The Culling Collection of Military Watches

German military: A Luftwaffe pilot’s AK39 wrist mounted compass, by Kadlec, 1940s, the clear floating dial with black Arabic numeral degree markings, luminous spots to the cardinal points, and a red N and luminous arrow at north,within a clear case with a rotating bezel and glass with a black lubber’s line and sighting aids, the reverse of the case stamped ‘AK39 FL 23235-1’ and ‘30226794’, on a later grey leather strap, compass head diameter 61.5mm. £30-£40

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Culling Collection of Military Watches.

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KADLEC Instrumentenfabrik Prag was an instruments manufacturer located in the former Czechoslovakia, until the end of WWII.
There were two versions of the AK39 compass: a simple black one and a white/clear one with sighting aids. The abbreviation AK stands for Armband-Kompass (wrist compass) and the figure 39 probably designates the year of design, 1939. These compasses were designed to be worn on the right wrist/lower arm, over the flight jacket, or attached to a rescue vest. The letters Fl are an abbreviation of Fliegermaterial (aeronautical material).