German Binoculars

The interest in WW2 military Binoculars seems to center largely on German Optics.

Germany’s Navy During the Third Reich Period “The Kriegsmarine” were equipped with superior Optics .

German Binoculars.

 

The stealth of uboats relied heavily on their ability to dive immediately when danger threatened.

The commanders were equipped with fixed focus 8×60 rubber armoured hand held binoculars.  The crew whilst on watch sported the 7×50 version.

 

  

Begginings  of Wristwatches

 

Wristwatches  first appeared towards the end of the 19th century,

  

Evolving from pocket watches they were first developed as a novelty for lady’s who warmed to the bracelet which told the time .

 Men of the period only used pocket watches. 

 

The wearing of wrist watches appears to have been introduced  by the Kaisers

imperial Navy .

In 1880  the concern of Girard Perregaux Supplied 

 (Arm Band Clock) 

 

 

 

 

At about the same time Artillerymen  of  the British army fighting in South Africa added lugs to pocket watches to wear them

on their arms. 

 

 

Men’s wristwatches have their roots in military watches.

The accessoris for women gained acceptance through their military  application.

German Binoculars

 

When World War I (1914-1918) broke out, many fighter planes were involved in the battles and created a heightened need for military watches. Battle operations gained sophistication and wristwatches for fighter pilots and ground soldiers became essential items. At that time, Hamilton first supplied its flagship military watchKhaki, its model name still in use and highly popular today, to the American military. 

                       

 Other renowned brands such as Omega and Elgin were also requested to supply their timepieces to the military.

 

After WWI, a lifestyle of wearing wristwatches gradually gained acceptance and popularity among men, and transformed what was an essential military item into a status symbol.

 

U.S. Military Specification (MIL-SPEC)

 

In the 1930s, the world was in turmoil again and heading towards another world war. By then, America had already replaced Britain as the world’s number one industrial and economic superpower.

The U.S. military implemented efficient and effective systems into its management and the now world renowned MIL-SPEC was born.

 

Everything from weapons to explosives to supplies was systematically controlled and managed with very detailed and prescribed specifications, standards and quality requirements.

 

Fulfilling the very demanding and stringent MIL-SPEC became the only route for a wristwatch to earn the right to be officially recognized and called a military watch.

 

Type A-11

 

When talking about the history of MIL-SPEC certified military watches, one could never omit the masterpiece Type A-11.

 

 

It had a distinct appearance with white hands and Arabic numeral index, black dial, 60-sec gradations and high-visibility design.

 

It also featured the hacking function whereby the seconds hand can be stopped for exact time setting. Using this feature, soldiers could synchronize their watches with each other right down to the seconds which was very useful and important in military operations.

 

Besides the A-11, there were other variations such as the A-17 and A-7. Collectively they were known as the Type A military watches.

 

Production of Type A watches were carried out by several established watchmakers such as Waltham, Elgin and Bulova.

 

 

 

Since the watches must be produced to MIL-SPEC requirements, they did not differ much in design even though the brands were different. In fact, many of the watches produced did not show the brand name on their dials at all.

 

Substantial development of military watches during World War II (1939-1945)

 

As one of the Allied Nations, Britain required many military watches too. However during that period, most British-established watchmakers had already shifted overseas and Britain had to rely fully on imports.

 

 

The main suppliers to the British military then included Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Omega, all first-class world renowned brands. And of course, all watches supplied had to meet stringent requirements similar to the U.S. MIL-SPEC.

 

 

 

Watches that fulfilled the demanding standards earned the right to have the British Broad Arrow engraved on the dial and case back.

 

The models adopted by the British military then mostly featured the small seconds (seconds subdial) at the 6 o’clock position. Brands such as IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre and Omega all produced similar designs in accordance to the military standards.

 

Threaded case backs were used and special efforts put into water proofing. Watches that met the required water proofing standard were engraved with the letters W.W.W.(waterproof wristlet watch).

 

Germany had their own military watches too. The watch making industry already existed in the country during that period. It was said that the German military had more stringent standards than the British, and their watches produced with better design and finishing.

 

Watches that met the German standards had the lettersDH engraved on the case back. German military watches were supplied by many renowned watchmakers with A. Lange & Sohne leading the list.

