France, Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar

French time signals were located on the English Channel; Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, These included a rotating disc at Cherbourg, a flag at Brest and time balls at Lorient, Fouras, Rochefort and Toulon. These are believed to have been introduced in the 1870s. There is known to have been a much earlier but unregulated time ball and gun at Nice. Some of the time balls in France, described as “balloons” in Admiralty lists, were collapsible. Only two signals were listed for Spain. These were time balls at Cadiz and Vigo. Portuguese time signals were all at locations in Lisbon. They changed from time balls to time lights. A time ball in Gibraltar was erected in 1903. No time ball was listed before that date and earlier illustrations may have been of a ball signal that was used for a different purpose.