This type of compass has been used on all ships since World War I and is used also on airplanes, torpedoes, and some guided missiles. On ships and aircraft the magnetic compass supplements the gyrocompass, one being used to check the other.

The heart of a gyrocompass is a heavy gyroscope driven by an electric motor. It is not affected by magnetism or by the pitching of a ship. When properly mounted, adjusted, and corrected, it will always point to true north, rather than to magnetic north. Electric circuits relay information from the gyroscope to instruments called repeaters in various parts of the ship. These instruments can indicate direction or keep a constant record of the ship's movements. A gyropilot is a repeater and other equipment coupled with the steering mechanism that keeps the ship on course. Gyropilots are also used to steer torpedoes and some guided missiles. The gyrocompass must be constantly corrected as the vessel changes course, speed, and latitude. Instruments have been developed that make these corrections automatically.

There are other means of finding true north, and some instruments for determining direction by astronomical and navigational methods are called compasses. Among these are the solar compass, which tells direction from the light of the sun, and the radio compass, or direction finder, which relies on radio signals.