US Navy WW2 Ship Battle Lantern Restoration

Описание: Aboard every US Navy ship, the battle lantern is an iconic piece of equipment found in nearly every nook and cranny imaginable. Today, they are made from yellow Bakelite, but back in the 1940s, they were steel. Most in those days were painted battleship gray, and those were mounted in berthing (living), messing (eating), or work areas. However, the ones in engineering spaces and damage control spaces (think firefighting equipment areas) were often painted red for visibility. This one was originally gray, but somewhere along the line it was painted over in red. I chose to keep the red for the restoration, and didn't paint over the hardware like the previous sloppy paint job.

Originally, these were powered with two No. 6 dry cell batteries rated at 1.5 volts. True reproductions are incredibly expensive, so I used PVC pipe to create an approximation of the look and weight. Each of these contain two D cell batteries, wired in parallel to produce the needed 1.5 volts per "battery." These are then wired in series to power the 3 volt light bulb. It isn't extremely bright by today's standards, but in a pitch black ship, this battle lantern could save lives.

Please let me know what you think of this restoration, and I am always open to ideas and suggestions for my future projects.

Soon, I'll be moving to a small town in a different state, so all that annoying construction, airport, and highway noise that I've had to listen to every day for the last 9 months will no longer be the soundtrack to my videos.

Thanks to American Do It Yourself Garage in Virginia Beach for the use of their sandblast cabinet. I do have my own sandblaster now, but it is in storage until after I move.