Uncovered, the compass that proves truth of SAS legend
National War Museum to display treasure trove of unseen artefacts including storied aircraft instrument
A COMPASS wrenched from an enemy plane by one of the founding members of the Special Air Service will go on display next year, in what museum curators say is the first physical proof of an early SAS legend.
The device became part of SAS lore after it was said to have been ripped from an aircraft by Lt – later Lt Col – Blair “Paddy” Mayne, but has until now never gone on display.
The compass will be one of the prize exhibits in the new Special Forces exhibition at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, where curators have gathered a host of never-before-seen artefacts from the country’s secretive elite units.
The exhibition charts the histories and roles of the SAS, Special Boat Service (SBS), Special Forces Support Group (SFSG), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) and 18 (UKSF) Signals Regiment.
Justin Saddington, a curator at the National Army Museum, said the story of Mayne wrenching a control panel from an Italian plane had often been told, but until now there had been no physical evidence it was true.
The compass from the controls has been loaned to the museum from a private individual.
The device was taken from an Italian CR42 biplane during a raid on Tamet airfield in Libya on December 14, 1941. The raid came only a month after the SAS’S disastrous and abortive first mission where a raiding force tried to attack airfields at Tmimi and Gazala, West of Tobruk.
That mission, called Operation Squatter, had been a costly failure after one plane carrying parachutists had been shot down by enemy fire and other troops had been hurt or dispersed jumping on to rough ground in heavy rain and a gale.
By the end of Squatter, 32 of the 53 “operatives” had either been lost, killed or captured and the new unit was badly in need of a success to prove its brand of long-range raiding behind enemy lines could be successful.
Mr Saddington said: “Operation Squatter had happened just a month before and the SAS had lost more than half their strength and they were really down to just a handful of men.
“They were desperate to establish themselves and forge a reputation, especially in the face of the opposition that they had had from the High Command.”
By contrast, the raid on Tamet was a huge success.
The force blew up 14 aircraft with Lewis bombs and shot up the cockpits of another 10, as well as destroying fuel and ammunition.
Mr Saddington said: “It was led by Paddy Mayne and is notorious for three things.
“First, Paddy Mayne burst into the officers’ mess with some of his men and brutally gunned down some of the Italians and Germans making merry inside. That’s a bit of a notorious incident really. “Secondly, it’s the first great success by the SAS.
“It’s also renowned for this act where Mayne wrenched out the control panel from an enemy aircraft. Mayne was renowned for his strength, but this was the kind of Herculean act which amazed his comrades.
“What’s remarkable about the compass is that this is a legendary act and this is the first physical proof of it and it’s going on display.”
Mr Saddington said that rather than the control panel having been taken as an act of sabotage, he believed it had in fact been taken to experiment with.
He said: “The SAS had been asked to acquire an aircraft compass for the purposes of mechanical experimentation. They were looking for ways to improve desert navigation and believed that the compass from an aircraft could be fitted on to vehicles.” The compass was
‘What’s remarkable about the compass is it is a legendary act and this is the first physical proof ’
handed to “Gentleman Jim” Almonds, another of the original complement of the SAS, who was to fix it to a Jeep for trial tests. Almonds was renowned for his engineering skills and helped the fledgling SAS adapt much of its equipment for special missions.
The unit decided that a frontmounted compass on a Jeep would be a great improvement on the hand-held ones they had to use at that time, especially on long journeys. However, he was captured before he could complete the project.
The exhibition, called Special Forces: Out of the Shadows, opens in March and will be the National Army Museum’s first major exhibition since it reopened after a £24million refurbishment.