The Roanoke River Lighthouse in North Carolina

From the Feb. 4, 2021, Chowan (N.C.) Herald "Week in NC history"  by the NC Department of Cultural Resources.

LONG ROUTE TO ROANOKE RIVER LIGHTHOUSE

On February 5, 1832, Elizabeth City councilman William Shepard petitioned the House of Representatives for a light station to help guide sailors to safety by the mouth of the Roanoke River.

Two years later, Congress appropriated $10,000 for a lightship to operate in the Albemarle Sound.  The ship operated through the Civil War, but was replaced by a screw-pile lighthouse that operated on whale oil in 1867.  The structure, in turn, was damaged by fire and later ice in the 1880s.

A larger lighthouse, the one that now stands, was authorized in 1886 and finished by 1887.  It was fitted with a Fresnel lens and continued to operate until 1941, when it was decommissioned by the Coast Guard.

This 1886 lighthouse changed hands twice in the 1950s, sold for $10 each time.  Edenton businessman Emmett  Wiggins moved  it to land he owned in Chowan County in 1955 and lived in it until he died .

In 2007, the Edenton Historical Commission purchased the lighthouse and restored it in cooperation with the state of North Carolina.  The restored lighthouse opened to the public as part of the Historic Edenton State Historic Site in 2012.

--Cooter

U-156-- Part 1: Originally Built to Carry Cargo Between the U.S. and Germany

From Wikipedia.

Was commissioned 22 August 19 1917.  Responsible for sinking 44 Allied ships (including one warship) and damaging three others.  It also was the German participant in the attack on Orleans, Massachusetts.

Was built in Bremen, Germany, one of the seven submarines built in the Deutschland-class designed to carry cargo between the United States and Germany.  Five of them, including the U-156 were converted into long-range cruiser U-boats with 5.9-inch deck guns.

On 15 June 1918, the U-156  slipped through the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean, heading for Long Island and then to New York harbor with orders to lay mines.  Records show that she lay a field of mines off the south shore of Long island just east of the Fire Island Lightship.

On 8 July it scuttled the Norwegian-owned Manx King

A mine laid by the U-156 is credited with sinking the armored cruiser USS San Diego on July 19, 1918, about ten miles southeast of Fire Island, New York.

--DaCoot

World War I Lightship Sunk By U-boat Off North Carolina Coast-- Part 2

On August 6, 1918, exactly 16 months after the U.S. entry into World War I, while patrolling off the coast of North Carolina, the LV-71 came across the sinking cargo ship SS Merak.  It had been sailing from New York to the West Indies when it was spotted by the German submarine U-140 which fired a torpedo at it.  The torpedo's wake was spotted and the Merak took evasive action and avoided it but ran aground.  The submarine then surfaced to finish it off with its deck gun.

The ship started sinking, but the crew escaped.

The LV-71 arrived on the scene and Master Walter Barnett sent out warning to other ships in the area.  The U-140 intercepted the message and returned to the scene and sank the LV-71 with its deck gun.  residents in Hatteras, N.C., reported hearing the gunfire.

The wreck is 12 miles off the coast and is the only U.S. lightship ever sunk by enemy action.

We'll leave the Light On.  --Cooter

Frying Pan Lightship (LV-115) Now a Party Ship

This ship served off the entrance of the Cape Fear River by Wilmington, North Carolina and is still afloat, only today in New York City and hosting parties and gatherings.

Nine lightships guarded the infamous Frying Pan Shoals of the Cape Fear River from 1854 to 1964 with the exceptions of the Civil War and World War II. The lighthouse at nearby Bald Head Island was not strong enough to warn shipping.

The LV-115 was built 1929-1930 and stationed at Frying Pan Shoals from 1930 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1964, when it was replaced by a light tower. During World War II (1942-1945) it was an examination vessel, used to check all shipping coming into the Cape Fear River. Examination ships generally mounted one or more machine guns and were supported by shore batteries so I imagine it was stationed near Southport.

It sank in 1986, was raised the following year and restoration began in 1988.

It still has the name Frying Pan on the sides. Probably a good name for what is actually a floating bar today.

Getting Fried at the Fry. --Cooter