Editing Searchlight (section)

=== Second World War ===
Searchlights were used extensively in defense against nighttime [[bomber]] raids during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. Controlled by sound locators and radars, searchlights could track bombers, indicating targets to anti-aircraft guns and night fighters and dazzling crews.

[[File:Searchlights pierce the night sky during an air-raid practice on Gibraltar, 20 November 1942. GM1852.jpg|thumb|right|Searchlights pierce the night sky during an air-raid practice on Gibraltar, 1942]]
Searchlights were occasionally used tactically in ground battles. One notable occasion was the [[Red Army]] use of searchlights during the [[Battle of the Seelow Heights]] in April 1945. 143 searchlights were directed at the German defence force, with the aim of temporarily blinding them during a Soviet offensive, begun with the largest artillery bombardment the world had ever seen until that point. However, the morning fog diffused the light and silhouetted the attacking Soviet forces, making them clearly visible to the Germans. The Soviets suffered heavy losses as a result and were forced to delay their invasion of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/masterful-defense-at-seelow-heights/ |title = Masterful Defense at Seelow Heights |last = Welsh |first = William E. |date = June 2017 |website = Warfare History Network |access-date = 2018-09-18 |archive-date = 2016-09-16 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160916133819/https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/masterful-defense-at-seelow-heights/ |url-status = dead }}</ref>

[[File:British Eighth Army Troops Crossing the River Po, Beyond Ferrara, Italy, 28 April 1945 TR2854.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Members of a [[Royal Artillery]], anti-aircraft searchlight detachment clean the mirror of their searchlight, Italy, April 1945]]

Second World War-era searchlights include models manufactured by [[General Electric]] and by the [[Sperry Corporation|Sperry Company]]. These were mostly of 60 inch (152.4&nbsp;cm) diameter with [[rhodium]] plated parabolic mirror, reflecting a [[Arc lamp|carbon arc]] discharge. Peak output was 800,000,000 [[candela]]. It was powered by a 15&nbsp;kW generator and had an effective beam visibility of 28 to 35 miles (45 to 56&nbsp;km) in clear low humidity.

The searchlight also found a niche for use by [[night fighter]]s and [[anti-submarine warfare]] aircraft. The [[Turbinlite]] was a powerful searchlight mounted in the nose of an [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[Douglas A-20 Havoc|Douglas Boston]] [[light bomber]], converted into a night fighter to shoot down [[Luftwaffe]] night [[bomber]]s. The aircraft would be directed in the general direction of the enemy by ground-based or [[Radar in World War II|metre-wave]] airborne radar, and the pilot would then switch on the Turbinlite, illuminating the enemy aircraft, which would then be shot down by accompanying RAF [[day fighter]]s such as the [[Hawker Hurricane]]. This never proved very successful, as the light made the emitting aircraft a very big target for rear gunners, who would simply have to shoot into the light and be guaranteed to hit something eventually.

During the [[Battle of the Atlantic|Battle of the North Atlantic]], RAF aircraft such as the [[Vickers Wellington]] were assigned to patrol for surfaced German [[U-boat]]s at night, when they would be on the surface, charging their [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]]. A large searchlight called a [[Leigh light]] was suspended from the bottom of the [[wing]] or [[fuselage]], and would be used to illuminate the surfaced U-boat while it was being attacked with [[bomb]]s and [[depth charge]]s. The Leigh light was somewhat more successful than the Turbinlite, but in both cases the development of centimeter-wave radar proved to be the far more effective answer.