LV78 Calshot Spit Lightvessel was built in 1914 by J I Thornycroft in Southampton. She measured 75 feet in length, with a beam of 20 feet, a draught of 10 feet, and a displacement of 140 tons.
She featured a revolutionary revolving light powered by a 55mm dioptric paraffin vapour burner.
LV78 Lightvessel served at several stations over the decades, including Mouse, Mid Barrow and Calshot Spit, the latter from 1951. Calshot Spit is located at the southern tip of Hampshire, England, near the entrance to Southampton Water, where it meets the Solent.
In 1962, whilst still on duty, a local reporter visited the Calshot Spit Lightvessel to experience life on board.
In January 1987, Associated British Ports replaced LV78 with a fully automated solar-powered catamaran light float. This marked the end of her operational life, and she was decommissioned.
After being sold, LV78 was lifted from the water in 1989 and displayed in a concrete berth at Ocean Village Marina, Southampton. She continued to display her final name, Calshot Spit, on the side of her hull.
In early November 2010, the Southampton Heritage Foundation moved LV78 from Ocean Village to a temporary berth in the Eastern Docks. This massive operation involved two 500-ton cranes lifting the 140-ton ship onto a 120-wheel trailer for transport to the Trafalgar Dry Dock, just 800 yards away.
Following her renovation she was due to be displayed at the Aeronautica museum. The Aeronautica museum planned to exhibit a number of historic vessels and was due to open in 2015, but unfortunately stopped in 2012.
In a bid to save the lightvessel from being scrapped by its owners, Barratt Homes, Solent Sky Aviation Museum stepped in to protect the historic vessel, and she was moved to the Solent Sky Museum in December 2019.
The museum aims to secure funding to restore LV78 to its former glory, preserving its legacy for future generations.
The vessel is currently listed on the National Historic Ships UK register.
