BOLO Posted December 2, 2008 Share #1 Posted December 2, 2008 manufactured by: WALTHAM WATCH CO. WALTHAM, MA is this an early model 51 compass? since it's not dated would this be one of the first production pre 51 models? I think it could be a Korean War era compass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsystem4 Posted December 3, 2008 Share #2 Posted December 3, 2008 Looks to be a Korean war compass. Waltham Watch Co. went out of business in 1957. The old factory buildings are literally down the street from my apartment. -Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOLO Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted December 3, 2008 your correct, I just found out Waltham Watch Company went out of business in 1957 after 1957 they changed the name to Waltham Precision Instruments Company and manufactured aircraft instruments. so this compass would have to date sometime before 1957, probably Korean war era Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOLO Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted December 3, 2008 here's a post 1957 US compass after Waltham Watch Company went out of business dated 11- 59 Manufactured by Waltham Precision Inst. C0. Waltham, MA. the ones made after 1957 had different maker markings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted December 4, 2008 Share #5 Posted December 4, 2008 manufactured by: WALTHAM WATCH CO. WALTHAM, MA is this an early model 51 compass? since it's not dated would this be one of the first production pre 51 models? I think it could be a Korean War era compass Here's another one identical to yours except mine came with printed instructions. I showed it to Carter Rila aka "webcat" and his best guess was it was an early production compass made before the Army had a chance to include it in it's TM's. So they packed instructions with it. Judging by the English grammer used this was probably done in Japan. It reminds me of some of the early English language instruction manuals that came with Japanese made electronic gear. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOLO Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted December 5, 2008 yes, thanks for showing your variation with printed instruction manual, looks like this is an early production compass, the back has no markings at all these are not as common as the marked ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted December 5, 2008 Share #7 Posted December 5, 2008 yes, thanks for showing your variation with printed instruction manual, looks like this is an early production compass, the back has no markings at all these are not as common as the marked ones yes...mine is the same as yours. Olive drab paint and unmarked on backside. The printed instructions consist of a single page of yellow paper. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOLO Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted January 22, 2012 Manufactured by The Lionel Corporation N.Y. 9-52 here's a Korean War dated US field compass made in Sept 1952 http://www.militaryantiquesmuseum.com/mili...;searchfor=9085 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccyooper Posted January 23, 2012 Share #9 Posted January 23, 2012 I believe this is actually a Model m-1950 compass. That said I don't believe I have had a 1950 dated compasss in my collection. If I recall they were produced by several companies until 1953 .. then there appears to be a gap and then you start seeing them dated 1959 and up. I am not sure why the compass is undated as it appears that most lensatic compasses built during mid to late 1944 have dates, starting with the basic superior compass. It would have been interesting to see if the instruction sheet Greg had, had a date from a printing office, etc. Lionel made a lot of interesting items back in the day. Thank you for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constabulary Posted January 25, 2012 Share #10 Posted January 25, 2012 DUDE! What a nice compass collection I guess you know very well where North is, right? When you say "I know the direction - follow me" you can be sure I will follow you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccyooper Posted February 1, 2012 Share #11 Posted February 1, 2012 DUDE! What a nice compass collection I guess you know very well where North is, right? When you say "I know the direction - follow me" you can be sure I will follow you. Ha Ha.. roger that...however they never seem to leave the basement... ....they start at around 1911 and progress top left to right... all us military... all the basic 1938 lensatic ..i'll call them 2nd models are different, either the pouch, date, or compass card....lift the dots, dura snap, klick its, etc ... the large sun compass used by troops in North AFrica is cool... as well as some of the minature compasses with survival kits.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOLO Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted August 21, 2013 here's a Korean War era M1950 Lensatic compass dated 2 - 53 MARINE COMPASS CO, PEMBROKE, MASS. I dont see this maker often? I think this company only made them in 1953, this must be one of the less common ones. no markings on the back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fausto Posted August 24, 2013 Share #13 Posted August 24, 2013 Hello! Here this odd M1942 First Aid- Compass pouch, well marked Waltham and dated May 1953... Fausto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fausto Posted August 24, 2013 Share #14 Posted August 24, 2013 markings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fausto Posted August 24, 2013 Share #15 Posted August 24, 2013 And here another one by Union Instrument Corp. dated December 62. As you can see, again a M-1942 pouch, this time not marked as a First Aid-Compass pouch, but just as a Compass pouch. Oddly enough to see a 1962 dated M-1942 Compass pouch when the M-1956 FA-Compass pouch had been issued since years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 24, 2013 Share #16 Posted August 24, 2013 I know most of the info in this thread is older data with just a couple of new additions. I see though that the compass with the scale on the side has been called a M1950, M1951 and M1952. I don't recall where I saw this but it looked correct at the time. The compass was called M1951. I will post a compass of the WW2 type with a few changes that was dated 12/1950 so I'm pretty sure there is not a M1950 with a scale on the side. I will also post two different compasses with 10/1951 and 11/1951 dates. I am reasonably sure the M1951 is the correct model. Also included on the photos is a Waltham dated 11/1959. It is the first of this style compass that I have with the Radium warning on the back. Hope this is of some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccyooper Posted August 25, 2013 Share #17 Posted August 25, 2013 Craig, As always thanks for the sharing the information. The earliest Waltham date I have seen with the Radium sticker is 8-59. I have always referred to the compass as the model 1950/m-1950, etc., however, I cannot pinpoint the document at the time that shows it. I do know that the compass was developed in 1947 (contract 8-34-05-003) by ERDL. Taylor provided the first compasses in 1948 but Brunson made the best design as reported in ERDL Report 1154, 6 Jan 1950. The wrist compass was being evaluated at the same time and it is the model 1949. Testing went on for a couple more years until 1952 but production started earlier, I believe 1951 is the earliest production dates as I have not seen a 1950 dated model either. I have had several of them including most of the dates and all the manufacturers at one time or another. I thought maybe the current supplier (Commenga) might have some history on their site but they do not. As Fausto indicates with his pouches, I could never figure out why they kept producing the earlier pouch after the M1956 pouch came out. Maybe to keep collectors on their toes, as I kept looking for a better model for years that had a clearer stamp. I hope this helps. Regards, CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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