Lighthouses and Lightships (MN-202aa) is a short 1944 U.S. Navy training film that is part of the Aids To Navigation series. The purpose of the series “is to acquaint those who are beginners in study of the science of navigation with the basic principles underlying the markings of our coastal and inland waterways.” This film discusses how to identify lighthouses and lightships, using a combination of actual footage and artistic renderings (in some cases overlaying the two). The film opens with a shot of a lighthouse and a lightship. A buoy marks a hidden obstruction in the water. The film reviews two different types of lighthouses (02:08), a masonry structure built on land and a cylindrical structure built over the water. The film shows the different types of coloring used for lighthouses (a solid color, banded colors, etc). Lighthouses feature different types of lights (04:27), including fixed light and flashing light. Graphics show a fog signal on the wall of a lighthouse (05:58); animation shows fog obscuring a lighthouse, but the fog signal alerts ships to its presence. A lightship sits out on the water (07:15), painted red with the station’s name painted in white. The film reviews the different types of lights featured on lightships: fixed, flashing, group, and alternating.
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, and safe entries to harbors; they also assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and use of electronic navigational systems.
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the first modern lightvessel was off the Nore sandbank at the mouth of the River Thames in England, placed there by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. The type has become largely obsolete; lighthouses replaced some stations as the construction techniques for lighthouses latter advanced, while large, automated buoys replaced others.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
