WRIST AND PIN-ON COMPASSES

The Online Compass Museum displays its own collection of some 60 different wrist-top compasses of many countries (USA, Great-Britain, France, Germany, USSR, Japan, Finnland etc.), for civilian and military use, on land or under water.
In addition, you can see some photographs sent by friendly visitors.
Pict. at right: a part of our collection

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A ADMIRAL ADRIJANOVA AK-39 (Kadlec) ASKANIA ATCO AURKKA (Red Army)   (AYPKKA in cyrillic letters)	B BARKER B.E.N. BÉZARD	C CHETWYND Ch-Ch-Z (ЧЧЗ in cyrillic letters) CREAGH OSBORNE	D DACOR DINSMORE DOXA	E
F FEE & STEMWEDEL FPM - Freiberger   Präzisionsmachanik	G GUGK (ГYГK in cyrillic letters)	H HAND HEINKE	I	J JAPAN
K KADLEC KNM (KHM in cyrillic letters)	L L-1 (s. US Gauge) LEMAIRE	M MARBLE'S MIKROTECHNA MOSCOMPASS	N NEMROD NO NAME - GB NO NAME - GERMANY	O Orienteering
P PANERAI Pin-on compasses	Q	R Russia	S SCUBAPRO SPIROTECHNIQUE SUPERIOR MAGNETO SUUNTO Switzerland	T TAYLOR TRITON TRU NORD
U U.S. Gauge Div. AM&M	V	W WALTHAM WILKIE	X - Y YAL	Z ZUP (ЗУП in cyril. letters)

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- A -

THE ANCESTOR?

Manufacturer not identified - Probably one of the very first wrist compasses ever made (late 19th C. ?).
The compass card's design is identical with typical ships' compasses. The compass card features 64 divisions, a number also used on military compasses to assess distances (see MISCELLANEOUS / Divisions).

Technical Data - Diameter: 41 mm - Depth: 12 mm - Weight: 30 gr - Divisions: 64 rumbs, main and semi cardinals abbreviated, North: fleur-de-lis (heraldic lily). - Sighting system: rifle type - Transit lock: side (screw head)

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ADRIJANOVA

Description: This compass is almost identical with the following Russian AURKKA and ZUP  (see below) models but it was only used in Bulgaria and in the former Yugoslavia, in the regions writing in cyrillic letters, i.e. Serbia. The only difference with the Russian version is the letter used for the cardinal point EAST (located underneath the figure 450 mils and between 75 and 105 degrees) and which stands for the word (pronounce iztok) in the Bulgarian and Serbo-croatian languages while it is BOCTOK (pronounce vostok, abbreviated B) in Russian.
For an unknown reason, it was called Adrian's compass (Adrijanova busola) in the Yugoslav Army's manuals.
This compass type was also manufactured for a short period in the former communist East-Germany by ASKANIA (see below).

Description of the compass in the Yugoslav Army's manual (Photocopies can be ordered)

Technical Data - Diameter: 50 mm - Depth: 20 mm - Weight: 60 gr - Divisions: . 360 degrees clockwise (inner scale) . 6000 mils counterclockwise (outer scale)

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ASKANIA

PROFILE - ASKANIA is a German manufacturer (for more information click HERE).

This compass is the East-German post WWII version of the Soviet-Union made ZUP and AURKKA (see below) compasses. This one was built in the early '50s by VEB ASKANIA  (East-Berlin). The 360 deg. division shows that it is a civilian version.
See also BAMBERG in the cat. AERONAUTICAL Compasses and ASKANIA in MARCHING compasses.

(Click for detailed view of dial)

(View of reverse side)

Technical Data - Diameter: 53 mm - Depth: 20 mm - Weight: 37 gr - Divisions: 360 degrees clockwise - Material: Bakelite case, leather strap - Crown with rifle-type aiming device and screw activated lock

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ATCO

PROFILE - Nothing is known about this company. This compass was made in Japan but another object (a collapsible cup like the one we display in OTHER COMPASSES) signed ATCO and displayed by the former Boreal Arrow website was made in Germany.

Picture courtesy of oldmillenium

Technical Data - Diameter: .. mm - Depth: .. mm - Weight: gr - Divisions: 360 degrees clockwise To be compared with DOXA below

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AURKKA / AYPKKA (former USSR)

PROFILE - Compass made by Masterskye Artilleriskoye Upravlenye Raboche-Krestianskoy Krasnoy Army / Workshops of the Artillery's Administration of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

Same construction as the ZUP compass (see below).

