Ships compass

[HARRY THE MOLE]

A very recent addition to my collection of 'other' types of militaria... an admiralty compass on a dwarf binnacle. I'm not sure of the date of this one, but the Pattern 01151A was widely used during WW2 on small vessels - including MTB's and ML's. This example is missing the dome cover and lamp, but I was fortunate enough to locate one on eBay for a mere pittance - still waiting for it to come though. This example had been in storage for a very long time and the brass had turned almost black. I took everything apart - but not the compass, and soaked it in distilled white vinegar to remove the verdigris and tarnish. I won't be polishing it though, it will be left 'as is.'





The actual compass is mounted on four damping springs and held in place by a brass ring screwed down to the lower mount, and apart from one small air bubble it is in very good condition.





Attached to the lower mounting ring is a small plastic (maybe bakelite) box which contains magnetic rods which are used to calibrate the compass. This has to be done on the vessel while out at sea to ensure maximum accuracy.

[Watchdog]

Nice one!
I love these bits of "other militaria" which I like to call "background".

So many of this type of thing is polished to death by so called restorers for interior design purposes which as we know effectively reduces an artifact to an ornament!!!

There is a dealer who attends the War and Peace show who carries dozens of sights, compasses, lamps etc that have been "restored" and only a few that have not.

Regards

Mark