• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

Rare item with my deuce

SCSG-G4

PSVB 3003
Steel Soldiers Supporter
5,364
3,366
113
Location
Lexington, South Carolina
Since I can read clearly that it has an "Ordnance Number", it is NOT for the multifuel deuces, because they phased out that nomenclature in the 1950's. The seven digit number was originally a drawing number, and morphed into the Federal Stock Number, and more lately into the National Stock Number (NSN) with the addition of the national code between the SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) and the drawing number. If you can find or look up the SIC for vehicular electrical test equipment, and use '00' for the national code, you would have a possible NSN to use in a Google search.
 

runk

Active member
542
65
28
Location
Houston, TX
Something related to mechanical analog computers ? Maybe to calibrate the gear sets in gun or bomb sights ?
 

TMNT

New member
789
6
0
Location
Canton, Ga
Something related to mechanical analog computers ? Maybe to calibrate the gear sets in gun or bomb sights ?

I did some quick reading and it looks like a component of a fire control system used to aim a gun. There were several systems in the '50's including the MK56 Gun Fire Control System and the Mark I Fire Control Computer. I need to do some more research on the subject. It looks really interesting. I started with this site and followed several of the links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_computer
 

Danger Ranger

New member
2,253
23
0
Location
Roland, IA
So it may or may not be rare, since we don't know what it is....but What I'm really stuck on it that you have had it for 12 years and never looked at it until now? holy smokes!

It is a neat item, and I will be watching to see if someone figures it out. Thanks for posting.
 

TMNT

New member
789
6
0
Location
Canton, Ga
OK, this thing has completely derailed my work day! I'm now obsessed with figuring this out. I'm chuggin' coffee and eating pistachio's and reading like a crazy man. I'm convinced that the device is a mechanical integrator, an early form of a computer used to calculate differential equations. It used wheels, gears and various disc's to to set "inputs" for the problem and provided answers by the position readings on the edges of the discs or in some cases, the output was plotted to a round piece of paper in the form of a graph. These were developed and used in the 1950's and used in several fire control systems, although this one seems to be very small for that application. Reom's photos show the gears, a couple of discs and other parts that look similar to images of differential analyzers that I found on the internet. (It must be true, I read it on the internet.)

Maybe this device was used to calculate aiming coordinates for artilllary? Maybe I'm way overthinking it and it is just a fancy looking dial indicator set for measuring runout.
 

runk

Active member
542
65
28
Location
Houston, TX

m16ty

Moderator
Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
9,580
218
63
Location
Dickson,TN
I know exactly what it is. It's a differential gear train analyzer.

Now what it does, I have no idea. :-D
 

bikeman

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,894
501
113
Location
Ft. Bragg, NC
All I know is I would hate to be the Private that had to explain to the Sergeant where he 'left' that....
 

FMJ

In Memorial
In Memorial
4,210
37
0
Location
Las Cruces, NM
I did some quick reading and it looks like a component of a fire control system used to aim a gun. There were several systems in the '50's including the MK56 Gun Fire Control System and the Mark I Fire Control Computer. I need to do some more research on the subject. It looks really interesting. I started with this site and followed several of the links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_computer
FWIW, the MK56 gun fire control system and the MK1A analog computer were used on cruisers and battleships, the MK1A was the analog computer used to control the 16" guns on the IOWA Class Battleships. We had 2 MK56 GFCS's and 2 MK1A's on the Long Beach CGN-9 used to aim the 5" Guns. all of our TM's started with the abbreviation "OP" Ordnance Publication.
 

TMNT

New member
789
6
0
Location
Canton, Ga
FWIW, the MK56 gun fire control system and the MK1A analog computer were used on cruisers and battleships, the MK1A was the analog computer used to control the 16" guns on the IOWA Class Battleships. We had 2 MK56 GFCS's and 2 MK1A's on the Long Beach CGN-9 used to aim the 5" Guns. all of our TM's started with the abbreviation "OP" Ordnance Publication.
I see that but those systems used "mechanical analog computers" which were also called "differential gear train analyzers." I don't fully understand their use, but I have a general understanding of the concept.

I understand the previously mentioned weapons systems are large and the gear train analyzers used there were large, fixed mounted tables.

Just going off of the term "differential gear train analyzer," I assumed that the device pictured is a portable version for some other weapons system. But, that is only a guess/thought.

What else could it be?
 

FMJ

In Memorial
In Memorial
4,210
37
0
Location
Las Cruces, NM
I see that but those systems used "mechanical analog computers" which were also called "differential gear train analyzers." I don't fully understand their use, but I have a general understanding of the concept.

I understand the previously mentioned weapons systems are large and the gear train analyzers used there were large, fixed mounted tables.

Just going off of the term "differential gear train analyzer," I assumed that the device pictured is a portable version for some other weapons system. But, that is only a guess/thought.

What else could it be?

Actually the MK1A was the size of a pool table if I recall correctly, I didn't spend a lot of time in Gun Plot, but I always got yelled at when I played with the operator wheels on the MK1A, or as we called it, the Mark 1 Able.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Top