Directional Gyro, Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana), Filotechnica Sperry Air Forces of USA an electrical contact (hence the

an electrical contact (hence the name contact altimeter) is made which releases the bomb or other ordnance

including heavy bombers B-17 Flying Fortress

The knob rotates a small indexing pointer around the perimeter of the dial (sitting at 5 G's in the main photo)

0-20 liters

a)  no response (if the Safety Plug has not been inserted)

Directional Gyro, Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana), Filotechnica Sperry Air Forces of USA an electrical contact (hence theThis is an exceptional example of a WWII era Giroscopio Direzionale, made by Filotecnica Sperry in Milano Italy, was used in aircraft of the Regia Aeronautical Italiana. This was likely made by Filotecnica under license from Sperry, but the precise history of the manufacturing source is unclear. On the dial there is text which reads "Scade Radium 15 9 43", which essentially translates to Radium Expires 15 Sep 1943. Therefore the instrument was likely