French paratrooper altimeter chest pack

[Slick]

Just got this in the mail today. Pretty cool gizzie. Uses 4 AA batteries for lighting. Compass, altimeter and stopwatch. There might be a couple of y'all that find this as interesting as I do.

Rick

 

[butterfly]

Very interesting item, looks quite an impressive bit of kit. When was it used?
also what altitude does the gauge go up to?

regards Kev

 

[Slick]

Kev

There is an inspection card, of sorts, with a 2001 date. The green tag on the handle of the carry box has a Nov. '78 date. The data plate attached to the unit as well as the one on the box is dated 12-85.

From what little I know about altimeters, this one appears to go to 10Km, but assume it registers higher.

Rick

 

[butterfly]

Thanks...........Thats pretty high!!!

regards Kev

 

[Lou]

Wonder what the little switch is for.A light maybe???

 

[V40]

Rick,

the more I look at it it seems to me to be a Diver's Board for underwater navigation at least it kinda looks like one. It looks like something that is used for underwater. Could that be one? None-the-less it is streamlined and since it lights up everything for night time it probably is a dive board or something to that effect. Anybody?

 

[Slick]

Mark

Definitely skydiver rig. Not waterproof, at all. But it is a very similar device.


Lou

Yea. Light. Lights actually. Like aircraft instrument panel lights. 4 AAs will brighten things up.

Rick

Here are some closeups. First pic: battery holder, 2nd: compass, 3rd: stopwatch, 4th: altimeter.

The small black "posts" near the stopwatch and altimeter are lights. The compass is lit by the one next to the altimeter which has two "windows". And the dials and numbers are glow-in-the-dark.