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. Coffret en carton (possible) avec renforts, charnières et fermoir en métal ferreux, et une poignée en cuir.

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 Inconnu

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. La lampe Grimes C-3A était couramment utilisé par les forces aérienne américaine, et possiblement aussi la marine américaine, lors de la seconde guerre mondiale. Grimes Manufacturing était bien connu pour ces lumières d'avions (vert, rouge et blanc), montées sur les ailes et pointe arrière des avions militaires et commerciales. C'est possible que l'aviation royale canadienne a aussi utilisé ces lampes pendant ou après la seconde guerre mondiale. Cette lampe a été vendue en surplus au états-unis et au Canada vers la fin du conflit. Après la guerre, la lampe a été modifiée pour s'adapter dans les allume cigarettedes voitures. Par contre, ce n'est pas claire si ceci a été faite au Canada.

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. Utilisé pour entreposer et protéger ces contenus en transport et lorsqu'il n'est pas utilisé. Plus précisément, cela a été utilisé pour stocker et protéger un signal lumineux portatif.

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. Grimes Manufacturing était bien connu pour ces lumières d'avions (vert, rouge et blanc), montées sur les ailes et pointe arrière des avions militaires et commerciales. Les conceptions ont été adoptés en 1933 par le départment de commerce américain. Le brévet a été remit en 1936. Warren G. Grimes (1898-1975) est reconnu comme pionnier dans l'industrie d'éclairage en aviation. Grimes Manufacturing existe encore sous le nom Grimes Aerospace Company. Un fait intéressantde cette lampe donné à la collection est sa transformation entre une lampe d'avion militaire, vers une lampe utilisé plus précisemment pour un véhicule terrain.

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. Extérieur noir et gris avec coins en métal corrodés. Sur le devant, on retrouve une poignée noire, un fermoir argenté et une étiquette en papier brun. L'étui a une couleur noire délavée et un étiquette en papier brun avec écriture noire à l'intérieur.

Decoration

N/A