In the spring of 1918 GE developed an army searchlight, which had to be much lighter and more durable than the firmly installed searchlights of the US navy - due to the special conditions in the field operation that required much more mobility. The construction had to work without a glass cover and a glass reflector because of its heavy weight and its fragility - and also because in the final phase of the First World War the requirement at high-quality glass products of the American army and navy exceeded the capacity of the glass manufacturers by far. Beyond that the Hight Intensity Beck Arc had to be adapted to the open operation under the direct influence of the elements.
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