WWII Drift Meters

The B-5 and B-3 Drift Meters used by the USAAF in World War II.

[@SierraCharlie605]

Thank you for the amazing video, i am going to use this as a guide to restore the B-5 drift meter for a C-46 on display at the museum i work for.

[@danjarvis6980]

Thank you sir. Very informative indeed. Years ago I had a WWII navigation manual that made reference to several drift meters but lacked the details you have just covered. I wonder if the drift meter could be used over water also, observing the sea in calm or moderate conditions if the sea surface could provide a reference during daylight for the drift meter ? While not related to the subject of drift meter, I read of a B-17 which took off from a Pacific island. That plane actually ran out of fuel when they failed to make landfall and had to ditch at sea. They were rescued and the following investigation revealed that unknown to the pilots or crew an aircraft mechanic admitted he had welded a piece of metal armour plate behind each seat in the cockpit for their protection. The aircraft magnetic compass was never swung or corrected for the deviation caused by the armour. The navigator using the compass only with no other means for direction and no radio beacons was led astray, resulting in a serious situation when island hopping over shark infested waters of the South Pacific.

[@jamiejohnson907]

Thank you for the very informative video.

[@ziqiangchen745]

such a great video with great insight!

[@Wistarmo]

ziqiang chen Thank you.

[@CopperstateBassets]

Amazing! I love it. Now I know I am missing the frosted glass on my B-5 meter. Using the ball bearing on the B-3 really as a gravity detector to keep the unit vertical to the ground if I understand it correctly is pretty cool. Great job with the demonstrations!

[@oodykaywan9011]

That's a very useful footage.