Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 177:
Description
WWII U.S. Army Air Forces Type A-3A Aircraft Automatic Pilot Flight Control Units – Directional Gyro Control and Bank-and-Climb/Vertical Gyro Control, as found, unrestored Offered here is a paired set of Type A-3A Aircraft Automatic Pilot control units from the Second World War: the Directional Gyro Control Unit at left and the Bank-and-Climb, or Vertical Gyro, Control Unit at right, together forming the core control head of the Sperry-designed A-3A gyropilot system. No individual serviceman, aircraft tail number, or unit provenance accompanies this lot, and no readable maker’s data plate or serial number can be confirmed from the photographs; the story here rests in the documented wartime service of the A-3A system itself. The A-3A gyropilot was among the most widely fielded automatic pilot systems of the war, developed by the Sperry Gyroscope Company and produced in volume both by Sperry and, under license, by Jack & Heintz (JAHCO) to meet the demands of a rapidly expanding wartime air fleet. Installed in multi-engine types including the B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, C-47 Skytrain, C-46 Commando, C-54 Skymaster, and the night-fighting P-61 Black Widow, the A-3A allowed crews to hold heading, attitude, and altitude automatically across long transit legs, easing pilot fatigue on flights that could stretch many hours over open ocean or hostile territory, and providing the stable platform navigators and bombardiers depended on during final approach to target. The bank-and-climb unit carries its attached instructional data plate reading "TYPE A-3A / AIRCRAFT AUTOMATIC PILOT, " citing Technical Order No. 05-45BA-1 and outlining pre- and post-takeoff caging procedure; behind its glass it retains an artificial horizon bar with red "CAGED" warning flag, an integrated suction gauge calibrated in inches of mercury, and control knobs marked "AIL" (aileron, left/right) and "ELE" (elevator, up/down), plus a lower sensitivity adjustment. The companion directional gyro unit displays a dual compass-card face marked in degrees with "CAGED" lettering visible at lower center, a knurled "RUD" (rudder) adjustment knob at upper right, and a lower caging knob marked
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