WWII RAF Button Compass (1940s) |
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| This is a
radioluminescent escape and evasion button compass used by the Royal Air
Force (RAF) during World War II - it was a clever enough idea
that compass buttons are still being produced today! The version shown here is assembled from two separate buttons that would normally be part of the RAF uniform. The bottom button has a tiny needle in the middle that projects upwards. When balanced on the needle, the top button rotates in the earth's magnetic field until the two radioluminescent dots (the upper right corner in the photo above right) indicate north. |
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