Searchlights: The Forgotten Weapon That Lit Up the Battlefield
Lighting the Skies
Searchlights, from the 1870 Siege of Paris to the 1903 US Navy exercise, proved to be more than just illumination—they were weapons that blinded gunners and exposed positions. This history traces their evolution from Civil War improvisations to world's fair spectacles, revealing how a technology that changed warfare became a staple of civilian entertainment and advertising.
Aiming searchlights back at coast defense artillery positions not only exposed them to incoming fire, it also dazzled the gunners and frustrated their efforts to accurately aim at the ships.