Original Item: Only One Available. Electricity and lights were used extensively in all manner of vehicles. Low-level lights were installed in tanks and bombers to help them see what they needed in their machines. The U.S. fleet of submarines all ran on electricity, requiring them to resurface and charge their batteries. If it was a machine used during the war, odds were good that it used electricity and/or lights in some way. Spotlights were also still used in areas to light up aircraft for anti-aircraft guns, but many cities were forced into blackouts to hamper bombing efforts.

Lights were also heroes during the war. Hymel told the story of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, or the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, between the Americans and Japanese, where the Americans had a decisive air victory. The American counterattack against the Japanese finished after the sun went down and many of the planes were running low on fuel. Despite the risk of being spotted by Japanese submarines and aircraft flying at night, Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher ordered drastic measures to save as many Americans as he could – he lit up the ships and spotlights.

“They turn on all the lights, and sure enough, most of the planes are able to land,” Hymel said. “That’s one of the great lighting stories of World War II.”

This little flashlight, although not as crucial as the larger spotlights, still served an important role aboard naval vessels. This would have been crossbody carried by a Japanese sailor, most likely an engineer or sorts, with the light clipped to his uniform for quick and easy access. The long wire with the light on the end of it would have been perfect to reach smaller areas that a standard issued flashlight couldn’t reach.

This example retains the small light and wire though the wire has heavy material loss of the coating with fraying of the underlying material. This set is not functional and does not have any of its batteries. It retains the clip in the lower section and will look good for display. Measures approximately 4 1/4"W x 4 1/4"H x 1 1/2"D.

Not too much is known about these flashlights, making this a wonderful research opportunity!