Page 1 of 1
What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 12:54 am
by JohnL
Saw this on board the SS
Lane Victory (a WW2 era cargo ship) in San Pedro, CA.
It's the compass binnacle at the emergency steering station (on top of the rear deckhouse). Conn also built compasses during the war.
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 6:19 am
by Digidog
This may explain why all my Conns have been so directional when playing! Who knew.
[Cool find, by the way!]
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 8:58 am
by ghmerrill
My first reaction to it was "That looks like a Cavendish apparatus!"
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 9:58 am
by JohnL
ghmerrill wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 8:58 am
My first reaction to it was "That looks like a Cavendish apparatus!"
The spheres are iron; they're used to adjust the compass to correct for the fact that it's smack in the middle of thousands of tons of steel.
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 10:12 am
by ghmerrill
So that's kind of Cavendish-y
... sort of ... You know: gravity, magnetism, ...
It's just that when I saw it, I had an immediate flashback to a very lengthy freshman physics lab episode.
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 11:23 am
by JohnL
ghmerrill wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 10:12 am
So that's kind of Cavendish-y
... sort of ... You know: gravity, magnetism, ...
Well, some of the equations are very similar; inverse square and all that.
Tangential to the current subject, but more music-oriented: one band I play in incorporates
Heave Ho, My Lads, Heave Ho! (the official song of the US Merchant Marine) whenever we do our service salute medley. WW2-era merchant mariners are recognized as veterans by the US Government.
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:57 pm
by robcat2075
I suppose Axis-territory instrument manufacturers got re-tooled for similar purposes.
Anyone know what they might have been making?
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:25 pm
by mwpfoot
The Mighty Quinn has some pics of a Conn wartime ship compass here:
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/new ... p0qmlFLcMU
Re: What C. G. Conn did during WW2
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:48 pm
by JohnL
robcat2075 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:57 pm
I suppose Axis-territory instrument manufacturers got re-tooled for similar purposes.
Anyone know what they might have been making?
I don't recall seeing anything on the subject. I expect some of them retooled for wartime production while others were shut down and their workforce dispersed to factories making war materiel.