We have a very limited number of Brand new 60" Sperry Searchlight and Generator sets for sale that have been in storage since the end of WWII.  This may be your only chance to get a set that has never been used.  My father remembers when these were originally shipped in 10'x10'x10' crates.  You could literally walk around the inside of the box with the light inside!  Although these were uncrated 50 years ago these had never been used.  A few of the Searchlights still have the original packing slips inside. Also included with each set are spare parts and supplies to get you started. I will be getting better pictures as soon as I can finish cleaning up some things to get to them.  I would rather not sell these to regular Searchlight operators who would hack them up.  I would rather see these go into museums or to serious collectors who will preserve them as original.  If you just want something to light up the sky in front of your store don't bother inquiring about these.  They are not for you!  Instead buy one that has been altered for advertising use and I will gladly help with parts to get your light in tip top shape.

Notice the original packing slip sitting inside the Sperry light unit in the picture above!

A couple of the new Sperry generator plants. One of them has markings for 'with first echelon' whatever the significance of that might be.  These can be used as an example for restorations of other searchlights.

We recently opened the doors on one of the generators and was pleasantly surprised to see that they are indeed still new.  The original battery is still inside and is probably still good since the acid was never added to activate the battery.  This door had been closed for almost 60 years.  The last people to see this were the ones who built it.

From our calculations this generator had less than 10 minutes of run time at the factory during testing before the engine was fogged and protected for shipping.

What is this?  It happens to be the original tag that explains how to get it prepared for the first use.

Ok, a little surface rust on the engine after sitting for 60 years but what did you expect?  It should be easy to clean up to mint condition.  I truly believe that one of these could run again with a new fuel pump diaphragm (just to be safe) and a little work to follow the prep sheet.

Notice that the original undercoating looks perfect.

This really caught me by surprise.  The starters had been wrapped for protection and the battery cable has never been connected.  Now we all know how these were shipped.

Pricing

Please contact us directly for pricing and availability of these new sets.  I also have a couple of the original Sperry DEC remote control stations for these Searchlights as well as the 10' poll used to manual control the searchlight.  We can come up with a very complete package.

Send mail to rdoerr@bizserve.com  with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: May 11, 2003