SNO-T sextant

Invented by John Hadley (1682-1744), a British mathematician and inventor in 1731, the sextant remains essentially unchanged in its design to this day. This navigational instrument of a rather complex nature is used to measure the angular distance between two observable points. Its primary task in astronavigation is to measure the angle between the observed celestial body and the horizon, which, together with the time of measurement, is used to determine position lines on nautical and aeronautical charts. A sextant can be used to measure the height of a landmark and, based on this information, determine its own distance from it. However, in the horizontal position, it would serve to determine angles between objects located on maps, and the combination of angles between at least three such points will make it possible to determine the ship's position in relation to these points. SNO - Nautical Sextant with Illumination - Tropical. It was designed for the Soviet Navy replacing the SNO-M model. While the SNO-M was a copy of the World War II CPlath sextant, the SNO-T was not only a modified but also an improved version of the early Trommelsextant manufactured by Freiberger Präzisionsmechanik GmbH (1771- ). The SNO - T additionally had magnifying glass illumination and was adapted to the harsh tropical conditions. The piece is considered to be one of the most accurate sextants in the world. It was manufactured in the Soviet Union, probably in Leningrad, around 1976. Leszek Kocela