>> Click to enlarge << Photographs from the Ken Black Collection.

These old photographs show the lightship LV 99, WAL 522. One photo shows the vessel in 1943 when it was outfitted for military use in World War II. If you look closely, you will see the mounted guns.

>> Click to enlarge << Photographs from the Ken Black Collection.

After the war, it was stripped of its guns and military equipment, as is shown in the other photograph and named the EXP for Experimental Lightship, that was to be controlled by radio from the shore with no crew.

Since the vessel and its records disappeared, some believe that it was actually used as a spy ship during the Cold War.

This story appeared in the Jan/Feb 2006 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.

All contents copyright © 1995-2024 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.