Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.

[Churchy]

MWC 91 - 1940s American, Women Airforce Service Pilot



Two Women were key in involving Women Pilots in the US War effort
In 1940 Jacqueline Cochran Wrote a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt suggesting women pilots could help with the fight against Germany. Nancy Harkness-Love also thought Women could play a key part and she wrote to the American Air Corps with the proposition. Neither of them was taken seriously by a male dominated Military
Cochran had already been involved with delivery of US aircraft to Britain and she joined the British Air Transport Auxiliary along with several other American women, where they helped to fly combat aircraft to various positions around the UK freeing up combat pilots, When the US Air Transport Command also realised pilots were being diverted from combat roles they contacted Harkness-Love and put her in charge of a number of women pilots who would deliver aircraft from production facilities all over the USA, they were known as the Women Auxiliary Ferrying Service (WAFS). A programme for women pilots was initiated in 1942 to train specifically to ferry aircraft under the control of Cochran it was called the Women Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). These two groups were amalgamated in 1943 and became the WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots. The first women pilots who volunteered and were accepted were already very skilled and experienced, to even join the programme a minimum of 500 logged hours was expected.
over 25,000 women applied for the service, but only 1,074 were accepted and in the 26 months after September 1942 they delivered 12,650 aircraft. 38 WASPS lost their lives during training and operations and they have since been recognised and given full military honours.
There was no official WASP watch issued, but Gallet Company produced a small chronograph that would have been ideal for use in this vital role





Case
Polished 26mm case, 28.4mm at the crown, 7.6mm deep, 32mm Lug to Lug, 14mm lug width
Case Interior diameter 22.8mm, 5.5mm deep. 6mm crown, 23mm glass.
Dial
White Dial with black printed minute/second scale, roman numerals at five-minute intervals
Hours indicated by larger Arabic numbers
trapezoid shaped black hands and a slim black seconds hand
Strap
Black nylon strap 14mm wide polished buckle, approx. fitting 160/200mm

[Churchy]

MWC 92 - 1940s Japanese Seaman



The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) operated on the belief that a small, powerful, technologically superior fleet was the the optimum strategy for their Navy. The development of the Japanese navy was groundbreaking and at the same time a huge drain on the resources of the country. In the early part of the 1920s over 30 percent of Japans national budget went to the IJN
They launched the world's first purpose built aircraft carrier in 1921, developed hugely powerful long range weapons that could target enemy ships further away and more accurately than any other navy, purpose built anti aircraft weapons and reliable torpedoes, all of which added to the devastating effectiveness of the IJN in the Pacific war, particularly from the air. By the time of the attack on Pearl harbour the IJN had 10 battleships and aircraft carriers at least 60 submarines and a numerous supporting vessels, typically a large Battleship like the Yamato would have a heavily armed cruiser and 6 or more destroyers as a protective escort
Life for a Japanese seaman was tough from the outset, training was long and harsh and the heavily armed Japanese ships had cramped quarters and sparse provision for any kind of crew comfort, Emphasis was placed on fitness and battle readiness, drills were constant and dangerous, often leading to casualties. Crews were also very specialised on the technically advanced ships which made it difficult to replace the men lost in combat and training, ultimately leading to increased crew shortages as the war progressed.
Seiko, as usual, were the predominant suppliers of watches to the IJN but few examples survive to this day so collectors value them very highly and few come to market





Case
Polished 31mm case, 33mm at the crown, 7.9mm deep, 36.3mm Lug to Lug, 16mm lug width
Case Interior, 26.8mm diameter, 5.5mm deep. 56mm crown, 26mm glass.
Dial
White Dial with black printed minute/second scale,
Hours indicated by large black Arabic numbers with a smaller scale inside reading up to 24 hours in red
trapezoid shaped black hands and a slim black seconds hand
Strap
Black PU leather strap 116mm wide at the lugs narrows to 14mm buckle, approx. fitting 170/210mm

[Churchy]

