Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 167:
Description
WWII U.S. Army Liquid-Filled Wrist Compass by Superior Magneto Corp., L.I. City, N.Y., with Original Tan Leather Strap – the paratrooper’s orientation instrument associated with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions Offered here is an original World War II U.S. Army wrist compass, manufactured by the Superior Magneto Corporation of Long Island City, New York, one of the principal wartime contractors – alongside the Taylor Instrument Companies – for this specialized navigational tool issued to airborne troops, pathfinders, and combat engineers. No individual recipient can be identified from the piece itself, and no separate biography accompanies it; its significance rests in its type, maker markings, and well-documented wartime service rather than named provenance. This pattern of compass was designed to solve a very specific tactical problem: a paratrooper landing scattered and disoriented, often far from his intended drop zone in darkness or under fire, needed an instant means of finding his bearings without fumbling for a map case. The oversized bakelite housing and extra-long tan leather strap were purpose-built to be worn over a bulky jump jacket sleeve, load-bearing equipment, or even strapped around the ankle over jump boots. Compasses of this type equipped paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions during the Normandy drops of 6 June 1944 and in subsequent airborne operations across the European Theater, where rapid regrouping after a scattered jump could mean the difference between reaching the objective and being cut off. While this individual example cannot be tied to a specific unit or drop, it is entirely consistent with the type carried by American paratroopers throughout the war. The housing is molded olive-drab bakelite/plastic, intact with only light surface wear. The reverse is clearly embossed MANUFACTURED BY / SUPERIOR MAGNETO CORP. / L.I. CITY N.Y. / U.S.A., with minor black adhesive residue partially crossing but not obscuring the marking. The rotating bezel, graduated in degrees with cardinal points N-S-E-W, turns smoothly and remains crisp and legible. Beneath the crystal, the red-and-white compass needle and directional pointer remain visible, though the internal damping liquid has dried or evaporated, a condition typical of surviving wartime examples of this pattern. The crystal shows fine age scuffing and light crazing. The original tan leather wrist strap survives complete with its period buckle, keeper, and punched adjustment holes, the white stitching intact and the leather showing honest creasing and surface wear consistent with age and use. A solid, correctly maker-marked example of the wrist compass that guided America’s airborne soldiers through the chaos of scattered drops and unfamiliar ground, offered complete with its original leather strap.
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