Polish Vintage Signal Flashlight

Polish Army Signal Lamp

This is a Polish Army signal flashlight, a flat, box-shaped lamp built to give a soldier white, red or green light from one unit. Two sliding levers on the front drop colored filters over the lens, so the same lamp handles map reading, close work and simple color signaling. Slotted leather tabs on the back let you fasten it to a jacket or strap and keep your hands free. Collectors of Eastern European kit, reenactors and anyone who wants a working piece of issued field equipment will find it a useful addition.

Features

• Genuine Polish Army Issue — This lamp is original government-issue equipment and not a commercial copy.
• Three Light Colors — The lamp gives plain white light, and two filters turn the beam red or green.
• Sliding Filter Levers — Chrome slide levers on either side of the front, one marked green and one marked red, move each filter into place behind the lens.
• Top-Mounted Controls — A knurled thumbwheel switch and a small push button sit together on a chrome plate across the top of the case.
• Ribbed Metal Housing — The olive drab case has vertical ribs pressed into the front panel, which stiffen the body and give a better grip.
• Polished Reflector And Lens — A round, chrome-rimmed lens sits over a bowl reflector with a brass bulb socket at its center.
• Hinged Book-Style Case — The body opens like a book on a side hinge and closes with a spring clip, giving direct access to the bulb and battery contacts.
• Leather Carry Tabs — A slotted leather tab riveted to a metal bracket at the top and bottom of the back lets the lamp button onto a uniform or loop over a strap.

Issue Build And Design

This pattern of flat, filtered signal lamp was common across European armies, and the Polish example follows the same layout: a pressed metal case in olive drab, chrome-plated switch hardware and brass electrical contacts inside. The filter levers run in slots cut through the front panel, so you can see and feel which color is engaged even in low light. The leather tabs are mounted on metal brackets held by rivets rather than stitched on, which keeps the lamp firmly attached when worn. It is a compact, mechanically simple light, and that is a large part of why issued examples like this one appeal to collectors.