Wrist Compasses

JimInOz

I no longer have any wrist compasses, I had two but I think the kids annexed them when they were in cadets.

I do have a compass that was used in WW2 as an aircrew "Escape Compass". It was intended to be sewn in the collar or seams of the wearer's battle jacket for example. If they were shot down they could use it to navigate to safety, or in the unfortunate event that they were captured, and if the opportunty arose and they escaped, the compass could be cut out of the jacket/pants etc and would aid in navigating.

For size reference, it's shown here next to an Aussie $2 coin, also accompanying the compass is an "Escape Telescope" which was also meant to be secreted to avoid detection, and could be used for basic recon.

These two items were among a bunch of things given to me when I visited a WW2 bunker that had been used to store aircrew emergency items such as silk maps, compasses, signal mirrors etc.

I did have two more Escape Compasses.

One was a steel uniform button that, when cut from the uniform and placed upside down on a pivot (drawing pin/stick/needle) , would indicate North by way of a red dot in a dimple on the back of the button.

The other was a pencil clip that when removed from the pencil, could be poised on a needle etc and would point to North.

Unfortunately, my two young adventurers probably absconded with them as well.

Anyway, here are the survivors.