A beautiful example of a 'Faithful Freddie' submarine binnacle compass by Henry Hughes and Son of London. The Faithful Freddie was an unusually small ships compass binnacle specifically designed for use as a back-up to the main on-board gyro compasses that were fitted to British Royal Navy submarines. They were intended to be mounted on a submarine's bridge and used for surface navigation only, neatly stowed away in the conning tower when not in use. The compact form of these instruments allowed them to be easily carried through tight spaces, watertight hatches etc. They were in production from 1909 until just after the Second World War. The "Faithful Freddie" name was adopted by Royal Navy crews in the 1920s from a character in the book "Jill the Reckless" by novelist and humorist P G Wodehouse, who was very popular at the time.

This example, which stands 45cm high, is of teak and polished brass construction and contains a Royal Navy pattern spirit-filled gimballed compass. The azimuth is inscribed "Faithful Freddie, No 10/10/49, Pattern 1880, H Hughes & Son Ltd, Made in Great Britain" and "Instructions for use in stowage box". A later applied brass plaque to the front of the binnacle reads "Faithful Freddy No2058/51".

There are viewing windows to fore and aft, one with an opaque surround and clear centre. Both windows are concealed by brass hatches, each fitted with a sprung catch, one with sliding shrouds for discreet viewing at night. There are watertight cable couplings for fitting an internal lamp and a system of wormgear-operated blinds for controlling the level of illumination, thus reducing the risk of being seen at night by enemy aircraft flying overhead. The painted cast iron 'Kelvin' balls allowed adjustments to be made to compensate for the magnetic effects of the vessel's structure.

Condition: An impressive piece in excellent and likely restored condition. The brasswork is excellent, free from indentations and with only minor pitting and oxidation. The compass is in good order and fully operational, though also with some loss of lacquer to the azimuth circle. No electrical fittings are included. The brass applied plaque to front is in lieu of the original pattern plate and contains a spelling error. The submarine depth gauge (last image) is not included but is available - but please see my other listings.