Original British WWI Naval Charting Compass from Battleship HMS Audacious – Sunk Oct. 27 1914 Original Items

Original item: One of a Kind Set. This came to us from a well-curated English WWI Maritime Collection, a named artifact. The Battle Ship H.M.S. AUDACIOUS was commissioned on October 19th 1913. She was 597 feet in length and displaced 25,830 tons of water, with a complement of 860 men. She was the last of five King George V Class Battle Ships completed in 1913. She had 10 X 13 1/2″ Guns, 16 X 4″ Guns and 3 X Torpedo tubes. She was stationed at Scarpa Flow in October 1914 having helped transport the
Allied Expeditionary Force to the Continent after the outbreak of WWI in the August.

Because of threatened U Boat attacks, Admiral Jellicoe decided to move many of his Capital Ships out of Scarpa Flow, which resulted in H.M.S. Audacious hitting a Sea Mine. The vessel listed and rescue vessels including the Light Cruiser LIVERPOOL were sent to assist the stricken vessel. Fortunately the entire crew were evacuated before the Battle Ship capsized, where upon followed a series of massive explosions, tearing the hull to ribbons. It seems upon capsizing some 13 1/2″ shells broke lose in one of the magazines and detonated.

By shear miserable happenstance a steel shard from the explosion flew 800 yards and struck a Petty Officer from H.M.S. Audacious that had been evacuated to H.M.S.  Liverpool, killing him instantly. He was the only casualty.

Here we have a Compass or Pair of Charting Dividers, of high quality manufacture and design that some member of the Navigation team presumably carried with him during the evacuation. Most impressively mounted in brass with H.M.S. Audacious engraved in script across the brass center arc separating the two legs. Each leg measuring about 23″ in length.

A fine charting instrument from a famous WWI British Battleship, ready to display!