Original U.S. WWII Named USAAF Ansco A-10A Bubble Sextant in Transit Chest to Distinguished Flying Cross Recipient Colonel Jack N. Denton - Dated 1944

Original Item: Only One Available. WWII US Army Air Force A10 Aircraft Sextant. This WWII Ansco USAAF A-10 Sextant was issued during World War two to personnel from the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF). It has an original data plate, which can be clearly read:

PROPERTY, AIR FORCES, U.S. ARMY
SEXTANT
TYPE A-10A SERIAL NO. AF 44-8668
ORDER NO. W-30-053ac-1136 SPEC. NO. 27473
MFRS ASSEM. DWG. NO. F-245
MFRD BY
ANSCO
A DIVISION OF GENERAL
ANALINE & FILM CORP.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y.

The lid of the transit chest is stamped:

JACK N. DENTON
O-2082898

This denotes that the sextant was used by Air Force Colonel Jack N. Denton, who flew a combat tour as a navigator in World War II, a combat tour as a fighter pilot in the Korean War, and was awarded the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Meritorious Service Medal, four Air Medals, along with other various achievement and combat awards.

The sextant comes complete with the issue wooden box, which has multiple compartments to house the different components of the apparatus and offered
in very good condition. There is heavy wear overall and some of the contents are missing. Approximate Case Dimensions: 9" x 9 1/4" x 5 1/2".

This compact A-10 was one of the most commonly used sextants in the Army Air Forces. Tens of thousands were made during World War II, and many remained in service with the Air Force through the 1950s.

Sextants were in heavy use in all branches of the US armed forces during World War II. In the case of the US Air Forces, having a means to quickly gauge the altitude of a given object, was an essential part of conducting an anti-aircraft defense and coordinating airplanes from the ground.

A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight. The angle, and the time when it was measured, can be used to calculate a position line on a nautical or aeronautical chart. A common use of the sextant is to sight the sun at noon to find one's latitude. Since the sextant can be used to measure the angle between any two objects, it can be held horizontally to measure the angle between any two landmarks which will allow for calculation of a position on a chart. A sextant can also be used to measure the Lunar distance between the moon and another celestial object (e.g., star, planet) in order to determine Greenwich time.