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mozambique
·I am selling a very rare, possibly unique watch.
In the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, I am selling my Speedmaster 145.012 formerly owned by United States Marine Corp (USMC) pilot Captain Bill Steinberg (That’s Bill wearing the Speedmaster in the photos below). The watch was given to Bill by his parents on graduation from the university of Wisconsin in June 1968. Bill joined the USMC the same day and attended flight school in Pensacola, Florida a month later. He added the inscription on the back after he got his wings in Corpus Christi, Texas. Bill wore the watch on every flight during flight school and after. Bill flew RF-4 Phantoms in fighter reconnaissance including tours in the fleet marine force in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
(photo from Bill Steinberg collection)
(photo from Bill Steinberg collection)
Bill was first stationed at VMCJ-2 squadron based in Cherry Point, North Carolina. VMCJ-2 was the storied ‘Playboy Squadron’, so named for the (playboy) bunny squadron mascot painted on the planes tail section.
(RF-4 Phantom, VMCJ-2 squadron)
Later he joined VMCJ-1 squadron based out of Iwakuni, Japan before and after tours of duty stationed at the US airbase located in Da Nang, Vietnam. Bill logged more than 200 hours of flying time in Vietnam between 1971 and 1972. VMCJ-1 was part of the last marine air group to leave Vietnam in 1971 when the US was de-escalating the war.
As a reconnaissance squadron, the RF-4 Phantoms were unarmed, but equipped with cameras; ‘alone, unarmed, and unafraid’ as the pilots used to say. Flying a lot of missions in the mountains, in bad weather, and at night. The squadron flew from time to time on twenty day detachments at sea from the USS Midway aircraft carrier. Bills squadron was also involved in Operation Linebacker when the navy mined the harbour at Haiphong, North Vietnam’s main port.
(USS Midway)
(photo from Bill Steinberg collection)
(photo from Bill Steinberg collection)
I asked Bill about what it was like to fly an unarmed plane against the armed North Vietnamese Mig-17’s 19’s and 21’s. His response was: “We would point the planes nose to the stars, hit the afterburners and get the hell out of Dodge”, relying on the RF-4’s superior power and speed to stay out of range of the Migs weapon systems.
Bill left active duty in 1973 with the rank of Captain.
All of the above information is paraphrased from my email communications with Bill.
The watch is in overall nice condition. The dial lume is in fair condition. The watch has the correct DON bezel which is nicely preserved. It comes with a correct 1039 bracelet with #16 end links. Note that the photos of the watch show it on a contemporary Omega 1171 bracelet which is also included in the sale. Date of last service believed to be 2014 (no paperwork).
The watch comes with everything shown in the photo below i.e. an extract from the archives, electronic and printed copies of photos (provided by Bill), copies of communications (several emails) with Bill from 2014, and also an original VMCJ-1 squadron shoulder patch.
(contact details omitted for privacy reasons)
Difficult to price such a rare watch with provenance, so serious offers will be considered (thank you).
And now photos of the watch:
In the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, I am selling my Speedmaster 145.012 formerly owned by United States Marine Corp (USMC) pilot Captain Bill Steinberg (That’s Bill wearing the Speedmaster in the photos below). The watch was given to Bill by his parents on graduation from the university of Wisconsin in June 1968. Bill joined the USMC the same day and attended flight school in Pensacola, Florida a month later. He added the inscription on the back after he got his wings in Corpus Christi, Texas. Bill wore the watch on every flight during flight school and after. Bill flew RF-4 Phantoms in fighter reconnaissance including tours in the fleet marine force in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Bill was first stationed at VMCJ-2 squadron based in Cherry Point, North Carolina. VMCJ-2 was the storied ‘Playboy Squadron’, so named for the (playboy) bunny squadron mascot painted on the planes tail section.
(RF-4 Phantom, VMCJ-2 squadron)
Later he joined VMCJ-1 squadron based out of Iwakuni, Japan before and after tours of duty stationed at the US airbase located in Da Nang, Vietnam. Bill logged more than 200 hours of flying time in Vietnam between 1971 and 1972. VMCJ-1 was part of the last marine air group to leave Vietnam in 1971 when the US was de-escalating the war.
As a reconnaissance squadron, the RF-4 Phantoms were unarmed, but equipped with cameras; ‘alone, unarmed, and unafraid’ as the pilots used to say. Flying a lot of missions in the mountains, in bad weather, and at night. The squadron flew from time to time on twenty day detachments at sea from the USS Midway aircraft carrier. Bills squadron was also involved in Operation Linebacker when the navy mined the harbour at Haiphong, North Vietnam’s main port.
(photo from Bill Steinberg collection)
(photo from Bill Steinberg collection)
I asked Bill about what it was like to fly an unarmed plane against the armed North Vietnamese Mig-17’s 19’s and 21’s. His response was: “We would point the planes nose to the stars, hit the afterburners and get the hell out of Dodge”, relying on the RF-4’s superior power and speed to stay out of range of the Migs weapon systems.
Bill left active duty in 1973 with the rank of Captain.
All of the above information is paraphrased from my email communications with Bill.
The watch is in overall nice condition. The dial lume is in fair condition. The watch has the correct DON bezel which is nicely preserved. It comes with a correct 1039 bracelet with #16 end links. Note that the photos of the watch show it on a contemporary Omega 1171 bracelet which is also included in the sale. Date of last service believed to be 2014 (no paperwork).
The watch comes with everything shown in the photo below i.e. an extract from the archives, electronic and printed copies of photos (provided by Bill), copies of communications (several emails) with Bill from 2014, and also an original VMCJ-1 squadron shoulder patch.
(contact details omitted for privacy reasons)
Difficult to price such a rare watch with provenance, so serious offers will be considered (thank you).
And now photos of the watch:
