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261: Lensatic Compass
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The lensatic compass is the topic of discussion between Bennett Tanton and Michael J. Penney on this episode of Cigars and Sea Stories. Compasses have been used for navigation since the Chinese started playing around with magnets near 300 B.C.. The Han Dynasty military used lodestones to create precision compasses effective enough to navigate long distances. Eventually maritime travelers began using them and they spread across the globe. Be sure to listen through to Bennett’s “compass fun facts”. Share your own compass stories in the comments section.
The guys are sharing sea stories about how they used the modern lensatic compass to navigate, call for fire, and lay in the gun line. Both Mike and Bennett have spent a good deal of time in the field navigating difficult terrain. Of course the compass is a quintessential part of land nav but where it really shines is in all other aspects of battlefield coordination. When a forward observer is calling in a fire mission, they have a couple of options for getting effective rounds on target. Whether calling a grid, polar, or shift mission, the observer must know their exact location. The lensatic compass is used to do a resection in order to pinpoint the observer’s position. It’s important to know where you are so you don’t drop ordinance on yourself. The mortar team delivering rounds, to the observers, use their compasses to lay in the gunline, ensuring all mortars are pointed toward a single azimuth that is used to adjust off of when conducting fire missions.
If it all sounds complicated that’s because it is. And some people call us dumb grunts.
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