# PRODUCTION OF SPERRY GYRO-COMPASSES BY DODGE BROTHERS IN WWII 58834

Made during WWII, AS THE WORLD SPINS details the work of Dodge Brothers, a division of Chrysler, in WWII war production. The film focuses on electric gyro-compasses designed by Sperry, which needed to be mass produced for the wartime Liberty Ship and Victory Ship effort, as well as for the fleet. With Sperry overwhelmed by demand, Dodge picked up the slack and pulled off one of the engineering miracles of the war, producing the extremely complex device in large numbers and in record time. The film begins with a brief history of the compass and shows how the magnetic compass was subject to deflection once ships were made out of metal and not out of wood. It was replaced by an electric compass, incapable of being deflected by metal and (also important) magnetic mines which were used by the Germans. At 2:12 , the toll on shipping taken by magnetic mines in the Battle of the Atlantic is vividly demonstrated as a ship hits a mine and is badly damaged. At 2:29 , the principle of a degaussing cable is shown, but unfortunately it destroys the accuracy of magnetic compasses.At 2:50 the Sperry gyro compass, which is not affected by deflecting purposes, is shown. Its advantages are described. Up to five repeater and master compasses are used on a ship, as shown at 4:00 . At 4:27 , the Dodge plant is shown, with its production line used to produce large numbers of gyrocompasses in record time. At 4:50 , sub-assembly of the compass is shown, with different tasks being assigned to…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: War, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/58834AsTheEarthSpins)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/58834AsTheEarthSpins?play=1)