interesting clinometer

tom upton · Dec 9, 2023

Picked this up at an auction today. I was told by the auction house that it was used during WW1 to set the angle on large artillery?? Can anyone confirm this? It does have the number 1915 on it, but I have a hard job believing this is actually a piece from WW1?

MarkB_MI · Dec 10, 2023

It's called a 'gunner's quadrant'. The M1 version from WWII was still very much in use just a few years ago, so I can totally believe yours was used in the Great War.

If its a gunner's quadrant, it should be graduated in <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milliradian>milliradians</a>. In the military, there are 6400 milliradians in 360 degrees. (In math and science, there are 2π radians in a circle but the military rounds 6.28 up to 6.4. A milliradian equates to 1 meter at a range of 1000 meters. As old as it is, however, it may be graduated in some different unit of angle.

wp6529 · Dec 10, 2023

It's pretty clearly marked in Degrees on the main arc and Minutes on the slide. Definitely a nice piece of shelf art at a minimum.

MarkB_MI · Dec 10, 2023

> It's pretty clearly marked in Degrees on the main arc and Minutes on the slide. Definitely a nice piece of shelf art at a minimum.

Yes, after blowing up the photo, it's clearly degrees and minutes. Which, if it's indeed a gunner's quadrant, dates it back to WWI.

showcrop · Dec 10, 2023

It is hard to believe that artillery pieces of WWI and since didn't have one of those solidly attached. Unless accuracy was not often desired.

MarkB_MI · Dec 10, 2023

> It is hard to believe that artillery pieces of WWI and since didn't have one of those solidly attached. Unless accuracy was not often desired.

Not being an artilleryman, I can't say if modern artillery pieces have integrated inclinometers. I suspect they do, just to make it quicker to set them up. But a gunner's quadrant is a standard device that can be used on a wide variety of weapons; they can be used for tasks that have nothing to do with sighting in a howitzer.

Dober_paw · Dec 10, 2023

Is that a British Army "Broad Arrow" stamp at the apex?

MarkB_MI · Dec 10, 2023

I'll add that mounting a glass vial on a gun that lobs projectiles several miles wouldn't be a good idea. I suspect modern howitzers use solid-state accelerometers that are impervious to shock.

TimV · Dec 10, 2023

Many had removable optics and other ranging and sighting equipment so they would not be damaged in transit or during initial rough setup of the piece. They were then attached with any of many systems meant to repeatably secure them back in the same spot--v-notches with holding screws, for instance.

TomIn · Dec 10, 2023

If you do an image search for WWI clinometer you will find a few hits that suggest it is WWI era.

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co53163/field-clinometer-british-1916-clinometer

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/stroud-auctions-ltd/catalogue-id-srstr10067/lot-741a2aa1-ae86-4888-9dd9-a85c00ff1383

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/lockdales/catalogue-id-lo10058/lot-ca038e65-2f46-4ef4-b2f3-a5b600a9d397

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30025168

I also found some interesting reading, but nothing about your new find. https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/70813-clinometer/

JMOR · Dec 10, 2023

(quoted from post at 10:35:03 12/10/23) I'll add that mounting a glass vial on a gun that lobs projectiles several miles wouldn't be a good idea. I suspect modern howitzers use solid-state accelerometers that are impervious to shock.

ou think it would have been mounted???

interesting clinometer

tom upton

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MarkB_MI

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wp6529

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showcrop

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MarkB_MI

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Dober_paw

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