aircraft bubble sextant
Date1940-1945
Inventory Number2003-1-0167
ClassificationSextant
Subject
Maker
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
1853-present
User
United States Army Air Forces
1941-1947
User
United States Army
founded 1775
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Dimensionssextant: 16 × 13.6 × 24.5 cm (6 5/16 × 5 3/8 × 9 5/8 in.)
case: 24 × 31.5 × 23.5 cm (9 7/16 × 12 3/8 × 9 1/4 in.)
case: 24 × 31.5 × 23.5 cm (9 7/16 × 12 3/8 × 9 1/4 in.)
Material
Accessoriescord, sighting tube.
DescriptionStandard air force bubble sextant, with crackle black finish, made by Bausch and Lomb. It is in a wooden box, painted army green, with a cloth strap attached.
Bausch & Lomb made this instrument for the U.S. Army shortly before America entered World War II. It is based on the Bureau of Standards design, but with an improved method for illuminating the bubble and the marking pad designed by George Gallasch and Henry Kurtz, both of Bausch & Lomb. It also has a mechanical averager that can handle eight consecutive readings.
Gregory Rylsky's patent is for a system of illuminating the bubble using an
incandescent light bulb.
All of these devices were radioactive and upon Gamma Spectroscopic analysis
indicated the presence of Radium 226 in amounts of 1 - 2 uCi. The activity appeared concentrated in the viewing area or the lens holder in the Bausch and Lomb Instrument.
Bausch & Lomb made this instrument for the U.S. Army shortly before America entered World War II. It is based on the Bureau of Standards design, but with an improved method for illuminating the bubble and the marking pad designed by George Gallasch and Henry Kurtz, both of Bausch & Lomb. It also has a mechanical averager that can handle eight consecutive readings.
Gregory Rylsky's patent is for a system of illuminating the bubble using an
incandescent light bulb.
All of these devices were radioactive and upon Gamma Spectroscopic analysis
indicated the presence of Radium 226 in amounts of 1 - 2 uCi. The activity appeared concentrated in the viewing area or the lens holder in the Bausch and Lomb Instrument.
Signedon housing: US ARMY AIRFORCE AIRCRAFT SEXTANT/ BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL CO/ ROCHESTER NY, USA.
Curatorial RemarksQuarantined for possible pest infestation 09/06/03 Removed from quarantine 09/16/03
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
Date: 1900-1908
Accessories: objectives (3): 2 mm, 4 mm, 16 mm; oculars (2): 5, 10; condenser with two diaphrams; standing case with lens card
Object number: 1298
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
Date: 1897-1908
Accessories: ocular: 2; objectives (6): B. & L. 1/12, 1/2, 2, Reichert No. 3 and No 7a (missing), Spencer & Smith 1/4, 1; immersion oil in canister; blue filter; square cover glasses; dark-field stop; empty pillbox for cover slips; 5 Triple Alliance glass slides in paper; magnification table; case; key.
Object number: 1387
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1902
Accessories: oculars (5); objectives (5); microplanar objectives (2); iris diaphragm; abbe condenser; collars and sleeves for photography; parts box; Leitz object micrometer (1308b); cardioid condenser (1308d); immersion oil bottle (1308c) ; Leitz erecting prism (1308e); standing case with key
Object number: 1308a
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
Date: 1930-1935
Accessories: micrometer eyepiece; oculars (5): 1 Leitz 8x, 1 pair B&L 6.4x, 1 pair B&L 12.5x; objective: Spencer 48 mm., 2.2x; monocular tube; glass bottle for immersion fluid; B & L canisters (3); case with key
Object number: 2003-1-0007
Ernst Leitz (company)
Date: circa 1953
Accessories: objectives (4); eyepieces (8); oil bottle; dropper bottle; cover slips; case.
Object number: 2009-1-0011b
Ernst Leitz (company)
Date: circa 1953
Accessories: objectives (4); eyepieces (8); oil bottle; dropper bottle; cover slips; case.
Object number: 2009-1-0011a
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
Date: circa 1903
Accessories: eyepiece; objectives (3): "Variable", 2/3" 0.24 NA, 1/6''; triple nosepiece; substage including Abbe condenser; revolving mechanical stage
Object number: 2002-1-0055
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1886
Accessories: oculars (2): Leitz 4xB, Winkel Zeiss kl 2; objectives (4): Leitz 7, 1/7a oil immersion, Zeiss B, HI 90 iris, B&L 8mm, 1/5, Grunow 1/6; B&L double nosepiece; parabolic reflector for stage; Abbe condensor with iris-cylinder diaphragm; articulated substage mirror; frame for cup diaphragms; cup diaphragms (2); Zeiss-B&L polarizing analyzer A6; Zeiss-B&L vertical illuminator; flat case; key.
Object number: 1044
Ernst Leitz (company)
Date: circa 1925
Accessories: 8x "Periplan" eyepiece; release cables (2); plate holders (2); B & L magnifier; unmarked eyepiece; case
Object number: 1996-1-0003
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
Date: circa 1898
Accessories: objective lenses with brass cases (3); oculars (2): 1,2; case; camera lucida [1057b]
Object number: 1057a
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
Date: circa 1900
Accessories: eyepieces (2): B&L, 1X, and Leitz, 10X; objectives (2): 1/6 , 1/2; cardiod condenser; case
Object number: 2001-1-0032