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Oak Island Lighthouse
In 1958, construction of North Carolina’s Oak Island Lighthouse was completed at a height of 153 feet above the water. The lighthouse stood supported by a sturdy base of 24 concrete-filled steel pilings, 10 3/4 inches in diameter and 67 feet deep. Its construction was a marvel of engineering, with a continuous pour of monolithic reinforced concrete, rising steadily at a rate of one foot per hour. The 1,740-pound lantern was placed on top the tower on December 18, 1957 by Marine helicopters. Inside, instead of a spiral staircase, a series of ships ladders led to the lantern gallery, offering a unique climb for those who dared. The tower boasted a uniform diameter of 16 feet 4 3/4 inches, with walls 8 inches thick, adorned with a distinctive color pattern permanently cast into the concrete. The Oak Island Lighthouse, located on a U.S. Coast Guard station since the 1930s which was previously U.S. Lifesaving Station. Following a devastating fire in 2002, the station was rebuilt. In 2004, ownership of the lighthouse and its surroundings were transferred to the town of Caswell Beach.
Mont-Afrique Aerial Lighthouse
The former Mont-Afrique aerial lighthouse was located in the French town of Corcelles-les-Monts in Côte d’Or, at a height of nearly 2000 feet and southwest of Dijon. Designed in the 1920s, it was considered the most powerful lighthouse in the world when it was inaugurated. The combination of the beams of the four optics located on the same side produced a light intensity of 850,000,000 candles – more than 20 times the intensity of the most powerful maritime lighthouses of the time. It was put into service on July 1, 1925 after several years of work and development. This press photograph was taken July 10, 1926. According to the caption published at the time, its beam emitted a flash every 10 seconds and carried up to 300 miles. It was used for the guidance of night airliners and Mediterranean steamers. The Mont-Afrique aerial lighthouse operated at full strength for 15 years from 1925 to 1939. Extinguished during the World War II, it was bombarded by an allied plane in 1944. From 1946 to May 15, 1960, it operated in reduced service after installation with a small marker light at its top.
World’s Largest Searchlight
The caption from this original press photo taken in 1927 but published in March 1934 reads: “The largest land lighthouse in the world has just been completed at the Mont Valerien, outside of Paris, which will be used for night flyers. The new searchlight, with an illuminating power equal to 1 million candles and its two reflectors each 6 feet 6 inches in diameter, sends a vertical beam visible 90 miles away. Together with the Saint [Mont] Afrique Lighthouse, and smaller lights between Croyden and Paris, they will be used for night flying for the London, Marseilles, India Route.” Note the auxilliary reflectors attached via tripods that can be seen above the large search lights, which create the vertical beacon. It is believed that Charles Lindbergh was among the first to use this system of lights on his first trans-Atlantic flight.
This story appeared in the
Mar/Apr 2024 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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