Machine Age Lamp Airplane Aviation Light / WW2 Bomber C-1 Auto Pilot Control Panel / Lamp #cc57 sold

C-1 Auto Pilot systems were used extensively in WWII-era bomber aircraft of the US Army Air Forces, including the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.  The control panel was located on the pedestal between the pilot and co-pilot.  The C-1 could automatically control the aircraft on straight and level flight or maneuver the plane in response to a fingertip control of pilots or bombardier to achieve precision mission control.  In 1940 Minneapolis-Honeywell Corp became a defense contractor and soon developed the C-1 Auto Pilot system.  April 1941 eight months before Pearl Harbor debacle, the Bombardment Section of the AAF Materiel Command witnessed a demonstration of the new electronic control system. The C-1 Autopilot was a military secret until it had been definitely established.  Critical to mission effectiveness, a bomber aircraft should not deviate from its set course by a single degree. At 25,000 feet, according to precision bo