Aircraft inclinometer

Accession Number RELAWM08131.002
Collection type Technology
Object type Aircraft component
Place made Germany
Date made 1914-18
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Aircraft instrument used to give the fore and aft levels of the machine.

The instrument is circular in shape, the outer support ring being 105 mm in diameter. The instrument case rises approx. 15 mm and curves over and down to the glass face. This portion of the instrument is 90 mm in diameter. The glass cover is 75 mm in diameter. There is a hole in the supporting ring at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions where it would be attached to the instrument board.

The instrument dial is black on the upper half with white figures. At the 12 o’clock position is the company logo of a stylised bird with lightning bolts under each wing. Under this is “D.R.G.M.” This stands for Deutsches Reichsgebrauchsmuster, meaning that the design was officially registered inside all of the Germany states.

The lower half is white with black lettering. At the 6 o’clock position is “- Längs –“ in black. From the 3 o’clock position moving down towards the 4 o’clock position is a graduated scale from zero. Zero is not marked as it is the diameter line separating the top black from the bottom white portion of the instrument face. The graduations are marked 10, 20, 30 and 40 with each unit divided in half to indicate 15, etc., to 45. This is repeated in reverse on the other side starting at the 9 o’clock position (0) and working down to the 7 o’clock position (45).

Turning the instrument on its face, the actual instrument is recessed into the supporting ring and held in place by two soldered tabs. The instrument appears as unpolished metal with the case being originally black. There are signs of corrosion on the face of the instrument. The instrument would have been filled with a liquid that has now dried.

See RELAWM08131.001 and 003 for a similar instrument.

History / Summary

The inclinometer was an instrument that gave the lateral deviation in degrees.

Related information