Technical Data - diameter: 50 mm - Depth: 20 mm - Weight: 60 gr - Divisions: . 360 degrees clockwise (inner scale) . 6000 mils counterclockwise (outer scale) - Date (at case underside) : 1940

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- B -

BARKER (F. B. & SON)

PROFILE - British Company (more information HERE)

Technical data - Diameter: 40 mm - Depth (closed): 22 mm - Weight: 75 gr The crystal is protected by a leather cap and on the magnetic needle's North mark, the luminous product (tritium) is in a glass tube.

The British National Archives (South-West London) gave the following information: The design no. 416645 was published on page 1318 of the Official Journal of patents dated 30th September 1903, covering designs registered in the week ending 17th September 1903. The owners were Francis Barker & Son, of 12 Clerkenwell Rd, London WC. The material class was Class I, covering metals.

Radium wristlet compass (Barker catalog 1926) Technical data - Diameter: .. mm - Depth: .. mm - Weight: .. gr - Marking: Reg. No. 416645 (see left)

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The following compass was built during the 50's and issued to the British troops. It was used during the Korea war and the Suez Canal expedition (1956). Its lack of precision lead the Military to use instead their classical hand-held marching compass (see Barker and Stanley). Moreover, its high radioactivity was the reason why it was no longer used.

(Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

View closed and back

Technical data - Strap: fabric - Case: brass - Diameter: 38 mm - Depth: 17 mm - Weight: 45 gr - Manufacturer: The letter B in the ref. and ser. numbers indicate that this instrument was made by F. Barker & Son

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B.E.N.

PROFILE - Abbrev. for Bianchetti Electronique Nautique. French manufacturer (more information HERE).
BEN Marine is now a division of AMESYS.

BEN built wrist compasses, among others this one resembling the LEMAIRE model used by the French Navy's Special Forces during the 1st Vietnam war (1946-1954) and the Algerian independance war (1957-1962).
The black-and-white picture shows a French soldier wearing an original compass in Algeria. This compass combines the characteristic features of the white Czech KADLEC AK39 (sight elements on a crown without divisions, white line on glass) and the lateral screw-operated locking device of the crown like on british compasses (see T.G. Co. Ltd, Barker etc.).

NOTE: The strap material is called a PoRoMeRic. (cf. WIKIPEDIA definition: Sometimes referred to as poromerics, poromeric imitation leathers are a group of synthetic 'breathable' leather substitutes made from a plastic coating (usually a polyurethane) on a fibrous base layer (typically a polyester). The name poromeric was coined by DuPont as a derivative of the terms microporous and polymeric. The first poromeric material was DuPont's ill-fated Corfam introduced in 1963 at the Chicago Shoe Show.). 

Click on the pictures for enlarged views (B/W photo of soldiers courtesy Commando Jaubert)		Technical Data - Diameter x depth: 58 x 20 mm - Weight: 88 gr - Divisions: 360 degrees, clockwise
BEN also produced divers' compasses for  SCUBAPRO, BEUCHAT or LA SPIROTECHNIQUE. Several models were built and issued to the French and international Armed forces, Police and rescue organizations.	(Picture Franz Rothbrust)	Technical Data Dimensions - Diameter x depth: 70 x 49,5 mm - Weight: 180 gr - Divisions:  s. pic.

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BÉZARD

PROFILE - see special chapter THE BÉZARD COMPASS.

FLUID Bézard wrist compass - Model "Bw" (Bundeswehr - Armed Forces of Federal Germany) Click on picture for enlarged view (Pictures: copyright Ted Brink - see LINKS, Military Compasses)

Box with Nato Stock Number (NSN)

Technical Data - Diameter: 56 mm - Weight: 35 gr - Divisions: 360 degrees clockwise - Date: June 1971

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- C -

CHETWYND

PROFILE - Captain Louis Wentworth Pakington Chetwynd (b. 15 December 1866, d. 18 April 1914, Coombe Neville, Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey) was an important member of the British Admiralty at the beginning of the 20th C.
He patented this compass that could be lit at night by means of a small lamp that fitted into a tube on the lefthand side.
The patent was filed in 1909 when he already was a retired Commander.

