WW2 Type 06A Air Ministry RAF Hand Bearing Compass. New Old Stock 

WW2 Type 06A Air Ministry RAF Hand Bearing Compass. New Old Stock, In Its Original Wood Transit Case, it is in very good cosmetic condition, with a few surface blemishes commensurate with age and use.

The compass damping fluid has evaporated and the inside of the compass bowl is dusty. The rubber cushion inside the wooden case has started to disintegrate; a combination of age and loss of compass fluid in the case.

Batteries would be placed via the base of the compass handle, which screws off, to operate a small lamp which would light up the inside. It can be turned on/off by the sliding switch at the side. The lamp has not been tested and batteries are not included. I'm not sure of the battery size but a modern 'C' cell is slightly too big.

Approximate Size:-

• Compass
• Max. diameter: 9 cm
• Height: 24cm

• Case (WHD):  13.3 x 27 x 14 cm

The top of the compass ring is very faintly marked as follows:-

6A/0473 (where 6A is the RAF stores number for Aircraft Instruments)

Type 06 (Where O = Observer)

No.15085.D

There is an examination stamp inside the top of the case which is also fairly illegible but I think the date is 1940.

This type of compass was commonly used in WW2 by the RAF Coastal Command, and for taking star sights from an aircraft observer's cupola in, for example, a Lancaster to take navigational bearings in cases where a fixed compass could not be used.

The object is sighted through the 'V' on the mirrored sighting prism, the bearing is then taken from the prism as it is reflected up from the compass chart (see image). The numbers on the chart are reversed so that they are projected in a directly readable form on the prism.

A lovely piece of RAF WW2 history!

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