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Robert,

Here's what I think may have happened after David White and Scientific
Instruments went out of business as I surmise happened. Lowe was the
contracting supplier after the first series of prodution runs or around
1987, maybe with a different MOD No., but C. Plath may have manufactured all
the parts. They were shipped to Lowe in NY to be assembled. That would be
consistent with what you heard from a USN source, but it would have been for
a much later production run. I was a member of the military Navigation
Board, 1975-1978, that made recommendations to industry as to what they
wanted which was satisfied by the designs of C.Plath, Tamaya and obviously
the winning contractor. At that time C. Plath was not in the picture. David
White and Nautech were.

BTW, Weems & Plath were then based in Annapolis, and played no role in any
of this. The company's General Manager was Carole XXXXX, I forget her maiden
name, who married Jim Tindall of Coast Navigation in the late 1970's. Weems
& Plath was not a manufacturer, but an importer and distributor, who sold
many items under their brand.

Kieran Kelly may have the answer, but I have never seen a C. Plath with a
circle centered frame. When Tamaya decided on the MS 833 Jupiter, it was
essentially a copy of the C & P.

Joel Jacobs



----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Eno" 
To: 
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 11:28 AM
Subject: Re: C+P NAVY MK III


> I wish the hell I could remember where or when I heard this and who told
me,
> but some  years ago when I was in the US a former naval officer told me
the
> same story: the C.Plath had actually manufactured the Navy Mk III and that
> it was in effect a "shell game". This is not to suggest any illegalities;
> only that the Navy wanted a certain type of sextant and Plath was the
> ticket.
>
> Perhaps there is a current or retired US Navy man out there that can
> enlighten us.
>
> As for the idea that Cassens and Plath may have manufactured the Weems and
> Plath models, this likely stems from the fact that the Weems and Plath
> frame, with its circular centre, was identical to the Cassens and Plath
> frame. It should be noted however, that C.Plath made a slightly cheaper
> version of their Rolls Royce model; the frame of which had the circular
> centre. As far as I know, Weems and Plath marketed C.Plath products.
>
> It all seems very incestuous doesn't it?
>
> Robert
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joel Jacobs" 
> To: 
> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 4:34 PM
> Subject: Re: C+P NAVY MK III
>
>
> > Peter,
> >
> > I don't know where you got your information, but my company, Nautech
> > Maritime Corp of Chicago, Il,  bid on the Navy contract for the MK III,
> and
> > it went to David White of Milwaukee. They also had a subsidiary,
survivor
> or
> > successor company called something like Scientific Instruments,
Milwaukee,
> > WI which made the Mod 2.
> >
> > You can read about this experience at:
> >
> >
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2561519492&category=37971
> >
> > I was away from sextants from 1978 until just recently, but I was of the
> > opinion that the W&H sextant was made by Cassens & Plath. I will not bet
> the
> > farm on that one, but I will on who made the USN MK III Mod 0 unless
what
> > you say occurred while we were out of the country, 1978 - 1984, and
during
> > the following years when I was not involved with sextants in any manner.
> >
> > Joel Jacobs
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: 
> > To: 
> > Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 4:07 PM
> > Subject: Re: C+P
> >
> >
> > > To add my two cents to Kieran and Robert's explanation of C. Plath's
> > > relationship to Cassens & Plath, there was a similar situation with
> Weems
> > &
> > > Plath of Washington, DC (later Annapolis, MD). After World War II, C.
> > Plath
> > > went through a very difficult rebuilding period. With the decline of
> > German
> > > shipping, they looked to gain a foothold in the US market. In 1953
they
> > > formed a partnership with P.V.H. Weems to sell C. Plath sextants and
> > > compasses, calling the venture Weems & Plath.
> > >
> > > Since the US Navy would not purchase foreign-made instruments, Lowe,
> Inc.,
> > > of New York was contracted to build sextants under license from C.
Plath
> > and
> > > bearing the Weems & Plath name. The US Navy Mark III sextant was a
> > > Lowe-built Plath.
> > >
> > >  -- Peter
> >
> >

   

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