Featured Spelter / zinc boat lamp

Having an interest in British and Canadian militaria, I was thrilled earlier today to find the lamp in the attached photos. It’s made of bronzed zinc or spelter, and is in the form of a Battle of Britain-era Royal Air Force high-speed launch, as used to rescue airmen who had been downed at sea. It has a red lightbulb inside but, considering the age of the fabric-covered wiring, I haven’t tried to turn it on. I’m hoping someone might be able to tell me something about this lamp, i.e. the manufacturer, if it really dates to the early wartime era, or even if you’ve just seen a similar spelter boat or ship lamp.

Now, the photos:







Thanks!

 

Another dimensionless object.

 

Oh, please excuse me. It’s just over 12” long.

 

By the way, here’s a photo of the boat this lamp was modelled after:

 

At first I thought tv lamp,but I guess it might be a radio lamp ? I thought 40s-50s in age.

 

Agree, I’d think postwar as nearly all metals, including zinc, and production facilities were reserved for war production during WWII.

Anything of interest on the bottom?

 

No, nothing. I’m going to take the lamp apart tonight, to rewire it, and will let you know if I find anything interesting inside.

 

Here’s a sticker found inside the lamp. So, it was made in Canada. I should have guessed this earlier, as RAF High-Speed Launch #150 was built in Canada.

Also, the Canadian Engineering Standards Association mentioned on the sticker was renamed the Canadian Standards Association in 1944, so this lamp must predate this. I’m guessing it dates to 1940-42, as the small boat mounted on the aft deck was replaced by a 20mm cannon on real RAF High-Speed Launches in 1942, after lessons were learned in the Dieppe raid.

 

http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/collection/details/dicea2011_0021_0010

Maybe same company?

 

Must be! Thanks for the great link. This makes me think the lamp must date to 1940, at the latest.

 

Here she is, lit up after rewiring with replica, period-correct, cotton-wrapped wire. Amazingly, the original light bulb still works! I was able to use the original wall plug and on/off switch, too. This will look great on my old G.E. Canada console radio.

 

Wow. Here's a short interesting video about those boats.

 

Great video, Tom! Many thanks for posting.

Here’s another: