My wife's uncle was in an artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division in W.W.II. I asked him about the use of the sun compass and he said he seemed to remember that some sort of sundial device was used to locate the artillery pieces in North Africa where they did not have accurate maps. He could not remember any details and it is not clear whether this applies to this specific device.
Jim James E. Morrison Astrolabe web pages at: http://myhouse.com/mc/planet/astrodir/astrolab.htm
