Pre-WWII Lensatic Compass ("W. & L.E. GURLEY") & "Zipper" Pouch (Facsimile) MINT

Description: Pre-WWII USMC/Army M1938 Lensatic Compass ("W. & L.E. GURLEY") early, undampened, undated model, most likely manufactured well before 1943 & an superb fascimilie/replica copy of the early "Zippered" Compass Pouch that was correct for the GURLEY Compass! Mint NOS Unissued! ***** M1938 LENSATIC COMPASS Carried by Officers, senior NCOs, squad leaders, reconnaissance patrol leaders, and even USMC Aviators. (See the photo taken on Bougainville of a Marine Aviator with a Lensatic Compass on his Pistol Belt!) This is the model compass that the troops of the USAFFE (United States Army Forces in the Far East) carried during the fighting on the Bataan Peninsula in 1942 and which the Marines of Wake Island and Operation Cartwheel in the Bismark Archipelago Campaign were issued. The Army troops who fought in New Guinea in the Papua Campaign and the troops in the Mediterranean Theater (during the Tunisian and Sicily Campaigns, and the invasion of Italy in the Naples-Foggia Campaign would have been using this W.& L.E. Gurley M1938 Lensatic Compass! This M1938 Lensatic Compass was developed and adopted at the start of WWII. It was an excellent design that was easy to manufacture. Additionally, the adoption of this compass allowed the Army to standardize land navigation training, making it simpler to teach to the millions of young men who were being drafted into the Army and Marines. The experiences of war taught the armed services a few things about compass design. First, it proved that the lensatic compass design was good; it was accurate, reliable, and versatile. Second, with its black floating compass card graduated in both degrees and mils, suitable for both the infantry and artillery. This example is manufacturer marked on the floating card dial: W. & L .E. Gurley Troy, N.Y., U.S.A. William Gurley and his younger brother Lewis E. Gurley founded the W. and L.E. Gurley Company in Troy, N.Y., in 1852. Initially, the company manufactured precision instruments for civil engineers and surveyors. Today, the company operates as Gurley Precision Instruments in the same building it constructed in 1862 at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fulton Street in Troy. Over time, Gurley expanded its product line to include thermometers and other testing equipment. They also contributed precision instruments for both World Wars and began manufacturing gyroscopes, sextants, star trackers, and precision guidance equipment for guided missiles and space exploration during the Cold War and beyond. Today, Gurley Precision Instruments is best known for its optical encoders. These encoders are used to measure and control speed for medical instrumentation, electronics, robotics, and other applications. + This example has the early, undampened "BLACK" COMPASS CARD which accurately points to Magnetic North. + The Compass POINTS are tipped in RADIUM PAINT. + The blackened aluminum Case in UNDATED which identifies it as being manufactured prior to 1943 + The UNSCRATCHED Case is completely unmarked and undated -- as was the practice on ALL of the W. & L.E. GURLEY compasses procured for the Army Signal Corps, the Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Marine Corps. + The brass BEZEL RING rotates. + The glass Compass FACE is free of cracks, scratches, and cloudiness. + Both the SIGHTING WIRE (held by the two screws) in the folding lid and the tiny MAGNIFYING LENS on the rear SIGHT are in PERFECT condition.. + The bright Brass Wire folding LOOP for holding the Compass when sighting moves freely and is free of tarnishing. *****"Zippered" Ball-Pull Chain COMPASS POUCH+ This is an excellent facsimile/replica of the RARELY ENCOUNTERED "Zippered" Compass Pouch, with the distinctive 'Ball-pull' bead chain for the M1938 Lensatic Compasses. This was the Compass Pouch in which the first M1938 "Gurley" Compasses were issued. Originals run into the hundreds of dollars!!+ As with all the original W.& L.E. Gurley Lensatic Compasses, this was the 'correct' early-war Pouch in which it was issued and is the only pouch that is 'correct' for all early-war USMC and Army impressions. + This has both the correct Mil-Spec, period-correct shuttle loomed Type 1 Web Tape for the 1" Web Tape Belt Loop (for wear on a trouser belt) and the 2" Attachment Tab for the M1910 Belt Hook (for wear on the pistol or cartridge belt).+ Made of correct 'unimpregnated/water-resistant' Light Shade OD#3 Canvas, 1" and 2" Web Tape, and Edge Binding. + This example has a bright brass Zipper with a 'Ball-pull' Chain (unlike the steel zipper on originals).+ Dimensions: Width 3-7/16”, Height 3-3/4". Overall length 4-7/16”.