This Fine Sextant Has Been Sold. Thank you!   U.S. NAVY MK III SEXTANT ~ C. Plath Pedigree ~   Presented is only the third Navy MK III that we have offered for sale in seven years. This one was made by M. Low, the original manufacturer of this design. It differs from those made by Scientific Instruments by having the M. Low name engraved on the index arm. Scientific Instruments of Milwaukee, WI riveted a tag on the index arm which lead us to believe SI may have acquired parts from M. Low and used that method to cover the Low name. The sextant comes complete with all its original accessories including a spare set of mirrors and a Mahogany wood case. The matching certificate is dated December 3, 1970. SOME BACKGROUND: At the time the design of this sextant was adopted around 1975, I was a member of the Navy Department's Navigation Symposium, and remember the criteria that was established for a new sextant. They coincided with already existing technology in the civilian maritime community. In total, the new design was far advanced from the ubiquitous Navy WW II standby, the Navy MK II.             Vernier reads to 6 arc seconds              Engraved maker's name  The Tamaya MS 733 and the C. Plath sextants met these criteria as did a few others, but there was strong emphasis in government procurement to "Buy American" in contrast to today's World Economy. Consequently, two American manufactures were selected for the MK III program. Scientific Instruments of Milwaukee, WI. came after M. Low of New York City of which little is known other than it was a New York instrument maker. These sextants were made under license from C. Plath, Hamburg, Germany. C. Plath aficionados take note, the design is clearly the same as the C. Plath Classic sextant down to the last detail other than its ergonomic handle and large size high impact resistant case, and this pedigree is noted on page 119 of the book by Friedrich Jerchow, "From Sextant to Satellite Navigation, (1837-1987) 150 years C. Plath". NAVY CELNAV TODAY: The Navy has moved away from traditional celestial navigation and even the use of paper charts. Their reliance is totally electronic position fixing. CelNav is no longer taught at the U.S. Naval Academy. Whether or not ships carry sextants today is meaningless since it is not practiced as part of the daily routine. Nine years ago I went on a brief cruise on a Spruance Class destroyer, USS CARON DD 970. I used the one they had with good results (i.e. within one nautical mile of the ship's GPS position), but no one in the wardroom or the lead quartermaster was interested in taking any sights. I appreciated its lighter than average weight, and comfortable handle. In January 2008, Scientific Instruments ceased operations. Up to then they furnished two MK III sextants to newly commissioned ships at a price of $4300.00 each. MK III DESIGN CRITERIA: Listed are what were "state of the art" design features, that are still the standard today: Light weight Large size index mirror Large size horizon mirror Lighting system Vernier reading to 6 seconds Handle for ergonomic fit Wide angle telescope Non adjustable instrument error of less than 20 arc seconds Military high impact absorbent case   CONDITION: The sextant shows some minor evidence of wear which is mainly due to some stickers placed on the index arm and the back of the index mirror housing. A little of the residue refuses to come off. The rest of the paint is in excellent condition with no imperfections. The chromed screws and springs are all bright and shiny. All its machinery works smoothly. Both fitted mirrors show the beginnings of a few small spots, but will be usable for some time given proper care. They are backed up by a set of new replacement mirrors which we added. There also is a pin on one of the filters that has broken off which doesn't affect its use. The the left adjustment screw on the horizon mirror is bent and the holder's screw is a replacement. We adjusted the sextant to minimum index error. The lighting doesn't work. The nicely refinished Mahogany case shows it has served at sea and has a few scratches on it and a small chip on the front right corner. It has some scattered tiny white paint spots inside the top. The original December 1970 certificate is included and matches the sextant L-251 serial number. No locks are fitted to this Navy style case. The index error is negligible, and there is a touch of side error which is a good thing. STAR RANKING: This sextant and case rates 4 7/8 STARS              Four scattered tiny