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I wish the hell I could remember where or when I heard this and who told me,
but some  years ago when I was in the US a former naval officer told me the
same story: the C.Plath had actually manufactured the Navy Mk III and that
it was in effect a "shell game". This is not to suggest any illegalities;
only that the Navy wanted a certain type of sextant and Plath was the
ticket.

Perhaps there is a current or retired US Navy man out there that can
enlighten us.

As for the idea that Cassens and Plath may have manufactured the Weems and
Plath models, this likely stems from the fact that the Weems and Plath
frame, with its circular centre, was identical to the Cassens and Plath
frame. It should be noted however, that C.Plath made a slightly cheaper
version of their Rolls Royce model; the frame of which had the circular
centre. As far as I know, Weems and Plath marketed C.Plath products.

It all seems very incestuous doesn't it?

Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joel Jacobs" 
To: 
Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: C+P NAVY MK III


> Peter,
>
> I don't know where you got your information, but my company, Nautech
> Maritime Corp of Chicago, Il,  bid on the Navy contract for the MK III,
and
> it went to David White of Milwaukee. They also had a subsidiary, survivor
or
> successor company called something like Scientific Instruments, Milwaukee,
> WI which made the Mod 2.
>
> You can read about this experience at:
>
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2561519492&category=37971
>
> I was away from sextants from 1978 until just recently, but I was of the
> opinion that the W&H sextant was made by Cassens & Plath. I will not bet
the
> farm on that one, but I will on who made the USN MK III Mod 0 unless what
> you say occurred while we were out of the country, 1978 - 1984, and during
> the following years when I was not involved with sextants in any manner.
>
> Joel Jacobs
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: 
> To: 
> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 4:07 PM
> Subject: Re: C+P
>
>
> > To add my two cents to Kieren and Robert's explaination of C. Plath's
> > relationship to Cassens & Plath, there was a similar situation with
Weems
> &
> > Plath of Washington, DC (later Annapolis, MD). After World War II, C.
> Plath
> > went through a very difficult rebuilding period. With the decline of
> German
> > shipping, they looked to gain a foothold in the US market. In 1953 they
> > formed a partnership with P.V.H. Weems to sell C. Plath sextants and
> > compasses, calling the venture Weems & Plath.
> >
> > Since the US Navy would not purchase foreign-made instruments, Lowe,
Inc.,
> > of New York was contracted to build sextants under license from C. Plath
> and
> > bearing the Weems & Plath name. The US Navy Mark III sextant was a
> > Lowe-built Plath.
> >
> >  -- Peter
>
>

   

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