About lightships

A lightship is a vessel equipped with a beacon-like lighting device, intended to be at anchor to warn seafarers of danger (e.g. ground), to mark shipping lanes, or as a beacon. The lightship can lack its own propulsion and is used where it is too deep to build a conventional lighthouse. For visibility purposes, most lightships had bright red hulls that displayed the name of the station in white, upper-case letters lightships are commonly painted red with the name of the station written on both sides of the hull. The exception is lighthouses with a pilot permanently placed on board. These ships are painted black and have either the station name or the local word for pilot written on both sides.

Lighthouses were used in Swedish waters from 1831 to 1972. In total, there have been 17 stations along Sweden's coast that were serviced by 37 different ships. Of these, 33 have been so-called number ships as they were given a serial number as they were manufactured. The number was usually written at the stern and, together with the station name, became an important distinguishing feature.

Lightship No 10B Fladen

Construction

1892 she was built in steel at Kockum's Mekaniska Verkstad in Malmö. Displacement fully equipped approximately 308 tons. Length main approx. 31.5 m. Width 6.1 m. Crew 8 men. For propulsion, she was equipped with 180 hp steam machinery.

• "The red lighthouse has two masts with the top ball on the mainmast and the name FLADEN in large white letters on the sides and the number in the stern. The vessel is flush decked with short bowsprit. A hoistable lantern surrounds the mainmast.”

• Lighthouse with red group flash (4) every 30 seconds.

• Lighthouse: 8 kerosene lamps with parabolic mirrors.

• Height of the lighthouse above the water surface: 9.5 m.

• Beam: 11 distance minutes.

During the day, the lighthouse was submerged in the deckhouse at the foremast to receive its care and protection from the weather and the sea.

• The lantern was built around the mast and ran in a guide track in it, when it was hoisted or towed.

• The lantern with beacon was of the Stevenson type manufactured by G W Lyth in Stockholm and contained 8 kerosene lamps in each silver-plated, gimbal-suspended parabolic mirror, arranged in pairs in four groups.

• The mirrors had a diameter of 50 cm. Brightness 1040 Hefner light. The mirror beacon was driven by clockwork and plumb and produced the character 4 red flashes every 30 seconds.

"During thick fog every minute the mist siren emits 4 sound blasts each of 4-second duration, separated by 4-second breaks. After the last sound blast, there is a pause of 32 seconds. If the siren is out of order, it is signaled by a bell, 4 closely consecutive clicks every minute. When it is observed from the ship that the ship is heading towards the ground, warning shots are fired."

Modifications

1927, a tower with a lantern and lantana was installed. The 5th-order lens (375 mm Ø) was gimbaled at its center of gravity with a lens pendulum and fitted with Dalén light. Brightness: 3,800 Hefner lights. Light height: 10.5 m. Light width: 11 M. Four-character: White flash and flash every 30 seconds. An underwater hydro-dynamic clock was installed made by AGA AB for the observation of hydrographic parameters: current (flow profile), wave (wave height, wave period, and wave direction).

1951, a radiotelephone was installed.

1953, the steam machinery was replaced by a 200 hp crude oil engine. See Bolinder-Munktell. As auxiliary machinery, two smaller crude oil engines were installed for the generator and compressor for the typhoon. The lighthouse was electrified. The Dalén light was replaced by an electric light bulb of 1000 W. Brightness: 27,000 Hefner lights.

1957, a circular radio beacon was installed. Frequency: 408.0 kHz. Range: 10 nm.

1961, at lighthouse station Fladen, the four characters were Mo ( _). ) W 20 s 11 M. The lens was stationary with a bulb. Its brightness was 27,000 HP.

Mist signal: Typhoon 4 sounds every 60 s. (3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 42).

Service

1892-1899 she served as a lighthouse at Fladen shallows (basic area in the Kattegatt about 10 M SW of Nidingen which is 60 km south of Gothenburg). The station was located approximately 0.5 M E of the southern part of the foundation area, at a depth of approximately 60 m and a bottom consisting of rock and mud at position Lat. N. 57° 10' 0". Long. E. 11° 49' 5". After the turn of the century, the station was moved slightly further to the N to be located approximately 1 M NE of the northern part of the base area.

"At the large offshore banks Fladen outside Kungsbacka, the newly built steam lighthouse number 10B was anchored for the first time in 1892 at a depth of approximately 60 m, approximately 0.5 minutes east of the southern part of the banks. If possible, the ship is out all year.”

1900 to 1929, she was moved to a newly created station at Grisbådarna (base area in Skagerack on the border with Norway, approx. 5 M NW Nordkoster outside Strömstad), the Strömstad channel, i.e., the Fjällbacka —Strömstad channel. SW from the Grisbådarna Station west of Nordkoster.

Grisbådarna station served as protection for the extensive base area as well as marking the location of the water border between the two countries of Sweden and Norway. The lucrative lobster fishery had brought about some dispute about the right of supremacy, while the differences of opinion, which culminated in the events of 1905, cast their shadow ahead.

The transformation of shipping from sailing to steam power made the need for a lighthouse at Grisbådarna less necessary over time, and when demands were made for a lighthouse at Vinga, that demand could be met by removing the Grisbådarna lightship and replacing it with a light and sound buoy at the lightship’s location.

The lighthouse was decommissioned in the fall of 1929. During the time the lighthouse was stationed at Grisbådarna, its postal and telegram address was Strömstad."The need for a lighthouse here was considered to be less and could be replaced by a bell and light buoy. In 1929, therefore, the lighthouse station Grisbådarna was closed down and one lighthouse became "over". Then, in the same year, a lighthouse could be placed outside Vinga, where traffic had increased.

"The ship warns of the large ground flak northwest of Nordkoster in addition to marking the maritime border with Norway. It also serves as a good daymark for the large number of fishing vessels, both Swedish and foreign, that work in the area.”

1930-1965 she served as a lighthouse at Fladen.

Before the Second World War, she served as a base for pilot operations in northern Bohuslän from 1939 to 1946.

• Here pilots were changed for vessels in the so-called lead traffic (Göteborg traffic) on inbound and outbound. Here there was a Norwegian pilot for outgoing traffic and a Swedish one when the course was set for Gothenburg.

• Many refugees (mostly Norwegian) found temporary shelter here before continuing to Sweden.