Mechanical clocksand reconnaisance
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Mechanical clocksand reconnaisance
Royal NZ Air Force camera timer?
Hi all
I posted this query on the History and Nostalgia forum without success.
I'd appreciate any information that you might have about how mechanical timers were used in reconnaisance, if indeed this was how they were used. The deivce consists of a clock with the means to close electrical contacts at a specified time. Here is an example that was on a certain auction site recently:
IWC Royal New Zealand Airforce clock
I have an interest in watches etc and would be very grateful if any of you that know how these were used could briefly explain when/ why it was used. There are various theories among watch and clock fans relating to bomb timers and reconnaisance, it would be nice to hear it from the horse's mouth!
Regards
C hawk
Hi all
I posted this query on the History and Nostalgia forum without success.
I'd appreciate any information that you might have about how mechanical timers were used in reconnaisance, if indeed this was how they were used. The deivce consists of a clock with the means to close electrical contacts at a specified time. Here is an example that was on a certain auction site recently:
IWC Royal New Zealand Airforce clock
I have an interest in watches etc and would be very grateful if any of you that know how these were used could briefly explain when/ why it was used. There are various theories among watch and clock fans relating to bomb timers and reconnaisance, it would be nice to hear it from the horse's mouth!
Regards
C hawk
Join Date: Oct 2004
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RNZAF Timer?
An interesting piece but I am not convinced that it has much to do with the RNZAF. Anything acqured prior to the mid 1970s would have been marked with a 'pheon' ie the Government broad arrow; after that it would have had a NATO stock number (NSN) or at least a partial part number. It is unlikely to be a camera timer (too imprecise; normally cameras are timed using a much more sophisticated intervalometer). I haven't dealt with ordnance, but imho I don't believe that it is a bomb timer (which are normally a count-down timers, and rarely display a clock face).
Can't account for the RNZAF markings - they look relatively fresh compared with the outside of the case, and also the inside - the mechanism has been worked on quite a bit.
CC
Can't account for the RNZAF markings - they look relatively fresh compared with the outside of the case, and also the inside - the mechanism has been worked on quite a bit.
CC
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Hi CC
Many thanks for your thoughts.
The Eb*y one is just a random example (I have no opinion on whether that particular one is correct) but there are quite a few timers / clocks seen from time to time on military watch sites that conform to that general pattern: that is, a mechanical clock that can operate electrical contacts presumably at a set time.
It is not a bomb timer, indeed, which resemble stopwatches with a variety of different graduations / markings.
There seems to be a consensus among clock / watch collectors that the above type of device had something to do with aerial reconnaissance- I can't see it myself, hence the query.
Thanks for your reply,
CH
Many thanks for your thoughts.
The Eb*y one is just a random example (I have no opinion on whether that particular one is correct) but there are quite a few timers / clocks seen from time to time on military watch sites that conform to that general pattern: that is, a mechanical clock that can operate electrical contacts presumably at a set time.
It is not a bomb timer, indeed, which resemble stopwatches with a variety of different graduations / markings.
There seems to be a consensus among clock / watch collectors that the above type of device had something to do with aerial reconnaissance- I can't see it myself, hence the query.
Thanks for your reply,
CH
