[Milsurplus] 1st Question...coils...

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

I have several strange coils. These are basket-weave, wound with 
about #14 very finely stranded, black cotton-covered wire, around a 
series of ceramic rods, bolted to large bakelite end-plates with what 
look to be wooden machine screws.

The bakelite endplates are 10 inches square, and the distance 
between end-plates is 15 inches. Coil diameter is 9 1/2 inches and 
it is about 12 inches long. There are around 70 turns of wire in the 
coil and there are 15 pig-tailed taps spiraling down its length.

Photos of one of these can be seen at:

http://users.moscow.com/netamerica/pictures/coil1.jpg
http://users.moscow.com/netamerica/pictures/coil2.jpg
http://users.moscow.com/netamerica/pictures/coil3.jpg
http://users.moscow.com/netamerica/pictures/coil4.jpg

Since everything else I got with these was military, I am thinking 
that these were military also.

If so, what did they come out of? 

From the marks on the end-plates, they were mounted on 
something, but what?

Ken Gordon W7EKB