and for engaging enemy units in nighttime gun battles. The
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
especially was known for its intensive development of nighttime naval combat tactics and extensive training. The War in the Pacific saw a number of nocturnal engagements fought by searchlight, particularly the Battle of Savo Sound at Guadalcanal. Although searchlights remained in use throughout the war, the newly developed
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
proved to be a far more effective locating device, and Japanese radar development lagged far behind that of the US.


First World War

Searchlights were first used in the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
to create "artificial moonlight" to enhance opportunities for night attacks by reflecting searchlight beams off the bottoms of clouds, a practice which continued in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The term "artificial moonlight" was used to distinguish illumination provided by searchlights from that provided by natural moonlight, which was referred to as "movement light" in night-time manoeuvers. Searchlights were also heavily used in the defense of the UK against German nighttime bombing raids using Zeppelins.


Second World War

Searchlights were used extensively in defense against nighttime
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
raids during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Controlled by sound locators and radars, searchlights could track bombers, indicating targets to anti-aircraft guns and night fighters and dazzling crews. Searchlights were occasionally used tactically in ground battles. One notable occasion was the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
use of searchlights during the Battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945. 143 searchlights were directed at the German defence force, with the aim of temporarily blinding them during a Soviet offensive, begun with the largest artillery bombardment the world had ever seen until that point. However, the morning fog diffused the light and silhouetted the attacking Soviet forces, making them clearly visible to the Germans. The Soviets suffered heavy losses as a result and were forced to delay their invasion of the city. Second World War-era searchlights include models manufactured by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
and by the Sperry Company. These were mostly of 60 inch (152.4 cm) diameter with rhodium plated parabolic mirror, reflecting a carbon arc discharge. Peak output was 800,000,000 candela. It was powered by a 15 kW generator and had an effective beam visibility of 28 to 35 miles (45 to 56 km) in clear low humidity. The searchlight also found a niche for use by
night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used ...
s and
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typi ...
aircraft. The Turbinlite was a powerful searchlight mounted in the nose of an RAF Douglas Boston
light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of Military aircraft, military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton ...
, converted into a night fighter to shoot down
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
night
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
s. The aircraft would be directed in the general direction of the enemy by ground-based or metre-wave airborne radar, and the pilot would then switch on the Turbinlite, illuminating the enemy aircraft, which would then be shot down by accompanying RAF day fighters such as the
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
. This never proved very successful, as the light made the emitting aircraft a very big target for rear gunners, who would simply have to shoot into the light and be guaranteed to hit something eventually. During the
Battle of the North Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
, RAF aircraft such as the Vickers Wellington were assigned to patrol for surfaced German
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
s at night, when they would be on the surface, charging their
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
. A large searchlight called a Leigh light was suspended from the bottom of the wing or fuselage, and would be used to illuminate the surfaced U-boat while it was being attacked with bombs and
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use ...
s. The Leigh light was somewhat more successful than the Turbinlite, but in both cases the development of centimeter-wave radar proved to be the far more effective answer.


Non-military use

Today, searchlights are used in
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
, fairs, festivals and other public events. Their use was once common for movie premieres; the waving searchlight beams can still be seen as a design element in the logos of 20th Century Studios and the Fox television network. The world's most powerful searchlight today beams from the top of the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
. It concentrates about 13,650,000
lumens The lumen (symbol: lm) is the unit of luminous flux, a measure of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source per unit of time, in the International System of Units (SI). Luminous flux differs from power ( radiant flux) in that radia ...
from 39 7 kW xenon lamps into a beam of about 9,129,000,000 candela, about twice the brightness that emanates from an equal area of the sun's surface (about 95,000,000 cd/ft2 versus 45,000,000 cd/ft2). ''
Tribute in Light The ''Tribute in Light'' is an art installation created in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It consists of 88 vertical searchlights arranged in two columns of light to represent the Twin Towers. It stands six blocks south of the World ...
'' is an art installation that uses two columns of searchlights to represent the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, in remembrance of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
. It is produced annually in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
. File:Searchlights at the W at Bonifacio High Street, Manila.JPG, Searchlights at New Year's Eve 2012 in Bonifacio Global City, Philippines File:LuminatoatHarbourfront.jpg, Use of searchlights at the Luminato arts festival in Toronto File:Tokyo sky tree23.jpg, Searchlights demonstrating the height of Tokyo Skytree before its construction in 2007 File:Light beam, Luxor, Las Vegas (6433695339).jpg, Luxor Sky Beam File:September_11th_Memorial_Tribute_In_Light_2014.jpg,
Tribute in Light The ''Tribute in Light'' is an art installation created in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It consists of 88 vertical searchlights arranged in two columns of light to represent the Twin Towers. It stands six blocks south of the World ...
, representing the World Trade Center twin towers in remembrance of the September 11 attacks File:20th Century-Fox fanfare 1947.webm, Animated searchlights are a part of the distinctive production logo used at the start of 20th Century Fox films since the 1930s


See also

* Mangin mirror * Cathedral of light * ''
Tribute in Light The ''Tribute in Light'' is an art installation created in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It consists of 88 vertical searchlights arranged in two columns of light to represent the Twin Towers. It stands six blocks south of the World ...
'' * Military applications of searchlight ** Canal Defence Light ** Turbinlite ** Leigh light ** G-numbers ** German searchlights of World War II


References


Citations


Sources

* FM 4-29 seacoast searchlights
FM 4-111
Coast Artillery Field Manual, Antiaircraft Artillery, Position Finding and Control, Antiaircraft Search-lights (US War Department, 1940) * FM 4-115


External links





Information on a website commemorating the US 225th AAA Searchlight Battalion
"Giant Lights Paint The Sky To Work New Magic"
July ''Popular Mechanics''—i.e. early article on one of the first commercial use of searchlights. * director restore



a 1943 article from the U.S. War Dept. {{Authority control Types of lamp Articles containing video clips