Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 178:
Description
WWII U.S. Navy Mark IV Autopilot Directional Gyro Control Unit for the SBD Dauntless, Assembly No. 648046, manufactured by The Electric Auto-Lite Co., Toledo, Ohio, under Sperry Gyroscope Co. license, circa 1941-1945 Offered here is a directional gyro control unit from the Sperry/Navy Mark IV pneumatic-hydraulic autopilot system, identified by cataloguer’s notes as the pilot’s directional gyro instrument fitted to the Douglas SBD Dauntless. The unit’s data plate, visible beneath the main dial glass, carries the Electric Auto-Lite Company markings and assembly number 648046, confirming manufacture under wartime subcontract from Sperry Gyroscope Company. No individual airframe, squadron, or combat history can be documented for this specific example; its story rests in its data plate markings, control-panel markings, and known type usage rather than in a traceable service record. As American aircraft production surged following Pearl Harbor, Sperry Gyroscope licensed its precision flight-instrument designs to major automotive and electrical firms, including Electric Auto-Lite, to help meet the Navy’s demand for autopilot components. The Mark IV system, functionally paralleling the Army Air Forces’ A-3 and A-4 autopilots, governed the rudder/yaw axis and was fitted into carrier- and land-based aircraft including the SBD Dauntless, TBF Avenger, PB4Y Privateer, and PBM Mariner. Mounted in the main instrument panel, the directional gyro allowed a selected heading to be locked in and automatically held, easing the workload on Navy pilots during the long over-water search, transit, and strike legs typical of Pacific operations aboard dive bombers like the Dauntless. The instrument face retains its black crinkle-finish housing with a square mounting flange, the
Share this lot:
