Sperry Marine traces its origins to the Sperry Gyroscope Company founded in 1910 by Elmer Sperry. The company grew rapidly during World War I and II supplying gyrocompasses, fire control systems, and other navigation technologies to Allied navies. After several ownership changes, Sperry Marine focused on marine instrumentation and was acquired by Litton in 1996. Sperry Marine continues to be a leading innovator in marine navigation and control systems.

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Sperry Corporation and Sperry Marine
The history of the Sperry Corporation is the story of technological innovation and the application
of that technology to everyday, real world uses. The history of Sperry Gyroscope and its
successor companies and that heritage that ultimately resides with Sperry Marine, is one that
follows the basic tenets of the founder himself. E.A. Sperry was first and foremost an engineer of
the highest caliber. But to his credit, he was also as equally talented as an entrepreneur. The
Sperry Marine of today continues to embody those two attributes.
Sperry Gyroscope Company
Sperry Marine has its origins in the Sperry Gyroscope Company. Named after its founder, Elmer
A. Sperry, and established on April 19, 1910, with no outside financing, no products, no
employees, but with an "unquenchable enthusiasm". Sperry Gyroscope grew to be a
multinational technological powerhouse known the world over. This is an abbreviated history of
the Sperry Marine Company and its evolution from those early beginnings to the company that
today is recognized as one of the preeminent marine technology and manufacturing companies
in the world.
Elmer Ambrose Sperry
The Gyrocompass and Sperry Gyroscope
C.A. Bohnenberger is generally credited with the first
recorded construction of a gyroscope in 1810. L.
Foucault (of Pendulum fame) first conceived of the
gyro as an inertial reference in 1851. In 1890, one
other event was to set the stage for the practical
application of the gyrocompass; the development of
the first electrically driven gyroscope by G.M.
Hopkins. Thus it was that in the last decade of the
19th century, the stage was set for the application of
the gyroscope to real world problems. These were
quick in coming; three things drove the
transformation of the gyroscope from a child's toy,
or inventor's curiosa to that of a usable technology.
These were the increasing use of steel in ships which then brought about the second need; to
overcome the unreliability of the magnetic compass within a steel ship, and finally, the great
powers were preparing to conduct underwater warfare - in steel hull ships. In this age of the
Edison's, Bell's and Wright brothers, two further inventors, one on either side of the Atlantic,
sought solutions to these problems.
Dr. H. Anschutz of Germany and Elmer Sperry both built on the properties of the gyroscope;
stability and precession. A gyroscope will always point to a fixed point in space if left
undisturbed. If force is exerted upon it, it will react at right angles to the force applied. This
characteristic of a gyro combined with other elements of precession, pendulocity and damping
will allow the gyro to settle toward true north. In 1908 Dr. Anschutz patented the first north
seeking gyrocompass with the United Kingdom's Patent Office (Patent Number 10382/08). That
same year, Elmer Sperry invented and introduced the first ballistic gyrocompass, which included
vertical damping (his device was subsequently patented with the British in 1911 - Patent
Number 15669/11). Both of these first devices were of the single pendulum type.
Unit 100 and the First World War
In 1911 the first Sperry gyro (Unit Number 100 shown at right) was installed aboard the Old
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Dominion Line PRINCESS ANNE for a trial run
from New York to Hampton Roads, Virginia. Upon
completing this trial the unit was brought back to
New York and installed aboard the U.S.S.
DELAWARE. Trials aboard the DELAWARE were
launched starting on August 18, 1911. From this
trial aboard the DELAWARE an order for four
systems soon arrived from the U.S. Navy and
Sperry Gyroscope was a reality. The first serially
produced unit, Serial Number 101, was installed
aboard the U.S.S. UTAH on November 13, 1911.
U.S.S. DELAWARE
Upon successful installation and trial aboard the
U.S.S. DELAWARE, shown to the left, the ship was
sent to participate in the coronation of King
George V of England. During her absence, Elmer
Sperry arranged with the Bureau of Ordnance of
the U.S. Navy to have another of his gyros
installed aboard the U.S.S. DRAYTON. From this
trial resulted the Repeater Compass and the
target bearing pointer. During this period Admiral
Joseph Strauss, Chief of Naval Ordnance, encouraged Sperry to examine the basic fundamentals
of fire control problems faced by ship borne long range guns. From this beginning, the Sperry
Gyroscope Company developed the first full gun battery fire control system, which were
ultimately placed aboard every U.S. battleship during World War I (some 30 ships). During the
War another famous Sperry product was developed; "Metal Mike" or the first gyro pilot system
for ship's steering. In fact, the impact of the war on Sperry Gyro was tremendous. Not only had
the U.S. purchased the Sperry gyrocompass, but so had the British, French, Italian and Russian
navies. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the impending war in Europe, Sperry
Gyroscope Company Limited was formed in the U.K. in 1913. Production in Britain of the Sperry
MK1 Gyrocompass commenced shortly thereafter. (Note: Production of Sperry gyro's continued
in the U.K. until the late 1970's when the company was sold to British Aerospace.)
Gyro stabilizer system
Also about this time Sperry provided the Navy with its first gyro stabilizer system. The gyro
weighed five tons and was installed aboard the U.S.S. WORDEN, a small destroyer of 700 tons.
The gyro kept the ship from rolling as it was designed to do. From this successful demonstration
of the gyro stabilizer, the U.S. Navy ordered a second system that was installed aboard the
submarine E4. World War One started soon thereafter and further orders were put "on ice" as it
was not considered an "essential" device.
Between the War Years
At the conclusion of the first world war the Sperry Gyroscope
Company focused its attention on expanding its marine
business involvement around the world. The Sperry
Gyroscope company, and Elmer Sperry in particular, spent
considerable effort appointing agents and representatives
around the world. One of the first, established in 1918, was
the Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha Company (Mitsubishi
Shipbuilding) of Japan, a company that was licensee for all
products there. The first civil installation of the gyrocompass
was aboard the luxury liner SS AQUITANIA of the Cunard
Steam Ship Company (pictured here at the left in a company
poster of the time - The AQUITANIA retired from service in
1949 with many Sperry products aboard). In 1922 field trials
commenced on the Sperry standard Gyro Pilot. The first
recorded crossing of the Atlantic with a ship under complete
gyro pilot control is credited to the Standard Oil Company's Tanker W.H. TILFORD, under the
command of Captain Alex Mackay. Captain Mackay, according to the record, initially had a very
low opinion of "Iron Mike" but became a believer soon after the transit of the Atlantic had started.
In the closing days of 1928 Elmer Sperry, at the age of 68, sold the Sperry Gyroscope Company to
the North American Aviation Company. On January 17th of 1929, the Sperry Gyroscope Company
became a legally registered corporation in the State of New York. Thomas A. Morgan, one of the
first two original employees at the formation of the company in 1911, was elected President and
General Manager of the new company by its Board of Directors. The new company focused on
the urgent requirement for an artificial horizon for aircraft. Working closely with Lt. James
Doolittle, who had been assigned by the U.S. Army Air Corps to carry on the work, Sperry

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engineers quickly developed two new instruments which were soon being flight tested. These
were the artificial horizon and the aircraft directional gyro. The test flight of these instruments on
September 24, 1929 by Doolittle was the first recorded all blind flight in history. These two
instruments immediately found their way aboard airmail planes and the aircraft of the fledgling
commercial airlines (TWA was the first commercial buyer of these two products).
In 1933 North American Aviation reorganized is divisions and the Sperry Gyroscope Company
Inc. became a subsidiary of the new Sperry Corporation. R.E. Gillmoor, the other first employee of
the original company was elected its President.
During the period from the end of the First World War to that of the Second, Sperry Gyroscope
produced a number of marine gyrocompass variants. These included the MK6, the MK8 and
probably the most famous, the MK14. The MK14 emerged in 1933-4 and continued to be built
well into the 1950's. The MK14 found its way aboard such famous ships as the QUEEN
ELIZABETH 1, QUEEN MARY (shown above), the SAVANNAH (the first nuclear powered merchant
ship), THE UNITED STATES (holder of the famous Blue Ribband - for fastest crossing of the
Atlantic by a regular passenger ship) and the tanker MANHATTAN, which made the first
Northwest Passage crossing. There are many MK14's still in service around the world today
which testifies not only to its robustness, but to the quality of the basic design itself. The most
significant technological event during this period was the introduction of the electronic amplifier
to gyrocompasses. The use of electronics eventually found its way into all Sperry products.
The Second World War
With the outbreak of the Second World War Sperry
suddenly found itself inundated with demands for
gyrocompasses from all allied navies. Demand was
so great that by the time of Pearl Harbor, Sperry
Gyroscope had expanded its employee count in
excess of five times and its production by ten times
what they had been in 1936. With Sperry Gyroscope
Ltd. in the U.K. in full production and the factory in
New York also saturated with demands on its production line, Sperry allowed its now famous
MK14 to be produced under license by Chrysler's Dodge Division. In 1943, the U.S. Government
finalized contracts with the Chrysler Dodge for 5,500 units, as well as to the Package Machinery
Company in Massachusetts. Throughout the war, Sperry and its subsidiary company in the U.K.
produced gyrocompasses, compass repeaters, battery fire control systems, and related systems
for the various allied nations as well as other instruments for aircraft. By war's end, some 22
companies were producing Sperry products under license for the allied war effort. From an
employee count of 600 in 1932, Sperry grew to a wartime peak of 32,000 in 1943. Another 32,000
were subcontracted and when prime contractors were taken into account, over 100,000 people
worked for Sperry Gyroscope at its peak employment period in 1943.
USS Sperry
In recognition of Elmer A. Sperry's contribution to the people
and government of the U.S., the U.S. Navy, on February 1,
1941, laid the keel for AS-12, the USS SPERRY (shown at left)
at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California. On December
17, 1941, the USS SPERRY was launched and had the dubious
distinction of being the first U.S. Naval combatant
commissioned after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS SPERRY, a fleet Submarine Tender,
served throughout the war, spending her entire time in the western Pacific. She served with
distinction until 1982 and after 40 years of service was moved to Bremerton, Washington, where
she sits today awaiting final disposition.

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From World War to Peaceful Growth
Corporate Changes and New Owners
At the end of the war, the Sperry Corporation and its subsidiary, Gyroscope, saw great expansion.
Much of this expansion was attributable to emerging electronics technologies. This expansion
eventually led to the acquisition of the Remington Rand Corporation in 1955. At the completion
of the acquisition, Sperry Corporation became the Sperry Rand Corporation and stayed with this
name until 1979. At about the same time as the Rand acquisition, Sperry Gyroscope decided to
open a facility that would almost exclusively produce its marine instruments. After considerable
searching and evaluation, the Charlottesville area of Central Virginia was selected as the site. In
1956, Sperry Piedmont Division opened its doors for business.
Reorganizations within the Sperry Rand Corporation resulted in subsequent name changes and
in 1967 the Piedmont Division name was dropped and replaced with the Marine Systems
Division of the new Sperry Rand Electronics group.
MK37 and MK27
During the period from 1956 to 1986, many now famous
products were designed and built at the Sperry Marine
Division. Among these were the MK37 (the new MK37VT,
introduced in 1995, is shown at the right) commercial
gyrocompass and its military equivalent, the MK27. Others
included the MK19 Naval Attitude and Heading Reference
System, the APN59 airborne weather radar and many others.
Eventually, Sperry Marine's product mix would include over 60
different products for the military and commercial marine communities as well as the Air Force.
It was also during this period that the U.S. Navy's THRESHER (SSN 593) sank with all hands
aboard. The list of those who lost their lives also included two Sperry Marine Field Engineers:
Kenneth R. Corcoran and Donald T. Stadtmuller.
The Sperry and Burroughs Corporations merged to form UNISYS in 1986. This merger, and the
subsequent focus that the new UNISYS placed on its core business segment, the computer
market, sealed the fate of the Aerospace and Marine Group. Sale of the group was foreordained
and the only task was to find a suitable buyer or buyers. As events unfolded, it became obvious
that no single buyer would or could acquire the combined Group and the division of the two into
separate assets made sense. Thus, Aerospace and Marine were separated and the bulk of the
Aerospace business was subsequently purchased by Honeywell. Sperry Marine and its far flung
international organization were acquired by Tenneco. These purchases were formalized in 1987
with day to day operation of Sperry Marine being taken over by Newport News, a substantial
division of Tenneco, in the early months of 1988.
MK49
In 1993 the J.F. Lehman investment group purchased Sperry Marine from
Tenneco. In 1995, the U.S. Navy awarded a contract to Sperry Marine for the
MK49 Ring Laser Gyrocompass Ship's Inertial Navigator (RLG SINS - Shown at
left), subsequently called the WSN-7 SINS. The purpose of this program is to
replace all existing older technology ballistic wheel and suspended gyro based
navigators throughout the fleet in both surface and subsurface assets.
Litton
In early 1996, Litton made an offer to purchase Sperry Marine. In May, this offer
was accepted. On May 15th, Sperry Marine became a part of the Litton
Guidance and Controls Division.
Chronology of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine Company History:
1910 - Formation of the Sperry Gyroscope Company by Elmer A. Sperry
1913 - Formation of the Sperry Gyroscope Limited Company in the U.K.
1928 - Sperry Gyroscope sold to North American Aviation
1929 - (January 17th) Incorporation - Sperry Gyroscope Company becomes Sperry Gyroscope
Incorporated
1933 - North American Reorganizes divisions and forms Sperry Corporation. Sperry Gyroscope

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becomes subsidiary company to Sperry Corp.
1941 - USS SPERRY (AS-12) Launched
1955 - Acquisition of Remington Rand - Name Changes to Sperry Rand Corporation
1956 - Sperry Piedmont Company opens for operation in Charlottesville, Virginia
1967 - Sperry Piedmont changes name to Marine Systems Division of Sperry Rand Corporation
1979 - Sperry Rand changes to Sperry Corporation and Marine Systems Division becomes
division of Sperry Corporation's Electronics Group
1982 - USS SPERRY Decommissioned
1984 - Reorganization places Marine Systems Division within the Aerospace and Marine Group
1986 - Merger with Burroughs forms UNISYS Corporation
1987 - Tenneco purchases Marine Systems Division and changes name to S-P Marine
1987 - S-P Marine renamed to Sperry Marine Inc.
1993 - Sperry Marine purchased from Tenneco/Newport News by John Lehman and Associates
1995 - (January) U.S. Navy purchases WSN-7, marking the introduction of marine RLG
technology to the fleet.
1996 - (May) Litton concludes purchase of Sperry Marine from J.F. Lehman & Associates
2001 - Sperry Marine becomes part of the Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Additional Reading:
For additional information on Sperry and the history of the company, its technologies,
gyrocompasses, and related material, the following is a very incomplete listing of publications
that can be found:
1.) "The Theory of the Gyroscopic Compass" by A.L. Rawlings, The MacMillan Company, 1944
2.) "Elmer Sperry - Inventor and Engineer" by Thomas Parke Hughes, John Hopkins Press, 1971,
ISBN o-8018-1133-3
3.) "Gyro! The Life and Times of Lawerance Sperry" by William Wyatt Davenport, Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York, 1978
4.) "Sperry's Forty Years in the Progress of Science" by Preston R. Bassett, "Sperry Scope"
Corporate Newsletter, 1950
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