MWC 93 - 1970s Norwegian Airman



The Norwegian Airforce began from very humble beginnings, public donations enabled the purchase of a plane firstly, then a training school for air and ground crew. Widespread anti-German feelings spread throughout the country during World War One due to German submarine operations directly causing the deaths of over a thousand Norwegian sailors, in spite of this Norway remained officially neutral during the conflict.
World War Two also found Norway with an ill equipped air force, and in spite of strenuous efforts to procure aircraft, there were still very few trained air crew. Part of an order from the USA arrived before the German Army invaded in April 1940, and these still lacked weapons, the remaining aircraft were actually delivered to the British RAF. Norway had also, prior to the invasion, received some Ex RAF planes, seven 1930s Gloucester Gladiator Bi-planes, they were overwhelmed by the superior German aircraft, but still somehow managed to bring down five German planes.
Some Norwegian air and ground crew managed to escape the German advance and formed part of No 331 Squadron, a highly effective force in the south of England.
Post World War Two Norway continued to use the Spitfire which they were by now very experienced with, and it became the main aircraft of the Norwegian Airforce until the requirements of NATO required supersonic fighter jets to be procured. As part of the Military Aid Programme, the USA supplied 64 Northrop F-5 Tiger aircraft and then later on the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter.
Norwegian Pilots adopted a standard NATO era German issue timepiece, the Heuer Bundeswehr Chronograph.
Reliable and still modern by today's standards, the 'Bund' is still highly sought after and has also inspired replica watches





Case
Polished 33mm case, 35.5mm at the crown, 9mm deep, 39mm Lug to Lug, 16mm lug width
Case Interior, 26.8mm diameter, 5.5mm deep. 56mm crown, 26mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute/second scale, numbers at 10-second intervals, Hours indicated by large Green Arabic numbers
pencil shaped polished hands with green infill, and an arrow tipped seconds hand
31.5mm black infill bezel with silver markings, numbers at the quarter marks and a triangle indicator mark
Strap
Black PU leather strap 16mm wide at the lugs narrows to 14mm buckle, approx. fitting 170/215mm







The Heuer Bundeswehr bi directional bezel was all black, and had various symbols at the six position depending on which model and application it was intended for



My HKED Bundeswehr project watch, powered by a sea-gull ST1901 movement

[Churchy]

MWC 94 - 1970s South African Navy



South Africa has an important position on a global sea trading route and it's Navy takes very seriously its defensive tasks even on a comparatively restrictive budget. Right up till 1975 it shared responsibility with the British Royal Navy in patrolling the shipping lanes
South Africa also had close connections with France during the 1970s, France supplied Submarines and specialist training to South African Divers who often went on to roles in Special Forces
in modern times the Navy is more concerned with relief operations and a wider military role as part of the African Union
Part of the Divers equipment included Tudor 'Snowflake' watches, which were a Rolex derived watch utilising off the shelf ETA movements to reduce costs. These days the rarity of the watches used by South African Divers means that they command premium prices to collectors







Case
Polished 40mm case, 42.3mm at the crown, 11.4mm deep, 47.5mm Lug to Lug, 20mm lug width
Case Interior, 31.2mm diameter, 9mm deep. 5mm crown, 30mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute/second scale, Hours indicated by raised yellow blocks
baton-shaped minute hand with yellow infill, the hour hand has a square shaped detail at the end as does the slim polished second hand
39.1mm black infill bezel with silver markings, numbers at the 10-minute intervals and a triangle indicator mark at zero
Strap
Black nylon strap 20mm wide, approx. fitting 175/215mm

[Churchy]

MWC 95 - 1970s French Airman



France became a member of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, in 1949. Members agreed to come to each other's aid if any member was attacked by a country outside the alliance. While initially a political union, during the Korean War NATO became a fully integrated Military structure. However, France became unhappy with the dominance of the USA and possible failures of NATO plans to hold back any Warsaw Pact attack leading to an invasion of France
US troops and aircraft withdrew from France and the French Airforce was bolstered with new strike bombers and multi-role aircraft as part of France's own Nuclear deterrent capability. Initially, Dassault Aviation Mirage delta wing aircraft were used and later SEPECAT Jaguar strike aircraft.
French Military pilots were well trained and well equiped
the watches they used were of high quality and had their origins in the German Hanhart and Tutima watches, the tooling and design of which had been recovered as war reparations after WW2, the evolution of this watch was designated the Type 21 chronograph, made by a few select makers like Breguet and Dodane.





