1977 named SDU-5/E naval distress strobe

[Vark_07]

Greetings everyone !
Here's a quick review of my latest find, a named 1977 SDU-5/E distress strobe I was lucky to pick from an online surplus in France.

 

 

Detail of the markings, contract date is showing 1977.

 

Sold wrongly as a "Vietnam USAF distress marker", this light is definitely a post-Nam artifact.

Moreover, some clues indicate it most likely belonged to a naval aviator, the first one being an integral glued hook backing (see below), meant to attach the strobe on top of the helmet of a ditched aircrew, using the iconic velcro loop square that is glued on the visor housing of every naval flight helmet since the early to mid 70's.

 

 

This light also sports on one side a yellow (rigger ?) webbed strap to make its extraction from the survival vest easier, and a 2-foot nylon sling on the other side that was probably attached to a zipper or the inside of the pouch (which would be an extra safety to prevent the pilot from losing it in case of emergency).

 

 

Illustration of how a naval velcro-fastened SDU-5/E strobe would look like, with my USMC Intruder driver helmet from the late 70's.

 

Close-up on a few details :
- extraction strap
- burned light bulb
- switch and brass cap of the battery compartment

 

 

The cool thing about this example is that the aviator engraved his name (or callsign) "KRAU" on the plastic body, making it quite unique.

 

Original BA-1574/U battery, dated april 1984.
Unfortunately, it was wet and highly corroded due to a leak in its sealed compartment, and the smell was also pretty strong.
So, even if the watertight battery compartment looked secure when properly screwed, after taking a good picture of it, I removed the damaged battery off the brass cap and got rid of it to avoid toxicity issues (mercury or so) at home. That's a shame, but I wouldn't take the chance to keep it.

I also cleaned the soiled compartment until it was completely dry and residue free.

 

A cleaning vinegar wash gave the brass battery compartment cap its original shine back.

 

A tiny artifact no doubt, but very nice to have along on display next to my naval 60-80's helmets.
That's all folks, hope you enjoyed the share 🙂.

 

Cheers !

- Gauthier / Vark_07

 

[mohawkALSE]

How much does a SDU-5 in France go for?   The red dummy cord doesn't attach to a zipper, there are usually sewn in loops inside the SV-2 survival vest etc that these will be tied to in the various compartments and pockets inside.  That actually might still work too if you got one of those CR battery adapters.  Ive had some of the SDUs with a bulb looking burned like that and they still worked ok.  The battery box of them usually always has that funky smell to therm from those dry cell batteries.

[Vark_07]

Picked this one for a whooping 50€ shipping included, needless to say I was very happy to find it in such a good shape and NAVAIR configuration for that price.

The ones I had previously looked at on the US / UK web market were as much or even more expensive (not to mention I would have paid a higher shipping rate + the import taxes), not as good looking with no straps, and frequently missing the battery brass cap anyway which was a no-go condition for me.

This one -actually the very first I've ever found in my country- was a little miracle all by itself, I'm very glad I grabbed it.

 

And thanks for the additional info 🙂👍.

[mohawkALSE]

They are usually at surplus shops with the pouch for like 15-25 dollars for a standard one.  The NAVAIR ones when you find them in the US are around 35 dollars or so,  seem more desirable.   Brand new ones in box can be found around that same 35 price sometimes less.   Ive gathered a bunch of em over the years, earliest so far is a 1970.  Only have 1 NAVAIR version.

[Vark_07]

That's always good to know, so once again the web market seems to be filled with overpriced stuff... not to mention that the NAVAIR versions seem hard to find (I haven't seen any for sale so far).

Knowing the true value of these thanks to you, I think more than ever I was lucky finding this one in France !

 

FYI, the two last web auctions I looked at prior to finding this one were a mid 80's standard example without battery cap or cord / tab (sold for ~60$ in the UK with pouch and IR filter), and another standard example of the late 70's with pouch - and again no battery cap or cord / tab (sold for 45$ in the USA).

Out of curiosity, I looked again on E*ay after I read your post : most of them (all standard ones) are in the 40-50$ range in the US.

A NOS example without battery cap or pouch is offered at 70$. Not that cheap at all, considering.

[mohawkALSE]

Those are over priced at those prices, especially the 70 dollar one.  You can find the new current issue strobes (SDU-39/MS-2000M) which use AA batteries for the 50 dollar range for a used one.  Most of the used SDU-5 will sell for under 30, unless its a Vietnam date range then it could be more.  If they are asking for more than 30 on a standard one, which is basically inop if they don't have a good battery or a adapter cap its a rip off.   Now prices in Europe may be a bit more since they aren't as common as you would find them here.  There are a bunch of 1995 contract NOS strobes that just sit around un sold here in the US.  If you do find a SDU-5 though with the flash guard and the IR lens cover etc, that could obviously raise the price.  I just saw a 1970 contract flashguard I was interested in sold for a pricey sum, was NOS in the box.  Was over 100 dollars just for the flashguard.