German military: A Luftwaffe pilot’s AK39 wrist mounted compass, by Kadlec, 1940s, the black floating dial with white Arabic numeral degree markings, luminous spots at the cardinal points, a red N and luminous arrow at north, within a black case with rotating bezel and ‘glass’ with a luminous lubber’s line, the reverse of the case marked ‘Armbandkompaß, Bauart: Kadlec, Baumuster: AK 39, Werk Nr.: 17342, Anforderz: Fl23235’, on a black leather strap, compass head diameter 62mm. £40-£50

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Culling Collection of Military Watches.

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KADLEC Instrumentenfabrik Prag was an instruments manufacturer located in the former Czechoslovakia, until the end of WW II.
There were two versions of the AK 39 compass: a simple black one and a white one with sighting aids. The abbreviation AK means Armband-Kompass (wrist compass) and the figure 39 probably the design year: 1939. These compass were designed to be worn on the right wrist/lower arm, over the flight jacket, or attached to a rescue vest. The letters Fl are the abbreviation for Fliegermaterial (aeronautical material).