Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

Second World War Trough Compass and Case

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J. W. Handley

1941

Overview

A Trough Compass in wooden box with sliding lid. Serial number 601 – both matching on compass and box. The compass is precision machined of brass material with a long needle to ensure accuracy. The needle of this trough compass consists of a 130mm narrow, magnetised bar of steel, pointed at both ends, with an agate bearing at its centre. It is mounted in a narrow rectangular box carrying a pivot at its centre. This box features a tongue or lever, worked from a small stud or handle outside, which enables the needle to be lifted off and kept clear of the pivot when the instrument is not in use. At each end of the box, which is closed by a glass cover, is a block of metal, the top of which is at the same level as the tip of the needle, and on which is engraved a a centre zero (for magnetic north) and a very short graduated arc extending about 5 degrees on either side of the zero mark. The instrument can be screwed onto a tripod and levelled by four levelling screws. The compass and its case show some signs of wear, particularly on the black surround of the compass

Historical information

This Trough Compass (also referred to as a plane table compass) was produced by J. W. Handley of Melbourne in 1941. These compasses only establish the direction of magnetic north and are used with either a plane table or a theodolite. It is used in navigation and surveying to assist in locating and describing stations and in orientating reconnaissance sketches. This compass is the type used by an artillery unit of the Australian Military Forces during the Second World War.
J. W. Handley produced various items for the Australian Military Forces and was proficient in the making of high-quality compasses and optics for not only the Australian Army, but later throughout the British Commonwealth. A newspaper article from 1939 shows the factory in production and employing 420 people. After the war the company moved into producing other non-military items including a range of fishing reels. The company ceased trading in 1987 and was deregistered as J. W. Handley Pty Ltd in 1990.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-2011.3.2

Item type

Tools

Themes

War and Conflict > World War 2

Material

Glass

Steel

Wood

Width