60" General Electric Searchlight Project
Progress is steady on the restoration of
our latest searchlight project
The 1942 60" GE Searchlight and
Sperry generator have arrived safely from Texas. Overall,
both units are in good shape but need to be restored to
working order. Neither the light or the power unit have seen
use in some time. The good news is that many of the hard to
find parts are already with the units.
Were raising the money to fund the
purchase of the remaining parts and the cost of painting the
light will be high. The first step is to remove the hideous
pink colored pint that was added when the light was used by
an advertising business. This process has to be done 'the
old fashioned way", with a sharp chisel because of the thin
metal work and the desire to keep some of the original
olive-drab paint as both a primer and added layer of
protection for some of the metal pieces.
The association wishes to thank Bob Meza of Victory
Searchlights for his help finding the light and some of the
hard to find parts. We also thank the veterans and families of the
352nd CA
Searchlight Battalion who's generosity helped make this
acquisition possible. Once restored, these will compliment
the museums
fully restored 1941
Sperry
Searchlight and GE Generator.
The Searchlights are an
critical part of our educational program, and bring the
museum much positive publicity. As with any project of this
size and complexity, the museum seriously needs restoration
and maintenance funding. We encourage anyone interested in
searchlights to donate to the efforts of our restoration
team.
Here are some pictures of the progress to date, keep
checking back to see how the project is progressing.
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The light and generator were painted pink by
its
previous owner, getting the paint old stripped is
a major undertaking. |
Association volunteer Pete Demett hard at
work stripping off the old pink paint. The mirror has been
polished and the inside of the drum is painted. |
