Archive category «Handy»

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

Title: 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 findings. This Swiss Lighter Handy, almost completely analogous Dunhill Rollalite in design (I even can imagine that it did exactly Dunhill: in the end, was the model Dunhill Handy , other designs, but with the same name). Lighter is made of silvered copper and then - this is the inscription 'S.800' on the flint mechanism (by the way, looks and feels like it is completely silver, but copper yellowness on shabby corner gives silvering). Generally, the feelings in your hand, it seems like a lighter watch: so perfectly fit all the details and so neatly and securely all done (which is expected for Swiss products :). The cover when opening a spring leans just as good as new, and this despite the fact that the lighter at least 70 years!

But history tells us the inscription on the cigarette lighter. It belonged to a team member minesweeper YMS-370. The history of this ship is quite brief. Ships series YMS (Auxiliary Mine Sweeper) were so small (displacement was only 270 tons), which had no names - only the serial number. Total 1941 481 was built ship series YMS, they were almost 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 within a short time of service, he had visited many Asian countries, which are mentioned on this lighter, Philippines, China, Japan, Korea ... In the last two pictures - the ship itself and his team in the last year of service. To some of these sailors and officers in the picture belonged to this unique and lighter. Who were you, an unknown CDH?

17.07.2010 Tags: Topics: 1940 , Handy , Switzerland 17 comment (-ev)