(click on picture above for enlarged view) Click HERE to view the patent.

Captain CHETWYND's marking Patent no. ...865/06 (first digit concealed under a screw head?)

View lit Technical data - Strap: leather - Case: brass - Diameter (body): 70 mm - Depth: 23 mm - Weight: 225 gr

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Ch-Ch-Z (ЧЧЗ in cyrillic letters)

PROFILE - Ch-Ch-Z are the initials of the Russian watch maker Chistopolsky Chasovoy Zawod (i.e. Chistopol Watch Company, name in cyrillic: see Instructions below). The city Chistopol is located on the river Volga in the Republic of Tatarstan (Capital: Kasan).

	Technical Data - Strap: Leather - Casing: Brass, chromated - Diameter (casing): 35 mm - Depth: 7 mm - Unlocking of needle by depressing the spring-loaded crown
Detailed view - front face and obverse (Click to enlarge)     Box and data	User's instructions (Click to enlarge) Translation of data on box: Wrist compass, TY 25-07-(019)-75, Part-Number KN--105-01-28, Price: 80 kopeks

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CREAGH-OSBORNE

PROFILE - Captain Frank Osborne Creagh-Osborne, Royal Navy (born .../ died ...) was Superintendent of Compasses with the Admiralty and a British inventor. He patented several versions of this system (no. 1148/1915 - copies available):
His compasses were manufactured by H. Hughes & Son Ltd (59, Fenchurch Street London) and by Sperry Gyroscopes.  
See also the categories Marching and Aeronautical compasses).

Serial No. 4803 (click on the picture ABOVE for an enlarged view) Sighting aid and prism

A hand-held version (excerpt from the manual THE PRISMATIC COMPASS)

Technical data - Strap: leather - Case: brass - Diameter: 65 mm - Depth: 28 mm - Weight: 250 gr

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- D -

DACOR

PROFILE - DACOR was a US company founded in 1954 by a former Marine soldier called Sam DAVISON. DACOR is an acronym built with the first syllable of his name DAvison and CORporation. It was consecutively located in Evanston, Illinois, in 1954, then in Skokie, Illinois (about 1965) and at last in Northfield, Illinois. It was bought by the Italian MARES (diving gear) in the early 2000's.

(Photos : copyright J. GRÉPINET, see LINKS, DIVER COMPASSES)

Technical data - Diameter (glass capsule): 30 mm - Depth (glass + basis): 35 mm - Weight: 70 gr - Manufactured (approx.): 1970's

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DINSMORE

PROFILE - (DRAFT)
DINSMORE is a U.S. company founded in ...? by R(obert?) C. DINSMORE. It was located in Flint, Michigan.

(if you are or know a relative of Mr Robert C. DINSMORE, pls. contact the museum).

WE WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS INVENTOR.

Dinsmore Instrument Company, now part of 'The Robson Company' (TRC), was the world's first maker of Auto compasses and has had approx. eighty years of experience, and many patents, for the correction of vehicle caused anomalies in compass readings. Dinsmore has designed and manufactured compasses for special uses as well as aircraft, mariners and vehicular compasses.

Dinsmore Wirst compass

Technical data - Diameter: ... mm - Depth: ... mm - Weight: ... gr - Manufactured (approx.): 19..0's

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DOXA

PROFILE: DOXA is a (country ?) clock manufacturer. We have seen several different DOXA compasses (incl. pocket compasses) "made in Japan".

Technical Data - Diameter: 35 mm - Weight: .. gr - Production year: ?   (Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

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E - F

FEE & STEMWEDEL

PROFILE - Former US manufacturer located in Chicago (more information HERE).

US KOREAN WAR WRIST COMPASS MODEL 1949 (compare with WALTHAM).

(Photos courtesy Ebay sellor sellingallmystuff2day)

Technical Data - Diameter: 40 mm - Depth: 10 mm - Weight: .. gr - Manufactured: 3-53

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FPM Holding - Freiberger Präzisionsmechanik

PROFILE - German company (for more information click HERE).

Fluid capsule compass SPORT 11 Technical Data - Diameter: 55 mm - Depth: 20 mm - Weight: 41 gr - Divisions: 360 degrees by 5, clockwise

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- G -

GUGK (ГYГK in cyrillic letters)

PROFILE -This abbreviation appears on the crystal together with a flower (edelweiss?) and on the back. GUGK (Glavnoe Upravlenie Geodesii i Kartografi) was the name of the Survey authorities in the former USSR. Because of the similarities between the two languages, we assume that the Bulgarian authority had the same abbreviation. On the back of the casing appears the name of the manufacturer (transcription): Kartno Geopriborna Fabrika Sofia, i.e. "Company for Maps and Geographical Instruments of Sofia".
We display anothercomparable compass made by the French manufacturer LEMAIRE and we know of a further one belonging to the Polish Foundation Kosciuszki's collection. Both were produced directly by the Swedish company SILVA or on the base of their patents, so that we assume that there is here also a connection.

(Click on pictures for enlarged views)

Technical Data - Diameter: 51 mm - Depth: 13 mm - Weight: 37 gr - Manufactured: 1950's ?

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- H -

HAND

PROFILE - John E. Hand & Sons was a U.S. compass manufacturer (more information HERE).
Besides ship compasses this company also built wrist compasses for Navy and Airforce soldiers, especially the following wrist compasses developed for the Navy in the 50's and 60's and utilized by the UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams).

THE MUSEUM IS LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF A  COMPASS Mk 1 Mod 0 (PRODUCTION YEARS: 1950's) LIKE THE ONE SHOWN ON BILLY SCHORR'S WEBSITE.

Mk 1 Mod 1 (date: 2/65) (Click on pictures for detailed views)

Technical Data - Diameter: 47 mm - Depth: 30 mm - Weight: 72 gr - Divisions: 360 deg. The warning (radioactivity symbol) is indicated also on the side.

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HEINKE

PROFILE - Charles Edwin HEINKE (b. Sept. 4, 1818 - d. in 1869) was a submarine engineer and the son of a Prussian immigrant. His company C. E. HEINKE & Co. Ltd produced divers' materiel.  The company was created in 1844 and was eventually acquired by SIEBE GORMAN & Co. in 1961.
(For more information, visit the following website : HEINKEKERN.)

This compass was most probably built for HEINKE by a compassmaker...

(Click on picture for enlarged view)

Technical Data - Diameter: 63 mm / 2-1/2 inch - Depth: 24 mm / 1 inch - Weight: 155 g - Graduation: 360° - Manufactured: 1950's? - Radium paint dots on the card at North and on the cover glass togeter with a black dash (located at 270 deg. on the picture at left)

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- J -

JAPAN

PROFILE: (draft)
NO INFO MOMENTARILY AVAILABLE.

	(Click on the pictures for enlarged views)	Technical Data - Diameter: 21 mm - Depth: 6 mm - Weight: 8 gr - Divisions: No figures, only cardinal points and rhumbs (see MISCELLANEOUS) in Chinese signs - No transit lock
	Note: A translation of the signs on the obverse would be welcome Thank you	Japanese wrist compass with rotating crystal (bezel). Technical Data - Diameter: 30 mm - Depth: 9 mm - Weight: 10 gr - Divisions: 360 degrees by 2, clockwise - Needle transit locking: by turning the crown

WW II pilot's compass.

(Click on picture above for enlarged view)

Technical Data - Diameter: 34 mm - Depth: 12 mm - Weight: 25 g - Divisions: 360 deg. by 5, clockwise - Needle transit locking: side lever - Marching direction arrow painted under the crystal (bezel) - Luminous markings: radium paint

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- K -

KADLEC - Instrumentenfabrik, Prague

PROFILE: (draft)
Kadlec was a German instruments manufacturer located in Prague (former Czechoslovakia, now Czechia) until the end of WW II.
A manufacturer of marine instruments still exists in Germany today. So far, this company didn't answer our questions concerning its history. We presume that is was re-founded in the West after the communist regime took over the industry's management.
The Czech plant (code lhx) most probably manufactured after WWII the other compass type displayed below.

Model AK 39
There were two versions of the AK 39 compass: a simple black one and a white one. They were utilized by German pilots during WWII. (See picture at right  - click to enlarge) This photograph was published by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium and probably used for training purposes. The black model (procurement no. Fl 23235 - see foot note) featured only lubber's line (that used to be luminous). The white model (Fl 23235-1) allowed for setting a course by means of two white rotating semi-circular sheets located at the underside. Moreover, a gun-type sight allowed for taking an aim at a target.

