W Military RUW Today ?

Haha, thats un fortunate. As a member in the Army, and stationed in Europe, I have a deep interest in these watches (and prefer ones worn by one side over the other).

That's beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

Utterly wild, what is it?

Lifted from another forum:

"The 1943 Hamilton Bombtimer, not actually a wrist or pocket watch, but mounted on a turret within a World War II bombadier's compartment so he could time the duration between bomb drop and
detonation. "A curious and largely unexplored topic..... There's nothing about them in Whitney's comprehensive "Military Timepieces, and they're not even listed in Hamilton's own WWII production summaries. There's one wartime ad that
shows it (seen below). These were made with the dial in either horizontal orientation as seen in the picture on top, or more "watch-like" vertical arrangement just below it (provided by the 2007 "Complete Price Guide to Watches". Usually the second hand is double- ended, one end with an arrow tip and the other with a simple point. I don't really know why. I suspect the second hand in the attached picture is a replacement since it's not even long
enough to reach the seconds track. They always have a pusher on the back edge as a hacking mechanism. It stops the balance and allows it to be set to the
second. The movement is a standard 980. The attached ad shows it being used as a training aid, in conjunction with a movie camera to film "hits". According to Hamilton employees and a couple of veterans I've talked to, these were primarily used to record bombing runs. Just as shown in the ad when used with a machine gun, the watch would be mounted into a bomb sight with a camera filming the release and detonation of a bomb, and the timer filmed as
part of the image to record the exact moment of each step. Needless to say these were never originally intended to be worn as watches, but lots of collectors mount straps by punching a hole in a conventional strap and bolting it to the
case end."

"I have been told by some WWII veterans that it was also used with a camera in bomb turrets to photograph the descent and detonation of bombs. The watch served as an instrument to register the precise time of each detonation. The crew did not use normal timer because this was only meant to be filmed, and for that it had to be small. The crew had
enough things to be concerned with on a bombing run without having to manually record the timing.
The camera, in conjunction with the mounted watch, did that automaticaly. Most of the ones I have seen have had the hack mechanism removed. It was a simple plunger that
would move a spring sideways and touch the rim of the balance wheel, causing it to stop.
Unfortunately I do not have a picture of this detail."

my third grail.

Is there a "vintage military watches on ebay" thread? Haha. I am currently serving and stationed in Germany. Love the fonts of the 40s watches (and smaller cases). I've been reluctant to pounce but am "enjoying" https://archive.org/details/TM9-1575.

Love all the pics - keep 'em coming

Omega RNZAF from 1956...

RAN Hamilton

RAAF IWC Mk11 1957....

RAAF Lemania