The Pioneer Instrument Co. was established in Brooklyn in 1919 and specialized in aeronautical instruments. It acquired control of Brandis & Sons, Inc., in 1922, and was in turn acquired by the Bendix Aviation Corp. in 1928. As the U.S. military was preparing for America’s entry into the war, it became the Pioneer Instrument Division of Bendix Aviation, and moved to New Jersey. By 1943 it had become the Eclipse-Pioneer Division of Bendix Aviation. Victor Carbonara, an engineer employed by Pioneer, designed the Model 206 aircraft octant that Brandis instroduced in the late 1920s. He also designed the Model 342 that Pioneer introduced in 1931 and that, with minor modifications, was still in use in World War II.
