RAF Aircrew Wrist Watch 70's ?
What make was the wrist watch issued to RAF aircrew in the late 70's & 80's ?.
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CWC
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Yes - but the issue straps were uninspiring.
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Among all the other stuff I was responsible for, I used to service aircrew watches in the General Instrument Laboratory at Changi during 1969-1971. They were mostly Hamiltons and they were mostly scrapped. Too time consuming to do anything but a calibration check and sometimes clean and regulate, but if anything needed replacement they went in the bin.
...after first being worked over with a hammer of course.... |
Mine disappeared when XD183 was Struck off Charge after its force landing during Basatu Padu 1970. Together with an enormous amount of aircraft components that had gone astray on the Changi squadrons.
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Originally Posted by Fareastdriver
(Post 10368450)
Mine disappeared when XD183 was Struck off Charge after its force landing during Basatu Padu 1970. Together with an enormous amount of aircraft components that had gone astray on the Changi squadrons.
Would you give a bit more info please ? |
The RAF - the only organisation whereby when you leave after years of service you give them a watch !
I immediately bought a Rolex. |
My Dad RAF VR(T) AEF Chipmunk Pilot, had an Omega at that time. Finally grounded (medical) in 1981 after 40 years flying for the RAF, I think having to hand back the Omega upset him more than the grounding!
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RAF Aircrew wrist watch
I think that the Omega issue was actually from the 60s to early 70s. I remember being very loath to hand mine back on leaving and then having to buy an equivalent to replace it.
Its weakness was the vulnerability of the buttons which were prone to being bent, knocked off or just failing to work after a period. I also remember the very reliable Bonclip strap which had the most efficient g resistant quick release I have come across before or since ! The Japanese finally prevailed with the replacement issue of Seikos for a period, the ones with a fabric strap. |
So it's all Blacksheep's fault that my extremely accurate issue Omega 'disappeared' into stores when being serviced at Changi and I got a cheap inaccurate Hamilton in return. Kept in a drawer until I went rotary and was issued with one of the new Seiko's which was again very accurate (almost as accurate as the Seiko I bought in Changi Village).
Of note I remember a callout to a downed Whirlwind up country (yours FED?) during BP, but we were recalled before getting airborne. |
There were various at that sort of time, althoiugh may have been "old new stock" wich had lived in stores for some time.
I remember Omega, Hamilton and (quite a bit later - late 70searly 80s??) Seiko. It was said that the Seikos actually had a "date dial" but this was covered up (no doubt at extra cost) for the military as being unnecessary. Rather like paying extra to have the radios taken out of service Minis. Sometimes the Fun Police really do rule! |
I had an aircrew Omega the blanket stackers took off me when I lost my medical cat in 1969. I reckoned that if an Omega was good enough for Aunty Betty to buy me that's what I would buy for myself. Black faced Omega, and it still works fine. I think about £50 then. Love it
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Of note I remember a callout to a downed Whirlwind up country (yours FED?) during BP, but we were recalled before getting airborne. It landed after an engine failure in between some palm trees with very little damage. It was recovered to the MU at Seletar and there we lost trace of it. I held the inventory for all the aircraft on the squadron so after a month or so I made enquiries as to when we were getting it back. It had been presented to the Singaporean Air Force as a instructional metal fabrication repair jig. I then had to go to stores to have the inventory made up for disposal. The gleam in the Suppliers' eyes could be seen as far as Temple Hill Mess. In no time at all I was signing conversion forms, taking on all sorts of aircraft components; nothing serious apart from an odd Griffon. It must have weighed about thirty tons when we had finished. There then followed a period where ALL my flying clothing and Service equipment was written off with the aircraft therebye ensuring my permanent silence about the whole thing. Changi closed about a year later and with it the evidence. |
So it's all Blacksheep's fault that my extremely accurate issue Omega 'disappeared' into stores when being serviced at Changi I wore a personal Rolex "Daytona" chronograph at the time and did not pay too much attention to the watches that came our way in between all the aircraft instruments. The Rolex died after about 17 years and was replaced with the Omega Seamaster that I wear to this day. I have found my Omega to be far superior to the Rolex. |
Thanks all, will take a look on e-bay to see if they have got any bargains.
