P-8 Compass

The P-8 compass is a bowl-shaped instrument renowned for its robust

reliability, but it has one inherent issue; you have to set the course by turning
the grid ring (which has directions marked every 10 degrees graduated in 2degree divisions, and is also divided into four quarters by two parallel wires
which connect N to S, and E to W) until the required course is set against the
lubber line (a small white marker on the inner ring of the compass).

You are then on course when the pointer with a red cross is on the large red
square marked 'N' for North (hence the expression, "Red on Red"); wonderful,
you may well say, so there's no problem getting there and back, right?

Not quite; there is a problem, one that is all the more dangerous because it is
an insidious one. You
see,
you
have
to
remember
that
when
you want to get home,
you must make sure
that
you
re-set
the
course home. In this
case, the course to
Tamu was 150 degrees
on the way out.
On the way back, a
pilot had to set 330
degrees, the way back
to Imphal and home,
and then make sure
that the pointer with
the red cross was back
on
'N.'
The
only
problem was that, in the heat of combat, pilots could (and frequently did)
forget to set the reciprocal course home, blindly keep turning until they had
put 'N' on the pointer with the cross, and head farther and farther away from
home, and run out of fuel, with its usually horrendous results.
In fact, this problem was so severe that some squadrons used to block off the
bottom or Southern half of the grid ring as a reminder - but - you still had to
re-set the course home
One can't emphasise enough how the Gyrosyn or Gyro-Magnetic or Remote
Indicating Compass (which is a gyro compass which senses the earth's
magnetic field) would have eased the pain - although these existed from the
thirties itself and were used for several record-breaking flights, such
compasses were not fitted on several of the British service aircraft of WWII,
especially fighters.
Whereas most British aeroplanes had the P Type compass described above,
most American ones had the simple E Type magnetic compass in which you
could simply read your heading on the face of the instrument (British bombers
such as the Avro Lancaster and some others had Remote Indicating
Compasses, or RIC's).
Posted 23rd May 2009 by Wayne
Labels: aircraft navigation DH82 Gypsy Moth P8 compass

The P-8 compass is a bowl-shaped instrument renowned for its robust

reliability, but it has one inherent issue; you have to set the course by turning
the grid ring (which has directions marked every 10 degrees graduated in 2degree divisions, and is also divided into four quarters by two parallel wires
which connect N to S, and E to W) until the required course is set against the
lubber line (a small white marker on the inner ring of the compass).

You are then on course when the pointer with a red cross is on the large red
square marked 'N' for North (hence the expression, "Red on Red"); wonderful,
you may well say, so there's no problem getting there and back, right?

Not quite; there is a problem, one that is all the more dangerous because
it is an insidious one. You see, you have to remember that when you want to
get home, you must make sure that you re-set the course home. In this case,
the course to Tamu was 150 degrees on the way out.
On the way back, a pilot had to set 330 degrees, the way back to Imphal and
home, and then make sure that the pointer with the red cross was back on 'N.'
The only problem was that, in the heat of combat, pilots could (and frequently
did) forget to set the reciprocal course home, blindly keep turning until they
had put 'N' on the pointer with the cross, and head farther and farther away
from home, and run out of fuel, with its usually horrendous results.
In fact, this problem was so severe that some squadrons used to block off the
bottom or Southern half of the grid ring as a reminder - but - you still had to
re-set the course home
One can't emphasise enough how the Gyrosyn or Gyro-Magnetic or Remote
Indicating Compass (which is a gyro compass which senses the earth's
magnetic field) would have eased the pain - although these existed from the
thirties itself and were used for several record-breaking flights, such
compasses were not fitted on several of the British service aircraft of WWII,
especially fighters.
Whereas most British aeroplanes had the P Type compass described above,
most American ones had the simple E Type magnetic compass in which you
could simply read your heading on the face of the instrument (British bombers
such as the Avro Lancaster and some others had Remote Indicating
Compasses, or RIC's).
Posted 23rd May 2009 by Wayne

Labels: aircraft navigation DH82 Gypsy Moth P8 compass