I visited this lovely ship with Lenston, Res0nanc3, Extreme Ironing and The Raw as part of a weekend of UE and camping, I was so pleased to see this lightship and cannot thank Lenston enough for arranging the weekend, it was a shame that we couldnt get into the lower decks and engine room but it was too silted up and was a bit iffey without waders and a safety line.
History: snaffled from Res0nanc3
LV72 was built for the Trinity House Lighthouse and Lightvessel Authority in 1903, using the same hull plate and rivet construction made famous by the Titanic. She saw service in a variety of different stations from 1903 until the Second World War, where in 1944 she played a major role in Operation Overlord - otherwise known as the D-Day Landings in Normandy. Carrying the name 'JUNO',she marked a safe passage through a minefield for the landing craft on route to the invasion beaches.
She remained on station in Normandy until 27 January 1945 when she was towed to Le Havre for repairs following various collisions and heavy seas. She was replaced the following year in service by the LE HARVE and was towed to Harwich. Between 1945 and 1949 she saw active service at Smith Knoll Station, at Varne Station until 1952, and at various English and Welsh Grounds stations until 1954. On November 30 1954 her chain broke and she drifted from her station.
The end of her active service was seen in 1972 when she was laid up in Swansea and sold to the Steel Supply Company in Neath for scrap the following year. When sold, she was the oldest vessel in the Trinity House fleet at 70 years. She was used as a company office for a time and later considered for conversion into a floating nightclub, but this plan was never followed through. She is now moored in a mud berth at Neath Abbey Wharf near to the swing bridge, and left to herself. The hull is in very poor condition and absorbs water with every swell of the river.
This iron ship is an especially important example in Lightvessel history, being the only remaining example of a lightvessel carrying both oil powered and electric powered mechanisms.
A truly sad end to a long life of active service at sea.
some stats for the ship
Length: 116 feet (ca. 35,36 m)
Beam: 24 feet (ca. 7,20 m)
Draught: 15 feet (ca. 4,50 m)
Displacement: 257 t
Authority: Trinity House, London
Year of construction: 1903
Builder: John Crown & Sons, Sunderland
Material: steel
Optic: Catoptric, 9-2W oil lamps
Fog horn : Siren, powered by 2 - 15 hp Hornsby Oil engines, driving air pumps, after conversion "F" Diaphone with 4 - 5 mile range
Anchor: mushroom anchor
Some of my images
This is what you see as you walk onto the wharf, Extreme ironing was down there like a shot
And at the forward end you can see the lower hull construction
This is where the light was situated, still in reasonable nick
and inside the tower it was full of water and fauna
The view from the top of the shop
This heavy duty windlass combined anchor winch looked in remarkably good condition for its 109 years
An anchor that I think was used for more permanent or prolonged service stays
The Raw and res0nanc3 being piped aboard
Thankyou for looking
History: snaffled from Res0nanc3
LV72 was built for the Trinity House Lighthouse and Lightvessel Authority in 1903, using the same hull plate and rivet construction made famous by the Titanic. She saw service in a variety of different stations from 1903 until the Second World War, where in 1944 she played a major role in Operation Overlord - otherwise known as the D-Day Landings in Normandy. Carrying the name 'JUNO',she marked a safe passage through a minefield for the landing craft on route to the invasion beaches.
She remained on station in Normandy until 27 January 1945 when she was towed to Le Havre for repairs following various collisions and heavy seas. She was replaced the following year in service by the LE HARVE and was towed to Harwich. Between 1945 and 1949 she saw active service at Smith Knoll Station, at Varne Station until 1952, and at various English and Welsh Grounds stations until 1954. On November 30 1954 her chain broke and she drifted from her station.
The end of her active service was seen in 1972 when she was laid up in Swansea and sold to the Steel Supply Company in Neath for scrap the following year. When sold, she was the oldest vessel in the Trinity House fleet at 70 years. She was used as a company office for a time and later considered for conversion into a floating nightclub, but this plan was never followed through. She is now moored in a mud berth at Neath Abbey Wharf near to the swing bridge, and left to herself. The hull is in very poor condition and absorbs water with every swell of the river.
This iron ship is an especially important example in Lightvessel history, being the only remaining example of a lightvessel carrying both oil powered and electric powered mechanisms.
A truly sad end to a long life of active service at sea.
some stats for the ship
Length: 116 feet (ca. 35,36 m)
Beam: 24 feet (ca. 7,20 m)
Draught: 15 feet (ca. 4,50 m)
Displacement: 257 t
Authority: Trinity House, London
Year of construction: 1903
Builder: John Crown & Sons, Sunderland
Material: steel
Optic: Catoptric, 9-2W oil lamps
Fog horn : Siren, powered by 2 - 15 hp Hornsby Oil engines, driving air pumps, after conversion "F" Diaphone with 4 - 5 mile range
Anchor: mushroom anchor
Some of my images
This is what you see as you walk onto the wharf, Extreme ironing was down there like a shot
And at the forward end you can see the lower hull construction
This is where the light was situated, still in reasonable nick
and inside the tower it was full of water and fauna
The view from the top of the shop
This heavy duty windlass combined anchor winch looked in remarkably good condition for its 109 years
An anchor that I think was used for more permanent or prolonged service stays
The Raw and res0nanc3 being piped aboard
Thankyou for looking
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