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..to see if they have got any bargains. |
Be sure to check for evidence of hammers. |
The Rolex died after about 17 years It's in a drawer, still immaculate, awaiting a magic wand. I could buy an identical replacement for $60 including postage. |
Interesting to read that if you have a 1960's Rolex c/w box and receipt etc it could be worth up to $45,000 - see here:
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv...nes-estimation |
Originally Posted by Warmtoast
(Post 10374615)
Interesting to read that if you have a 1960's Rolex c/w box and receipt etc it could be worth up to $45,000 - see here:
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv...nes-estimation |
Originally Posted by ian16th
(Post 10375544)
Not just any Rolex, but a GMT Master.
https://www.pprune.org/military-avia...ml#post8326099 Post #5168 |
Being a poor Cpl at the time, I did quite well when I bought this:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....39a0d3f8d4.jpg In Malta for £12/10/0 in 1959. It had a Fixoflex strap then. My son has it now and it still runs quite well. |
Yes - but the issue straps were uninspiring. The RAAF withdrew the bands from service and wondered who the idiot was that evaluated the bands on behalf of the RAAF and had ordered a couple of hundred of them without proper testing. C'est moi, guilty as charged. Mea culpa etc |
Centaurus, AFAIK that metal banded strap was on RAF Navigators' watches while the pilots had a different strap. Its advantage was its ability to be fastened over a flying glove whereas Biggles had a clock on the IP.
At the first opportunity we would swap to a nylon strap, especially when we found one in sqn colours. The next generation were issued with a brown nylon strap combines with a leather backing. The nylon strap could survive ejection and the leather avoid nylon melt burns. |
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1195cdd130.jpg
A recent visitor to the Manx Aviation and Military Museum at Ronaldsway wondered if we could tell him what the numbers/letter on the reverse of this Hamilton watch might mean. None of us have a clue except that we think it might be ex-RAF. Searching the 'net' hasn't helped! Can anyone help? |
I did a quick search for 'H-67 watch movement' and found a link with the following comments:-
In the mid 1960’s Hamilton began to supply the British military with watches which included the Hamilton 6B H-67 which were issued to RAF aircrew. These watches were produced to the same MOD specification as their more expensive and illustrious counterparts, the JLC and IWC Mark XI. It is believed that only around 1,000 of the Hamilton 6B H-67 were ever produced which makes these watches extremely rare and highly collectible. |
Centaurus, AFAIK that metal banded strap was on RAF Navigators' watches while the pilots had a different strap. Its advantage was its ability to be fastened over a flying glove whereas Biggles had a clock on the IP. |
The 6B is the RAF Stores Section reference and refers to Navigation equipment. The other numbers relate to the specific item, in this case this watch and known as the Ref. It is likely that other manufacturers also provided watches to meet the specification and shared the same section and ref.
Another example was a Douglas Protractor which had a very low number 6B/47. Around 1967 all Service stores were recategorized with a NATO Section and Ref. Typically nnnn-nnnnnnn. In the case of the watch the section would have been 4 numbers followed by the same reference numbers. The H 67 may be the company reference and the 3800 the individual serial number. In theory you could go to any NATO Store and demand a piece of equipment using the unique Section and Ref. It could then be provided through the interservice system. |
NATO Stock Numbers have the format 1111-22-3333333, where the 1111 is the stock class (similar to the old UK MOD 6B etc.), the 22 is the country of origin (00 & 01 USA, 99 UK, 12 Germany etc.), and the remaining seven digits are the identifier.
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I have found my Omega to be far superior to the Rolex. |
Speaking of Omega(Tissot), I was given this watch many decades ago but didn't wear it much if at all. I dug it out recently and wound it up to see if it still runs and it does...with remarkable accuracy. Never been serviced to my knowledge. It's not self winding so requires daily attention but I guess it's an OK watch:
https://www.google.com/search?q=tiss...DVdX7g9-5q7zM: |
BlackSheep - how did your Daytona 'die' after 17 years?
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Apologies for the thread drift. Some months ago, there was a thread with recommendations for a high end UK watch repairer/servicer.I’ve searched but can’t locate it. Can anyone recall this?
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Try watchdoctors.co.uk, based in Tring, Herts.
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Originally Posted by vulcanite
(Post 10435071)
Try watchdoctors.co.uk, based in Tring, Herts.
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After the blanket stackers deprived me of my Omega aircrew watch in 1969 when I lost my aircrew cat I treated myself to a plain black-faced chrome finished Omega for, ISTR, £48. I have just found it after a house move, probably 20 years or more since I last used it, wound it and it is running perfectly, and is much admired
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