“Doc’s Shoebox” was the nickname for the rectangular black metal prototype of the Mark 14 Gunsight developed during WWII. Sperry Gyroscope had contracted with Charles Stark Draper’s Instrumentation Laboratory at MIT to help develop the specialized instrument that would allow a Navy anti-aircraft gunner to keep up with the new fast-flying airplanes. The resultant design was extremely effective in its first demonstration aboard the USS South Dakota in a 1942 battle when several Japanese Kamikaze aircraft were shot down. The U.S. Navy ordered 85,000 Mark 14 Gunsights, which have been credited with altering the balance of power in favor of the United States in the Pacific conflict. Newspaper accounts were even more glowing providing numerous testimonials to the number of American lives saved, and Draper received the Medal of Merit for his contributions. Most notably, Draper’s wartime project work led directly to his famous inertial navigation work and the steady expansion of the Instrumentation Laboratory to serve the nation’s defense needs.
On loan from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.