As already shown with several photos...
At the time of Gemini III,
March 23 1965 NASA only had 3 or 4 Speedmaster chronographs... each Gemini III astronaut got one (
Grissom &
Young ) while training & Gemini III prelaunch photos show clearly that the Gemini III back-up astronauts also wore a Speedmaster;
Stafford a NASA-issued Speedmaster and
Schirra still wore his personal CK2998 Speedmaster (without a bezel)...
It looks like the first batch of Speedmaster chronographss was delivered to NASA April 23, 1965 ( 17 or 24 pieces ? ) and we're trying to find out how Gemini IX crew ( Thomas Stafford #20 & #27 and Eugene Cernan #28 ) ended up with the highest number NASA serials Speedmasters
Click to expand...