Item: US Army WW2 Paratrooper Airborne Superior Magneto Wrist Compass

Markings: "MANUFACTURED BY / SUPERIOR MAGNETO CORP. / L.I. CITY N.Y. / U.S.A." marked at the lower back.

Condition: This compass is in Excellent Condition. Some light scratching to the face. A spot of verdigris at one ridged side of the classic brown plastic housing. Some drying, stiffening, and crazing to the original brown leather wrist strap. Remains fully functional, with the direction needle moving smoothly and easily. Dated "8 44" (August 1944) at one side of the housing.

Historical Background: The US military saw the success of German paratroopers in 1940, and quickly set about creating its own elite airborne units. US paratroopers jumped on Sicily in Operation Husky in 1943, dropped into Normandy during the D-Day invasion in 1944, fought through the hedgerows of France until the breakout at St. Lo, jumped on Holland in the ill-fated “bridge too far” attempt of Operation Market Garden, held the line at Bastogne during the “Battle of the Bulge”, and “jumped over the Rhine” in Operation Varsity in March 1945. Their exploits were legendary. US paratroopers of WW2 were all volunteers, pushed to top levels of physical fitness, mental toughness, and esprit de corps by rigorous jump training, and they played a pivotal role in the Allied victory. Those "devils in baggy pants" were expected to orient themselves effectively by using a compass, and many carried finely made wrist compasses to do so. We have shown a photo of a US paratrooper in WW2 wearing a similar wrist compass at his left shoulder.

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