The Reel

Unfortunately, the original Navy manuals did not describe the construction of the reel in any more detail than what's needed to maintain it. Unlike the kites, field personnel were not expected to make one for themselves. In addition, it doesn't look like many reels survived the war, so there aren't many around to examine.

Here are pictures of the one in the Smithsonian collection.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Two areas of possible special interest are the harness used with the reel and the internals of the ratcheting drums. The photo on the left shows as much as you can see without taking the mechanism apart. The photo on the right (with the reel upside down) shows the metal hooks which fit into the harness.

Here's the harness, and how it would attach to the reel.