The military lensatic compass
is the standard issue
navigational tool for overland
travel by members of the
military when operating on
land. The compass is made up
of a base with a rule on the
left side to be used in
measuring distances on a map.
The cover with a vertical slot
visible when opened has a thin
metal wire running vertically
that is used to sight on
distant objects when walking.
The compass section is
comprised of a floating dial
with degrees from North (360),
clockwise to East (90) to
South (180) to West (270)
printed around the
circumference of the dial. The
clear cover over the floating
dial has a luminous line that
can be matched to the degree
and direction that you plan to
move towards. This direction
is referred to as an azimuth.
An azimuth is an angular
measurement in a spherical
coordinate system that is
calculated by perpendicularly
projecting the vector from an
observer to a point of
interest onto a reference
plane and measuring the angle
between it and a reference
vector on the reference plane.
This device is useful because
it has numbers, which are very
useful in identifying the
directions of target objects.
Tactical lensatic and military
compasses contain sighting
wires and dots utilized in
nighttime navigation.
