Mellumplate
| Mellumplate lighthouse | ||
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| Place: | Beacon for navigation in the Wangerooger fairway | |
| Location: | Lower Saxony , Germany | |
| Geographical location: | 53 ° 46 '18 " N , 8 ° 5' 33" E | |
| Height of tower base: | 33 m above sea level NN | |
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| Identifier : | F. / Blz. 4 s / Mo (A) 7.5 s / Mo (N) 7.5 s / Blz. (4) 15 s | |
| Scope knows: | 24 nm (44.4 km ) | |
| Optics: | Precision sector fire light source: 1600 watt light intensity: 607.500cd |
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| Operating mode: | electric | |
| Function: | lighthouse | |
| Construction time: | 1939 to 1942 | |
| Operating time: | since 1943 | |
| International ordinal number: | B 1122 | |
The lighthouse Mellumplate is in the southern North Sea ( German Bight ) in the outer Jade north of the bird island Mellum and has a leading light coming from sea vessels in the jade.
Construction / construction
The Mellumplate lighthouse was built between 1939 and 1942 for around two million Reichsmarks . In the lower area it consists of a round reinforced concrete caisson and in the tower shaft area of an angular steel skeleton with clinker facing. The tower stands "offshore" at around sea level - 23 m deep in the sand, the height of the structure is around 29 m above sea level . There are seven floors inside. When it was built in 1939, the prefabricated caisson (box for working in water), which has a diameter of 14.3 m and a wall thickness of 2.15 m, was tugged to its future location. After being lowered to the bottom, the sediment inside the caisson was dug out so that the caisson would sink further into the seabed under its own weight. The caisson was then filled with sand up to NN - 5.42 m. As is common in offshore construction, the foundation is surrounded by scour protection made of rubble stones on bush mats ( fascines ). The tower with its square floor plan stands on the brick foundation with a diameter of 13.2 m. Power is supplied via a 6 kV submarine cable, which also supplies the Hooksielplate and Hohe Weg radar stations and the island of Mellum with electricity.
To protect the clinker, the tower was refurbished in 1968 with a red and white aluminum cladding . He was also given a helicopter landing platform to make it easier for the lighthouse keeper to drop off, since it is no longer possible to land with a ship at wave heights of over one meter.
In 2005 the exterior cladding was renovated. For this purpose, the entire tower was provided with scaffolding. The helicopter landing deck was taken out of service as part of this renovation, as it is no longer statically adequate for the new generations of rescue helicopters. But people can still be rescued from helicopters using abseiling techniques. In 2008, the old steel dolphins on which the supply ship is moored were replaced with five new ones.
use
The tower was planned as a flak station during World War II and was used to seal off the Jade entrance from enemy aircraft. During this time up to 40 soldiers were stationed on the tower. After the war and the dismantling of the guns, the structure was given a new round lantern on top of the previous lantern house. The tower with the international serial number B 1122 replaced the lightship Minsener Sand and was manned until 1973 when it got a remote control for automatic operation.
The fire is a sector fire, in which the individual sectors are not identified by colors, but by lightning and Morse code . The fire color is white. The 1600 watt lamp achieves a light intensity of 607,500 candela . The range is around 24 nautical miles . The Wilhelmshaven Waterways and Shipping Office is responsible for maintenance and upkeep .
literature
- Hans-Joachim Luttermann: Flowers, beacons, fire towers . 2nd Edition. Convent, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-934613-54-3 .
- Reinhard Scheiblich: Lighthouses on Germany's coasts . 2nd Edition. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2003, ISBN 3-7688-0920-X .
- Reinhard Scheiblich, Hans Helge Staack: Lighthouse Lexicon . Ellert & Richter, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-8319-0038-8 .
- Friedrich-Karl Zemke: German lighthouses then and now . 3. Edition. Koehler, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-7822-0769-6 .
Web links
- Lighthouse Atlas
- Description of the lighthouse at the responsible WSA
- Portrait of the Mellumplate lighthouse