Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    Recommended Posts

    Here's an oddball item. I was strolling through a part of the Tbilisi flea market that I seldom visit because it is mostly cheap porcelain and old houseware items. I saw this box, looked inside and ... an NKVD-marked compass?

    Who knew there was such a thing? I know they had their own air arm and navy, sure, but I never imagined that they might have their own special-issue NKVD-marked equipment like this. I mean, would it have been so hard to use an ordinary navy compass? I guess so.

    This is a fairly small compass with an integral mount that must have fit over a support post so that it could be dismounted rather than left in the boat. I say boat because I imagine a small river or coastal patrol boat rather than a bigger vessel. Of course, that is my imagination speaking.

    Anyone ever seen anything like this before?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Guest Rick Research

    Makes sense-- state security always controlled borders, so this is a pre-1946 naval border guard item.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    It was a surprising find indeed. And just who determined that the NKVD needed their own special line of equipment?

    "Oh. You wanted a compass that points north? Well, we'll make some special ones just for you."

    It occurs to me that this may not have been an appropriate thread topic as it has nothing to do with orders, medals or decorations. Can I get your thoughts on that? If you think it is appropriate, I have another item that I'd like to share. If not, I'll refrain.

    Chuck

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    That's a neat, but really odd compass. I don't have a clue what kind of naval vessel would use that... Perhaps something small like a patrol craft.

    I think the NKVD markings might be more of an ownership marking rather than a "specially made for..." marking. It would be easy to put on the NKVD markings at the factory, making it already on the compass when delivered to the fleet. This would prevent an NKVD compass from being "borrowed" by a sailor and ending up on another ship/boat. I'm guessing that the NKVD, being the border guards, bought their supplies out of a different "pot" of money and probably had better equipment than the run-of-the-mill naval vessels, thus making theft entirely possible.

    Did you buy it?

    Dave

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Did you buy it?

    Dave

    * * * **

    How can you even ask? Did I mention that I had nothing to do on most weekends except go to the flea market? I could never resist oddities, even heavy ones like this. Yes, I bought it and it's sitting on my desk as I write this. Someone called this "magpie behavior" and it's as good a description as any.

    Even worse, I bought a pair of unissued rabbit-ear binoculars still in the case. When I got back to the hotel I thought "Now what am I going to do with these?" They're sitting here, too, but not on my desk. In fact, they're what I was referring to as "another item" when I asked if this might be an inappropriate thread topic.

    Chuck

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.