+ This well-made example has ZERO flaws and is in MINT condition!! *****W. & L. E. Gurley by Bill Skerritt The Gurley enterprise was established in 1845, first as the partnership of Phelps & Gurley and in 1852 as W. & L. E. Gurley. William Gurley and his younger brother Lewis E. were both engineering alumni of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY, and brought to the business a hunger for technical innovation and unrivaled marketing skill. Exposure at the Centennial Exposition in 1876 launched the company into international prominence from which it never fell. The brothers built a factory in 1852 that operated in departments, each department turning out different components, which were then assembled. This revolutionized the industry which, to that time, operated as small shops making, essentially, individual instruments. Gurley was able to roughly halve the price of their instruments over those of their competition, while maintaining quality. Throughout the 19th century Gurley continued to expand its product line and gradually moved into others. In 1885 Gurley began making hydrologic equipment, like current meters; in 1903 they opened a department of Weights & Measures; in 1905 they acquired Charles Wilder Thermometers and moved it to Troy; in 1908 they opened Department P, making mechanical, electrical, and scientific apparatus; in 1923 they launched a line of paper testing equipment; and in the 1950s moved into applications of optical encoder technology. Incorporated in 1900, Gurley responded to the worldwide demand for their products by opening the Seattle Factory Branch in 1909, to serve the Pacific Rim and Asia. Gurley remained highly visible to the engineering and surveying professions by supplying instruments to major engineering projects and to expeditions, like Admiral Byrd's. During World War II, Gurley distinguished itself by winning coveted Army-Navy E Awards for outstanding contribution to the war effort. Teledyne Corporation purchased W. & L. E. Gurley in 1968 and the company became Teledyne Gurley. Production of surveying instruments ceased in 1980 in the face of stiff foreign competition and the technological shift away from optical instruments. In 1993 Teledyne sold Gurley and the company became Gurley Precision Instruments, Inc. ***** History of the development of the M1938 Lensatic Compass: the excellent research of original documents done by Northing & Easting, posted May 5, 2012 History Revealed! Origins Of The Army Lensatic Compass From the "History of U.S. Army Topographic Laboratories (1920 to 1973)," by John T. Pennington, Army Engineer Topographic Laboratory, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, November 1973 (7) Compasses. Although the compass is not strictly a surveying instrument, considerable effort was expended by the Mapping Branch of the Engineer Board in the World War II period on the development of small compasses for Infantry and other arms. The work started in 1938 when the Infantry requested that an inexpensive, commercial-type compass be found to replace the marching compass then issued because the marching compass was too large, elaborate, and costly. This investigation was assigned to the Engineer Board, and it was soon found that no suitable commercial compass was available. The W. & L.E. Gurley and the Taylor Instrument Companies, however, were willing to make a suitable compass based on a new design; and each company made six samples in 1939 as ordered from the Engineer Board. After testing by both the Infantry and Cavalry and some modifications by the manufacturers, in November 1940 the Engineer Board recommended procurement of the cheap lensatic compass from both manufacturers.” Thus we have the WWII-era M1938 lensatic compass. One interesting point is that while lensatic compasses made by Gurley are found today (they were a major manufacturer of surveying equipment at the time), I have never seen a military lensatic compass made by Taylor Instruments. However, Taylor Instruments did go on to be a major manufacturer of wrist compasses for the US military in WWII. But the story is not over. Even back in 1940 they were struggling with the issue of how to dampen the compass needle or card. “Since the mechanical dampening arrangements in all compasses available up to that time had not been entirely satisfactory, the Engineer Board started investigations of liquid dampening in December 1941. Compasses of both the lensatic and the wrist type with liquid dampening were developed, tested, and adopted in the 1941 to 1944 period; and it was thought for a time that the compass problem had been solved. However, it was discovered that, with temperature changes, an air bubble often developed in the compass capsule which impeded the free movement of the compass needle and affected the accuracy. In July 1944, the Superior Magneto Corporation, one of the liquid-filled compass suppliers, solved the liquid dampening problem by applying the induction dampening principle. The compass body was made of copper which set up an eddy current and magnetic field as the compass needle rotated, thus acting as a drag to dampen the needle oscillation. Samples were immediately procured and tested. As a result, the induction dampened wrist compass was standardized in April 1945, and the induction dampened lensatic compass was standardized in May 1945.” Based on the number of WWII compasses available for sale from auction sites like eBay I think that Superior Magneto was the #1 supplier of lensatic compasses during WWII. Knowing their core business – the production of magnetos – it makes sense that their engineers would have a clear understanding of the principle of induction and how to apply it to the problem of compass needle dampening. Today M1938 compasses with induction dampening are easy to identify. They have a white compass bowl that contains the compass card. The white bowl is the stamped copper cup that the compass magnet interacts with to slow oscillation. It is an excellent dampening system and is still used today in US military-issue lensatic compasses.

Price: 189.99 USD

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas

End Time: 2024-12-04T22:20:21.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.85 USD