Note: The letters Fl are the abbreviation for Fliegermaterial i.e. aeronautical materiel.

(Below: Click on pictures for enlarged views)

The company's name KADLEC Instrumentenfabrik Prag is not indicated on the card of some items.		Technical Data - Diameter: 62 mm - Depth: 20 mm - Weight: 80 gr Inscriptions on the obverse: - Armbandkompass (wrist-top compass) - Bauart (manufacturer): Kadlec - Baumuster (item type): AK 39 - Werk-Nr. (Serial no.): xxxxx - Anforderungszeichen (Procurement no.): Fl 23235
Taking a bearing with the gun-type sight:	View from below with the white adjustable marching course half-disks Technical Data - see above	(Photo courtesy Peter Miles) Special inscription on the items without the manufacturer's name: - V-Muster = Verbrauchsmuster (non maintainable) Additionally, a (production?) date was indicated: E.g.: 7. VI. 1943 (June 7, 1943)

Compass manufactured after WWII
It existed also in two versions:
- a civilian model with only a 360 deg. graduation without cardinal points letters
- a military model with double graduation (360 deg. clockwise, white figures, and 6000 mils., counterclockwise, red figures) and cardinal points in Czech language: triangle for North, V, J, Z (see MISCELLANEOUS, Cardinal Points).

(Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

Compass card with 360 deg. divisions and a semicircular scale : 9h-3h.

Taking a bearing with the rifle-type sight Red scale at the underside, the industrial code  "lhx" is faintly visible at the top.

Technical Data - Diameter: 48 mm - Depth: 20 mm - Weight (with band): 30 gr The use of the red scale and the 9h-3h scale are not known.

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KNM (KHM in cyrillic letters)

PROFILE: (company of the former Soviet Union)
The letters KNM stand for the three Russian words Compass, naruchny, magnetny (wrist magnetic compass)
Magnetic wrist compass for diver

The compass (Fig. 51) is used to work out direction under water. It can also be used on the surface during the day or night

(Following adapted description by courtesy of Kim. See his website Russian Diving.)

The KNM (KHM in cyrillic letters) compass consists of the three main parts: body (4), card (3) and base (7). The compass body is a truncated cone made of transparent plastic. The bottom part of the cone is joined to the base. A scale (8) is engraved on the side surface of the body. There is 10 deg. between marks and 30 deg. between digits. Two hands are engraved on top of the body parallel to the lubber's line 0 – 180 deg. Two trackers are installed there as well: subject tracker (9) and eye tracker (2). In the middle of the base a column with a pin is fixed. The compass card rests on it. The compass card is made of the same plastic as the body. The card has two magnets placed parallel to each other. A hand is engraved on top of the card. Marks, hands, trackers on the compass body and hands on the card are covered with fluorescent paint that make it possible to use the compass in darkness.

To minimise card pressure, pin friction and stop it vibrating, the body of the compass is filled with 50% glycol solution or 43% ethanol solution. However, there is still a small air bubble left (diameter 8–10 mm). The bubble is necessary to stop pressure mounting in the body when the liquid expands. It also shows the horizontal position of the compass. When the compass is in horizontal position, the bubble is inside the circle (1) that is drawn on the compass body.
The compass base is an aluminium ring that encircles the body. There is an index (6) on the base and two bars (5) used to attach the strap. The strap is used to secure the compass on a diver’s wrist. The body of the compass can be easily turned in the base so that any bearing can be aligned with the index. Such alignment is useful so that a diver does not have to remember a set direction under water.

To move under water or on land according to the set azimuth, its corresponding mark needs to be aligned with the index on the base. The compass needs to be in horizontal position and needs to be rotated in an horizontal plane until the card hands are parallel to the body hands. The direction of the movement is decided from the index on the base.

(Click on pict. for enlarged view together with metallic box)

Users' instructions

Fig. 51. Wrist magnetic compass: 1 – circle to establish compass’ horizontal position 2 – eye tracker 3 – card 4 – body 5 – bars for the strap 6 – index 7 – base 8 – scale 9 – object tracker Technical Data - Diameter: base 70 mm, crown rim 55 mm - Depth: 35 mm - Weight: 165 gr

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CONT'D