 

Unfortunately, German military watches from WWII period that are still existing today are extremely rare, compared to those of the U.S and U.K.

 

This is probably due to a European movement to destroy everything related to the Nazis at that time.

 

Birth of New Concept Military Watches

 

After WWII, the world commenced its recovery journey and America was heading into its best economic prosperity in history then. Strong industrial production capability and economic prosperity were strengthening America’s position as the world’s number one superpower.

 

A key contributing factor was the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The requirement of weapons, resources and commodities was at its historical highest then. From new weapons, supplies and sundries required by soldiers to military command and control systems, every aspect required and adopted new improvements and methods.

 

Wristwatches were no exception. The Vietnam War changed the thoughts and views about military watches which until then were considered valuable items.

 

Disposal wristwatches were developed and adopted. It stemmed from fundamental cost-cutting measures that were implemented. Instead of collecting and repairing broken and out of order wristwatches, it was more efficient and cheaper to simply dispose them.

 

As such, design of wristwatches was made simple. Stainless steel case was used, and glass replaced by reinforced plastic. The watches were packed in simple paper boxes and issued to soldiers together with the ration.

 

Such disposal wristwatches were supplied to the U.S. military by brands such as Benrus, Hamilton and Westronics, and all produced according to MIL-SPEC and cost-benefit calculations.

 

Tritium Gas Capsules – Revolutionary Invention for Military Watches

 

It is difficult to see the evolution and development of military watches simply from their appearance. For example, the appearance of today’s customized order-made military watches do not differ much from the Type A watches of WWII.

 

Looking from another angle, we may say that the military watches of the 1940s had already attained a very high standard. But of course, this does not mean that the evolution and development of military watches had ceased.

 

After the Vietnam War, the most conspicuous evolution was the visibility in darkness. Soldiers had to fight in dark jungles during the Vietnam War and the ability to tell time was critical.

 

In modern warfare, the importance of night visibility has heightened manifold since countless night operations and missions are a norm and carried out continuously.

 

Tritium, a self-illuminating radioactive material, was used in the watch index during the Vietnam War. But despite its excellent night visibility, risks of cancer through constant exposure to tritium and fears of environmental contamination existed. Eventually, the 1989 version of MIL-SPEC prohibited the direct coating of tritium on the watch dial.

 

Replacing Tritium (direct coating) was the self-illuminating Micro Gaseous Light developed by Swiss company MB Microtec in the 1980s.

 

These are micro glass capsules filled with tritium gas and illuminates continuously for more than 10 years. Effect from the radioactive material is also controlled to the lowest minimum level that is harmless, and different colors developed.

 

By fixing the micro gaseous light onto the dial and hands, safe and highly enhanced excellent visibility of the watches was achieved.

 

Micro Gaseous Light is now used by many military watch brands (each adopting a different name for the technology) such as Luminox, Traser and Nite.

 

 

Multi-function Digital Military Watches

 

1990s commenced with the worsening of situations in the Middle East and the First Gulf War broke out with the attack on Iraq by the U.S. By that period of time, wristwatches had already passed its maturity stage and entered a diversification era.

 

The general markets no longer use wristwatches to only tell time. Digital watches equipped with stopwatch, calendar, alarms and various diversified functions became very popular.

 

During the Gulf War, U.S. MIL-SPEC and military-ordered supply of wristwatches continued to exist. However, usage of military issued wristwatches was not mandatory and soldiers were able to decide to a certain degree what they wanted to wear at their ordered supplies. However, in demanding and critical situations like the warzones, there is nothing wrong in using a watch that one is already familiar with so that one can make split-second decisions and take immediate actions.

 

In keeping pace with modern times, some MIL-SPEC certified and military-ordered watches are equipped with various value-added functions.

 

A good example would be MTM, equipped with LED lights in the dial capable of providing different levels of illumination such as torchlight level illumination, blinking mode for signaling, soft illumination for close-up map reading, internal illumination for telling time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over a century has passed since military watches were first worn by soldiers in battlefields.

attract the attention of men

all over the world to this day.

How military watches continue to evolve and develop in the future is certainly something military watch

enthusiasts look forward to.

 

 Call 0044-7860747027 24 hour live reception 

or email davidmatteybuyer@gmail