Picked up this cool vintage Boatswain pipe lanyard

[River Rat 1]

Some of the lanyard's boatswain mates made for their pipes are like art, and some add special touches like this one with a dice added to it. I notice the older ones were not as showy as the ones some boatswains make today. Sellers photo's he put the wrong whistle on it. I just wanted the lanyard I got a few vintage pipes I can put on it. First thing I do is remove the wrong whistle on it.

 

[River Rat 1]

Similar marline spike seamanship made about the same way as this one from WW2 or older and same line. Another from my collection.

[hink441]

Here’s a white lanyard attached to the top pipe. Not terribly fancy but nice. The lower pipe has some fancy rope on the stem. 
 

 

[hink441]

On 9/6/2025 at 10:48 AM, River Rat 1 said:

Some of the lanyard's boatswain mates made for their pipes are like art, and some add special touches like this one with a dice added to it. I notice the older ones were not as showy as the ones some boatswains make today. Sellers photo's he put the wrong whistle on it. I just wanted the lanyard I got a few vintage pipes I can put on it. First thing I do is remove the wrong whistle on it.

 

During my time on Aircraft Carriers I saw many Aviation Bosun Mates with those whistles attached to lanyards. It was probably worn by an Aviation Bosuns Mate and was used to move aircraft on a daily basis. I wouldn’t necessarily call it the “wrong whistle” 😁

[River Rat 1]

I learned something I have unrep an aircraft carrier before from an ammo ship but never served on a aircraft carrier.

[River Rat 1]

The seller said both the lanyard and whistle were in the same box he got at an estate sale sounded like they were apart and put together for the sale.

[hink441]

Here are some ABHs using the whistles. Very common to see these. 

 

[River Rat 1]

Hey there, a lot of age to the whistle do you think WW2? You might be right they both went together. Just surprised I am the first to post one. They seem rare because you don't see many in collectors hands.

[River Rat 1]

You search the net on Aviation Bosuns Mate flight deck whistle, and nothing comes up. Funny this type of lanyard and whistles used on the flight deck seems unknown to collectors. My brother was an Aviation Bosuns Mate but on P-3 aircraft, but land based knew nothing about these so must be a ship thing.

[hink441]

I was in the Navy from 1981 to 2001 and much of that time I was on carriers.

 

Those lanyards were used all those years. Usually after flight quarters, when the flight deck was re-spotted for the next Flight Ops period, was when these were used. These were used during aircraft moves.

 

Your lanyard is an excellent example and certainly could have been used during my time period. 
 

I’ve never seen a land based Squadron use those lanyards during my time in. I only saw them used at sea. 
 

Here is a picture of the USS America Flight Deck Officer wearing one of these lanyards around 1979. 

 

Hope this helps. 
 

Chris
 

 

[River Rat 1]

I was in around the same time frame 1980-2002 but only unreped with carriers never served on one. Will never forget when the Kitty Hawk ran over a victor class Russian submarine it had to be towed back to Russia part of the subs prop was stuck in the Kitty Hawks haul. The days when we did not take crap from Russia miss those days.

[River Rat 1]

Well got that lanyard and whistle today. The whistle was made by Noble a Japanese co. my guess used from an aircraft carrier homeported in Japan maybe off the USS Midway due to the age. Rust from the whistle on the lanyard so I think your right they went together. You can smell that musty smell from it from being around the sea on it. All those photos showing these whistles in use when operating tugs moving aircraft wonder if they used it like a horn to give warning when driving a tug. Not much info on this wonder why.

[hink441]

The whistles were used to order an immediate stop of the aircraft move. Whistle blast means aircraft immediately stops. They position these aircraft literally inches apart from each other. 
 

Chris

 

 

[River Rat 1]

I contacted the seller. He got it at a estate sale the owner was on the USS Intrepid (CV-11) during the Vietnam war. 

[hink441]

Very nice!! Good to have the history on this item. 
 

Chris

[DD937]

You snagged a great one, didn't know they existed.........now I need to find one.