In the Brigantes booth we took a look at the Silva Expedition 5 6400/360 Global which is beginning to replace the Militaire with the British military.
The Expedition 5, seen to the left, is a global compass while the Militaire is designed for northern hemisphere use. The baseplate features romers, measurers and magnifying glass but also has an inclinometer, variable declination, and measuring lanyard.
To make it a global compass, Silva magnetized the central gimbal, which rests on a sapphire for the smoothest needle movement possible. The gimbal allows the magnetic elements to point at magnetic north without disturbing the needle and reducing accuracy.