Navy WWII X-12 Ship Beacon 4 Sale

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   If anyone is interested a retired Air Force vet has a WWII X-12 Point of Train Beacon up for sale on EBay. Only downside is it doesn't have the name plate. No holes to indicate it ever had one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333845029519

These were the first infrared beacons used by the U.S. Navy on their ships during WWII. Almost exclusively in the Pacific as the Germans had IR viewers. The Japanese didn't. Historically, this was the first significant use of infrared by the U.S. Military. First in the U.S.A. as it was a new development. The Navy used it for signalling ship to ship and ship to shore. Also for identifying friendly ship locations. 

These were used in conjunction with the Navy US/C-1 and US/C-3 IR viewers. Also the Type AM Metascopes.

THE PICS BELOW ARE NOT THE ONE FOR SALE - Just examples

Surplus of Nebraska has these unissued still in their Navy crate for $195 but shipping is expensive due to the size of the crate.  Plus, long term storage hasn't preserved them well.

These are solid brass, except for the 4 metal rods that hold them together.

This is one from Nebraska Surplus donated to the Battleship U.S.S. Iowa museum a couple years ago.

Here's the Navy specs for the beacon...

I bought a well used one on Ebay a couple years ago. Polished it up and mounted it on a 7" teak winch pad. Swapped out the socket for a 110/120v socket and put a low wattage incandescent bulb in it. Do not put a 500 or 1500 watt bulb in it, it will burn you with IR. 

Obviously, being IR it doesn't light up the room. Unless you have an IR viewer... 

Jim

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sleeplessnashadow Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: Nov 09 2015 Location: SoCal Status: Offline Points: 1063	Post Options Post Reply Quote sleeplessnashadow Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Navy WWII X-12 Ship Beacon 4 Sale Posted: Jan 04 2021 at 1:07am
	If anyone is interested a retired Air Force vet has a WWII X-12 Point of Train Beacon up for sale on EBay. Only downside is it doesn't have the name plate. No holes to indicate it ever had one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/333845029519 These were the first infrared beacons used by the U.S. Navy on their ships during WWII. Almost exclusively in the Pacific as the Germans had IR viewers. The Japanese didn't. Historically, this was the first significant use of infrared by the U.S. Military. First in the U.S.A. as it was a new development. The Navy used it for signalling ship to ship and ship to shore. Also for identifying friendly ship locations. These were used in conjunction with the Navy US/C-1 and US/C-3 IR viewers. Also the Type AM Metascopes. THE PICS BELOW ARE NOT THE ONE FOR SALE - Just examples Surplus of Nebraska has these unissued still in their Navy crate for $195 but shipping is expensive due to the size of the crate. Plus, long term storage hasn't preserved them well. These are solid brass, except for the 4 metal rods that hold them together. This is one from Nebraska Surplus donated to the Battleship U.S.S. Iowa museum a couple years ago. Here's the Navy specs for the beacon... I bought a well used one on Ebay a couple years ago. Polished it up and mounted it on a 7" teak winch pad. Swapped out the socket for a 110/120v socket and put a low wattage incandescent bulb in it. Do not put a 500 or 1500 watt bulb in it, it will burn you with IR. Obviously, being IR it doesn't light up the room. Unless you have an IR viewer... Jim