Odessa (Fontana, Odesskiy Zaliv, Fontana Cape)

Ukraine

The light was first established in 1827 and was a masonry tower. This was superseded by the skeletal construction with a cylindrical tower and a postcard of this construction appears in 1901.
I can find no information regarding the date of replacement of this lighthouse but have found a photo showing a modern white tower construction with a red square top on an unsecure internet site so the original light has now definitely been replaced however the date of this is unknown. I also note on marinetraffic.com that it has now been changed to flash white once every 12 seconds.

Manufacture Date 1860
Lighthouse Construction 1827
Country Ukraine
Commissioning Body Derzhidrohrafiya (State Hydrographic Service of Ukraine).
Lens Order 1st order
Lens Type Fixed
Status publish
Light Character Three white flashes every 12 seconds
Lighthouse Markings This lighthouse has been very difficult to find information on so I have made some assumptions that may ultimately be incorrect and require correction. A cast iron skeletal construction with a cylindrical light tower at the top. The top has a triple gallery and enclosed watch room painted with red and white horizontal bands.
Lighthouse Parts Unknown
Management Body Ports Authority Derzhidrohrafiya
Preserver Derzhidrohrafiya
Coastal Erosion Vulnerability
Condition Observations Unknown
Open Status (Site) Closed
Open Status (Tower) Closed
Coordinates 46.3762174444,30.7469719395
Other "...In 1861, on the initiative of the assistant chief Hydrographic part of the Nikolaev port of V. I. Zarudny (later the director of lighthouses and sailing directions of the Black and Azov Seas, Vice Admiral), a 1st category Fresnel diopter (refractive) light-optical apparatus was installed on the lighthouse for the first time on the Black Sea, purchased in Paris at the factory of the Chance brothers (*?NB! this is authors mistake because Chances have no factories in France*) . During the installation of the new apparatus, lighting was carried out using a temporary wooden lantern with an old reflective apparatus. In the 1850s, experiments began in England and France on the use of electricity to light lighthouses. In 1864, Lieutenant Commander Ilyin, assistant director of the lighthouses of the Black and Azov Seas, was sent to France and England to get acquainted with the design and effectiveness of electric lighthouses. He visited Donzhenessky (England) (NB! Dungeness Old Lighthouse) and Gevsky (France) lighthouses and became convinced of the superiority of electric lighting over oil. * NB! See Dungeness Old Lighthouse https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites/62af1e5419cfcc010073f541 The Directorate also analyzed the results of the operation of the Zuid Forland lighthouse (England) and, comparing it with the Odessa one, decided that the installation of electric lighting at the Odessa lighthouse, which surpasses the Zuid Forland lighthouse in terms of the height of the fire and the quality of the lighting apparatus, will give even more satisfactory results. And this despite the fact that the last lighthouse “struck the sailors with its glitter." NB! See * South Foreland Upper Lighthouse https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites/62b4690386028b01009dd78e * South Foreland Lower Lighthouse https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites/62b46f63f987c50100e4254a When choosing a lighthouse for conversion to electric lighting (for the first time in Russia), they also took into account the fact that Odessa by that time had become the main commercial port on the Black Sea, which was most often visited by merchant ships. The city had a solid industrial base that could help the work, the Directorate of Lighthouses and Pilots was not far away - in the city of Nikolaev (it was convenient to observe construction and experiments), steam boilers, dynamos and other equipment could be delivered here without much effort and expense. The main hydrographic department approved, and the higher naval authorities approved these considerations, and the corresponding amounts were included in the 1865 estimate. Captain-Lieutenant Ilyin was sent to England to order a "magnet-electric" machine. Work on refurbishing the lighting began in 1866. On the territory of the lighthouse town, a workshop with machine tools and an electric telegraph were equipped to communicate with the Directorate of lighthouses in Nikolaev. During the day, experiments were carried out with electrical equipment, and in the evening an oil lamp was installed and lit in place. On November 24, 1867, electric lighting was turned on for the first time at night. According to the results of the first experiments, it was established that the previous refractive apparatus was not suitable, since it was designed for the volumetric flame of an oil lamp and scatters the rays of an electric source, directing them upwards, which causes a glow to form above the lighthouse, and in the proper direction, the light intensity was insufficient. It was decided to make a new special diopter apparatus with a flashlight, which ensures the concentration of rays in the right direction. On November 17, 1867, when the 14th anniversary of the victory of the Russian fleet in the battle of Sinop was celebrated, in the presence of the Novorossiysk and Bessarabian governors, trial electric lighting began in a solemn atmosphere. On November 24 and December 15, night electric lighting was observed from the sea by the chief commander of the Nikolaev port. Lighting of the lighthouse was found to be quite satisfactory. As reported in the "Report of the Hydrographic Department for 1868", the operation of the lighthouse "increased to a vast area between the mouths of the Dniester and the Dnieper." Regular lighting of the first electric lighthouse in Russia began on May 14, 1868. The light source was a Foucault lamp with coke rods, between which an electric spark arose. These rods were purchased abroad and were very expensive. In 1877, Captain Seleznev, who was in charge of a lighthouse workshop in Nikolaev, made coal rods, which provided more even combustion and greater light intensity than foreign coke ones, and were much cheaper...." Source: * The Lighthouse Work of Sir James T. Chance (APPENDIX): 1st order - 1860 - Fontana Cape, near Odessa - Fixed * Lighthouses of Russia (Historical Essays). GUNiO MO RF edition, St. Petersburg, 2001, the authors, A.A. Komaritsin, V.I. Koryakin, V.G. Romanov. ARLHS UKR-018; UA-0295; Admiralty N5078; NGA 17904.

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