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lightvessel order was important for Noss. In June 1934, with work scarce, Philip & Son’s board had decided to close the yard and retain it only on a care and maintenance basis. Te closure never took place. Orders began to return and in 1935 the Elder Brethren of Trinity House ordered a pair of lightvessels. Te first two were smaller vessels,
about 87 feet long. Tey were followed by larger 119-foot vessels, and eight lightships had been built before the flow of orders was interrupted by the Second World War. Derek Blackhurst, in his history of Philip & Son, described the lightvessel orders as a lifeline which helped to keep Noss open. Te yard was also developing a
reputation for building specialist vessels to individual designs. In 1936 the Admiralty selected Philip & Son to build Research, an unusual non-magnetic vessel intended for the study of terrestrial magnetism. Philip was experienced in both steel and wooden construction and had a reputation for good work. Tat experience, together with competitive tendering, helps to explain the yard’s success in winning further Trinity House orders. BUILDING A FLOATING LIGHTHOUSE A lightship had to remain on station when ordinary vessels would seek shelter. Strength and reliability were therefore essential. Later vessels became self-contained navigation stations, with powerful electric lights, diesel generators, fog signals and radio equipment, while massive anchors and mooring cables held them on station. Tey also provided living accom-
modation for crews who maintained the machinery and kept watch day and night. Crew changes and supplies were brought out by Trinity House tenders and could themselves be delayed by bad weather. Lightships were moved between
stations during their lives. Names such as Royal Sovereign, Tongue or South Goodwin usually referred to the station rather than to a particular vessel. Te ship itself carried a
South Goodwin. Courtesy of Lightvesselsandlightships
Trinity House lightvessel number. One of the most tragic episodes in
the history of the service involved a Philip-built vessel. Lightvessel No.90 was built at
Noss in 1937 and later served at the South Goodwin station, marking the dangerous Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast. In November 1954, during one of
the worst Channel storms for many years, the vessel broke from her moorings and was driven onto the sands. Seven lightshipmen lost their lives. Te sole survivor was Ronald Murton, an ornithologist who happened to be aboard, who was rescued from the wreck by a United States Air Force helicopter. Te disaster demonstrated the
extraordinary conditions in which these ships were expected to remain on station and influenced the design and safety arrangements of later lightvessels. WAR AND REBUILDING Te Second World War interrupt- ed the lightvessel programme as Noss turned largely to Admiralty work. More than 200 vessels were produced at the Dartmouth yards during the war. On 18 September 1942 Noss was bombed and twenty Philip & Son employees were killed, but production quickly resumed. Aſter the war lightvessel building
returned, with larger vessels incorporating improved machinery, lighting, fog signals, radio equipment
and crew accommodation. ACROSS THE IRISH SEA Philip & Son’s expertise was not confined to Trinity House. Te Dart- mouth yard also built five vessels for the Commissioners of Irish Lights: G
wke andS a
a a
nnet sry her tr iti Tese post-war vessels were
, Ope, S awae, Kt - ku.
about 134 feet long, with steel hulls and a beam of around 25 feet, and were part of the same generation of substantial modern lightships being produced at Noss. PLANET AND THE MERSEY One vessel was built for a different authority. P
lnet was launched by Philip & a
Son in 1960 for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and served at the Liverpool Bar. In 1972 she was sold to Trinity House and became Lightvessel No.23. She later served on Trinity House
stations including Kentish Knock, Varne and Channel. Her long career linked the older world of permanent- ly crewed floating lighthouses with the new age of automation. THE LIGHTSHIP SURVIVES Te age of the manned lightship has ended, but the lightship itself has not disappeared. Trinity House continues to operate
unmanned lightvessels which can be monitored remotely. Teir lights, fog signals, radio beacons, AIS equipment, machinery, position and power systems bear little
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