Mystery Nautical item???

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by drac2k

You are correct, that is a whistle on top. Do you know how long these were used; were they still in use on the old WW2 Liberty Steam Ships. Mine has a hinge that seems original;I'm not sure as to the application.

Sorry but I have no idea as to the period that these were used but I would have thought probably up to (at least) WW2. I seem to recall that similar "speaking tubes" appeared in movies related to WW2 and earlier naval activity.
I would assume that they would have been replaced by internal radio communication.
Hopefully some "old salt" might see this post and comment...
Stu