Archive category «Handy»

Lighter Handy, 1940, owned by members of the team minesweeper YMS-370

Name: Handy
Type: gasoline lighter
Material: Copper, silver plated
Year: 1940
Country: Switzerland
Approximate cost: $ 30-100

Lighters with wartime history are fairly common, but this - one of the most interesting finds. This Swiss Lighter Handy, almost completely similar Dunhill Rollalite by design (I can even assume that it did exactly Dunhill: in the end, was a model of Dunhill Handy , other designs, but with the same name). Lighter is made of silvered copper and then - this is the inscription 'S.800' on flint mechanism (by the way, it looks and feels like a completely silver but copper yellowness at shabby corner produces silvering). Generally, the sensations in the hand, it seems like a lighter watch: so perfectly fit all the details and so accurately and reliably all done (which is to be expected for the Swiss products :). Cover when opening a spring leans just as good as new, and this despite the fact that the lighter at least 70 years!

But we are told the story of the inscription on the lighter. It belonged to a member of the team minesweeper YMS-370. The history of this ship is quite short. Ships Series YMS (Auxiliary Mine Sweeper) were so small (displacement was only 270 tonnes), which had no names - only a serial number. Total in 1941 was built the ship 481 series YMS, they were practically identical in their construction. The latest series of YMS ship was in service with the US Navy until November 1969.

YMS-370 was laid on 23 January 1943 at the dock of Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp and launched on August 7 of the same year. After serving only 3 years, it was decommissioned 19 June 1946 and finally sawed for scrap in 1948. But in a short time, he managed to get service in many Asian countries, which are referred to in this lighter, Philippines, China, Japan, Korea ... In the last two photos - the ship itself and its team in the last year of service. To some of these sailors and officers in the photo belonged to this unique and lighter. Who were you, an unknown CDH?

17-07-2010 Tags: Categories: 1940 , Handy , Switzerland 17 comment (-ev)