Aids to Naviagtion Fog Bell - Havre de Grace, MD
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 39° 32.425 W 076° 05.186
18S E 406642 N 4377313
The origin of the fog bell has a few theories by the museum. One is that it was on a US cargo ship during WWII. Another is that it was used as a church bell. No one know for sure.
Waymark Code: WMYEZE
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 06/07/2018
Views: 2
The plaque says, "A fog bell is a type of fog signal that uses sound, in this case the rhythmic landing of a very los bell, to warn vessels of navigational hazards, or boats of the presences of other vessels in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. When visual navigation aids such as lighthouses are obscured, fog bells provide an audible warning of rocks, shoals, headlands, or other dangers to shipping.
We known little about the provenance (origin and history) of this bell. What we do know is that the U.S. Navy transferred this and several other bells back to the U.S. Coast Guard. The bell was cast at McShane Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland. The McShane Foundry, still in business, cleaned up the bell for us. The yoke on the bell is a typical mountain for Coast Guard fog bells. Foundry represnatitives advised that this bell was NOT originally cast for the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Coast Guard. Bells cast by McShane and other for use in marine environments were silicon bronze; this bell is not, thus the pitting on its surface. They also advised that it was cast as a church bell and had been fitted as an automated fog bell via a solenoid (simple motor) atop the bell. The solenoid was rusted out when we received the bell. There are no markings on the bell as to its date of casting."
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What's the Real Story?: Not listed
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