Artifacts

U.S. Army Lensatic Compass

Artifact Details

The Army’s compass is similar in structure to the OSS’ compass.

U.S. Military forces have used this basic compass since the 1950s with only minor modifications.  With its olive-drab aluminum case, sighting wire, magnifying eyepiece, and luminous dial, the compass enables the user to determine magnetic azimuths within an accuracy of 2 degrees.  The folding scaled straightedge facilitates map orientation and line-of-sight plotting.