spots            Small grey area 4 o'clock on the edge    Large Mahogany case with hi impact cushion This is only the third Navy MK III sextant we have offered in the last seven years. It will be equally at home at sea or in a collection of fine instruments PLATH COMPANY HISTORY: In brief, Carl Plath started manufacturing sextants, in addition to other nautical products, in Hamburg Germany in 1862 by th purchase of David Filby Company, a Hamburg instrument maker of repute, which started making sextants in 1837. As a result WW II, C.Plath was dismantled completely by the occupation forces. Around 1950, various prohibitions were lifted, and C. Plath was allowed to begin production again of sextants and other nautical instruments. Also in 1949,C.Plath was offered a gyrocompass patent and in 1951 the first gyrocompass designed to this patent was presented to the public. C.Plath progressed from the role of instrument maker to that of a modern marine navigation equipment manufacturer. In the following years the product range was expanded by many more modern designs such as autopilots, speed logs, radio direction finders, etc. In 1962 C. Plath was acquired by Litton Industries, a large American concern.The C. Plath North American Division was set up in 1978 in College Park near Washington. 1996 saw the introduction of the world's first fiber-optic solid-state gyrocompass by C. Plath. The first ever gyrocompass with no moving parts. Sperry Marine was formed in 1997 with the combination of C.Plath, Decca Marine and Sperry Marine with more organizational changes yet to come. After 163 years, C.Plath changes its name to Sperry Marine in May 2000. In 2001 Sperry Marine becomes part of the Northrop Grumman Corporation.    QUALIFICATIONS: We are one of the few company's still selling navigation instruments that know anything about them. For purposes of judging whether Joel's opinion counts, he was the editor of the chapter on sextants of the 1977 Edition of "Bowditch", The American Practical Navigator, NAVPUB 9; a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Navigation Symposium, 1975 -1978; the author of a book on marine sextants, Cornell Maritime Press,1975, and the founding president of Nautech Maritime Corporation which partnered with Tamaya of Japan in the introduction of the MS 733 Spica, the MS 833, Jupiter, MS 933 Venus sextants and the famous NC-2 navigation computer, in the U.S. market. Joel is a retired Master Mariner, and held a U.S. Navy "D" Qualification as a Senior Skipper - Oceans. From 1995 until 2001, he was a Varsity Offshore Sailing Team Coach at the U.S. Naval Academy.   Some of his memberships include the: Association of Naval Aviation, Silver Wings, The Tailhook Association, Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, McCampbell's Aces Squadron, Naval Historical Foundation, and the Naval Order of the United States. U.S. NAVY MK III SPECIFICATIONS: Measuring Range: -5 to 125 degrees Accuracy: Tested to +/- 20 arc seconds Telescope: 2 x 40 Coated optics Frame: Aluminum with black enamel paint and white numbers. Micrometer Drum and Vernier Scale: reads to 6 arc seconds Index Mirror: 57 x 42 mm with spare Horizon Mirror: 57mm diameter with spare Shades: 3 for index mirror 3 for horizon mirror Illumination: No Weight sextant: 2.5 lbs, Weight case in case 12.5 lbs. INCLUDED ARE: 1 Sextant frame 1 2 x 40 Scope 1 Mirror adjustment tool 2 Spare mirrors 1 Brush 1 Mahogany sextant case. No locks 1 Certificate dated 1970 STANDARD FLAT RATE SHIPPING, INSURANCE & PACKING to 48 contiguous States, $35.00 OUR UNCONDITIONAL NO NONSENSE GUARANTEE: If not completely satisfied with your purchase it may be returned within five days of receipt in its original packaging if without damage. Return items must be insured for their full value. Only a prior email authorization from us for the return is required. Shipping charges are  included in this offer if an error is due to our fault.   International buyers welcome, but inquire first.  We have satisfied customers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Estonia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Nova Scotia, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, St. Maarten, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USVI and the Eastern Caribbean. ACCEPTED FORMS OF PAYMENT are Bank wire transfer, cashier's check, money order, or personal check in which case the item will be held until cleared. No credit cards or PayPal accepted on big ticket items. Copyright 2011 by Land And Sea Collection™, All Rights Reserved