Vulcan Crews: Mil. Watches and Seiko Chronograph

[Pontius Navigator]

Hallo friends,

I am interested in British Military Watches and Clocks and came across this rare Timex chronograph. It is said that there were 70 000 bought by the MoD about 1943 and issued to Vulcan crews without military markings. I know that the Vulcans were retired up to 1984, i.e. 29 years after the war.

Questions:

- To late Vulcan crew members: What watches were issued to you to ensure you weren't late? Do you know this chronograph?

- Can anyone confirm that Vulcan crews did not have military markings or disagree?

- Who else know something about this watch?

- In those times with nuclear payload, did you wear nonluminous watches not to trigger the Geiger counters or did the inside of the aircraft glow sufficiently that you did not need illumination?

. Gruesse/Regards/Salute Konrad Knirim
.
. http://www.knirim.de















not to f:mad: up a perfectly reasonable thread on the mighty V

[BEagle]

Just had the standard piece of crap from stores.....

Although for GV79 I did manage to get a stopwatch fitted to the glareshield of 538.

[Pontius Navigator]

Oh BEagle, thought better of you than that :)

One Rex Cording used a pocket watch. Every flight out it came, strap tied onto the GPI 6 and swung gently to and fro. Apart from telling the time it also told him who was flying the aircraft.

The pocket watch did have a big arrow on it.

[Blacksheep]

I worked in the Instrument Calibration Room at Waddington for a few months in 1968 and all the watches that came through there were Hamiltons with military markings. It was the same later on in 1969 and 1970 at Changi - military Hamiltons with an occasional ancient WW2 issue Omega.

Of course, that may simply mean the the Hamiltons were a load of crap and none of the civvy pattern Timex watches ever went wonky... :}

[Pontius Navigator]

Oh gawd, can you not recognise a pith take?:)

[BEagle]

I thought you used a sun dial back in your days of navigating the Tin Triangle, PN. Along with an astrolabe, quadrant staff and lodestone as navigation devices?

All that looking into the astrological charts for high level nav was just a con - you only did it to keep the co-piglet abused with all his timing calls!

[Pontius Navigator]

BEagle, b:mad: er, you guessed.

We also did the same with the 2A.

Waited until we had eaten the salmon and cucumber sandwiches and had our coffee before passing the tray up the front.

We had a very pernicity copilot, insisted on a clean white linen napkin. We also had to keep a pair of clean white flying gloves to serve him. Anyway, I digress.

As soon as we fed them we would roll in from the IP on to an evasive bomb run. A succession of high bank and high G, (well 1.5g at 45K in a big bomber is high), and that was lunch out of the way.

We found out, about 2 months later, where the copilot's lunch had gone when the chicken leg crawled out of his flying suit pocket.

Later of course, after several drinks we would wait until he was using his pee tube and do the next bomb run.

[BEagle]

Two can play at that game! We had a Plotter who was being as blunt as a very blunt thing and was behind the drag curve somewhat as we left Wildenrath. Late sorting out his mess bill, late for transport, late checking the NOTAMs.... So by the time we reached TOC he wanted to use the pee tube. I waited until he was at the point of no return, then pushed gently and he plus pee tube and contents floated gently upwards on the lower deck. Then pulled slightly and he ended up as a soggy heap on the crew entrance door!

Simple fun, happier times!

Unusually for the V-farce, our Plotter was as thin as a rake. He used to take a tatty blue striped dressing gown with him on night stops - when he came out of his room wearing it at Wildenrath I told him he'd better not let the locals see him in case they thought he'd been left behind when Auschwitz had been liberated.....

But he did have a nav's watch with all the extra dials which confused pilots!

[Pontius Navigator]

Still on watches so I don't expect it is too much drift.

We had a bed-slug of an AEO. The Captain and Plotter were squabbling leaders so it fell to the co and me, both batchelors, to act as his minder.

We were able set alarms, open eyes and get dressed quickly whatever the Tiger level. Not our bed-slug. We would have to go and knock him up, not once but several times.

One day we said sod it. We gave him one call and left it at that. Standing outside the Oriental the skipper asked where the AEO was. We gave blank looks and said we gave him a call an hour ago (we had all had breakfast since).

Bed-slug was 110% pissed off, said flt lts should stick together, look after yer mates and all that. Still he was never late again!

[FJJP]

Hamilton, complete with HMP prison arrow!

Fabulous timepiece - I got it when my Omega shuffled orf the mortal coil. Hamilton lost 1 second per month...

Bed-slug wasn't PL by any chance?

[Pontius Navigator]

FJJP, no but probably endemic amongst AEOs, odd lot!

'twas on GH.