General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

5

Total Parts

5

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Fibreboard (possible) case with ferrous metal reinforcements, hinges, and clasp, and a leather handle.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

42.5 cm

Width

21.2 cm

Height

23.4 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Aviation

Category

Communications

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

GRIMES

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Ohio

City

Urbana

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

The Grimes C-3A signal lamp was widely used by the U.S. Army Air Forces and, perhaps, the U.S. Navy, during the Second World War. Grimes Manufacturing was well known for its aircraft lights (green red and white), mounted on the wings, tail, etc. of civilian and military machines (see Ref. 2). It is entirely possible that Royal Canadian Air Force people used Grimes signal lamps during and / or after the Second World War. This signal lamp was presumably sold as war surplus, in the U.S. or Canada, after the end of the conflict. At some point during the post war years, it was modified to plug into the cigarette lighter of an automobile. Whether or not this was done in Canada is unclear.

Function

Used to store and protect its contents when in transit or when not in use. Specifically, this was used to store and protect a hand held signal light.

Technical

As was written above, Grimes Manufacturing was well known for its aircraft lights, mounted on the wings, tail, etc. of civilian and military machines. The company’s designs were adopted in 1933 by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The all-important patent was awarded in 1936. Warren G. Grimes (1898-1975) has been described as the Father of the Aircraft Lighting Industry. Grimes Manufacturing is still with us, as Urbana-based Grimes Aerospace Company, a subsidiary of Honeywell International Incorporated. What is interesting about the Grimes signal lamp donated to the collection is its transformation from a military, airplane-oriented item to a civilian, ground-based one, closely associated to an automobile.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On the label on the proper front: "Property/ Air Force/ U.S./ Army/ [logo] GRIMES/ C/ 4U LAMP ASSEMBLY/ INTER-AIRCRAFT CONTROL/ TYPE C-3A 24 VOLT/ SPEC. No. 94-32288-A/ GRIMES PART D-2313 TYPE K-3/ CONTRACT No. W 535 AC-27818/ Grimes Mfg. Co. Urbana, Ohio"/ On the paper attached to the inside of the lid: "OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS/ GRIMES SIGNAL LIGHT MODEL K-3/ (Air Corps Type C-3-A)/ Signalling/ The light is operated by pressure on the trigger. Signal/ duration is governed by the length of time pressure is applied./ Filters/ A 10% transmitting filter is provided that may be clipped/ over the front of the housing to dim the light if desired for/ night signalling. Red, green and amber filters are also supplied./ Trigger Adjustment/ The travel of the trigger may be regulated to suit the opera-/ tor. Remove the handle cover and adjust the contact screw/ as desired./ Aiming/ A pair of sights is provided to permit the operator to aim/ the unit at the point where the signal is to be received./ Lamp/ This light employs a special "quick-signalling" sealed, all-/ glass, multi-filament lamp. No filament focusing or reflector/ cleaning is necessary. The following lamps may be used in/ the housing: -/ 12 volt electrical systems/ 6.6 ampere, 13 volt, PAR-46 bulb./ 24 volt electrical systems/ 5.3 ampere, 28 volt, PAR-46 bulb./ Lamp Renewal/ Loosen the three screws which hold the lamp retaining band./ These are located in the periphery of the housing. Remove the/ band and the lamp will slip free of the housing to expose the/ terminal connections. Attach wires to new lamp and replace band./ CAUTION/ THE LAMP VOLTAGE IS NOTED ON/ THE CORD CONNECTING PLUG./ Grimes Mfg. Co./ Urbana, Ohio"

Missing

Appears complete.

Finish

Grey or faded black case exterior with corroded black metal corners, black handle, silver-coloured clasp, and brown paper label on the proper front. The case has a grey or faded black interior and a brown paper label with black text on the inside of the lid.

Decoration

N/A