The Håndlygte M/1915 was introduced (on trial) in 1914 with the 5th Dragoon regiment, and taken into service with the rest of the Danish army in 1915.
It was distributed to all officers and junior officers within the army.
It is a very simplistic design, that uses a 4,5 volt dry battery and an Osram 0,14 amp 4,3 v. incandescent bulb.
Small compartment on the front for a spare bulb.
The torch could be carried in two ways.
On the belt, with the belt loops or buttoned on the coat / jacket.
Made at Hærens Tøjhus, no. 5496.
Hærens Tøjhus produced / bought equipment from 1910-1923.
From 1923 it was renamed HTK (Hærens Tekniske Kommando)
The switch. You had to push down on the lever in order to use it.
It had three positions: Off, On and a signal position.
Left: Off
Middel: Signal position
Right: On
In order to signal with the lamp you had to push down on the lever.
The "lamp house" is made of a white reflective background and a conic mirror.
All metal parts are brass.
The Osram bulb.
Osram is a German bulb manufacturing company, that still exist today.
Founded in 1906, they now employ thousands of employees around the
globe.
The Danish army called this type of bulb, a Metalstrådslampe.
The battery compartment. The battery was a rectangular / square shaped cardboard box with two brass pals on the front. They were made by the battery company Hellesens.
The battery was known as a Hellesens type 714.
The Germans stole a lot of these torches during the war. They were used together with Danish small arms and vehicles on the eastern front and on the Balkans.
Great looking torch!
ReplyDeleteThank you. They are no very hard to come by, and they are really nice.
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