Case
Polished 36.6mm case, 38.8mm at the crown, 11mm deep, 43.8mm Lug to Lug, 18mm lug width
Sprung pushers at 2 and 4 move but have no function
Case Interior, 31.3mm diameter, 9.5mm deep. 5mm crown, 31mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute/second scale numbered at 5-minute intervals, Hours indicated by Green Arabic numbers
Polished, Sword-shaped minute and hour hands with green infill, slim polished second hand
bezel with indented markings, numbers at the hour intervals and a triangle indicator mark at zero
Strap
Brown PU leather strap 18mm wide at the lug narrows to a 16mm buckle, approx. fitting 175/220mm

[pepperami]

MWC 95 - 1970s French Airman



France became a member of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, in 1949. Members agreed to come to each other's aid if any member was attacked by a country outside the alliance. While initially a political union, during the Korean War NATO became a fully integrated Military structure. However, France became unhappy with the dominance of the USA and possible failures of NATO plans to hold back any Warsaw Pact attack leading to an invasion of France
US troops and aircraft withdrew from France and the French Airforce was bolstered with new strike bombers and multi-role aircraft as part of France's own Nuclear deterrent capability. Initially, Dassault Aviation Mirage delta wing aircraft were used and later SEPECAT Jaguar strike aircraft.
French Military pilots were well trained and well equiped
the watches they used were of high quality and had their origins in the German Hanhart and Tutima watches, the tooling and design of which had been recovered as war reparations after WW2, the evolution of this watch was designated the Type 21 chronograph, made by a few select makers like Breguet and Dodane.





Case
Polished 36.6mm case, 38.8mm at the crown, 11mm deep, 43.8mm Lug to Lug, 18mm lug width
Sprung pushers at 2 and 4 move but have no function
Case Interior, 31.3mm diameter, 9.5mm deep. 5mm crown, 31mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute/second scale numbered at 5-minute intervals, Hours indicated by Green Arabic numbers
Polished, Sword-shaped minute and hour hands with green infill, slim polished second hand
bezel with indented markings, numbers at the hour intervals and a triangle indicator mark at zero
Strap
Brown PU leather strap 18mm wide at the lug narrows to a 16mm buckle, approx. fitting 175/220mm

That's a fine macro shot of the dial and hands David

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Churchy]

MWC 96 - 1960s Pakistani Airman



The Royal Pakistan Air Force began as the country became independent in August of 1947, a modest force of 2400 personnel and a handful of mixed aircraft were stationed at seven air-basses across the country. Later, in 1950, Pakistan acquired 36 modified SuperMarine Attacker Aircraft from Britain, these were not well suited to the role they were purchased for as they had been designed for use from Aircraft Carriers.
In 1956 the RPAF dropped the Royal prefix and as the PAF purchased 100 F86 Sabre fighter aircraft and in 1961 they added 12 F104 Starfighters to the fleet.
On August 5th 1965, 26,000 Pakistani troops entered the Kashmir Region of India and actively encouraged the Kashmiri population to rise up in open revolt against India, they in turn retaliated against what was then West Pakistan throwing the countries into a short and bloody war, the ground and aerial fighting was intense, with the PAF engaging with a force that was almost 5 times its size, the Pakistani pilots were very experienced in their state-of-the-art F86 Sabres and victory in the numerous air battle was claimed by both sides
Despite being outnumbered in the air every time they flew the PAF pilots flew with bravery and commitment, their watches were supplied by the Swiss company Omega in what must have been relatively small numbers, surviving examples would be cherished by families and few PAF Omegas reach the open market





Case
Polished 36mm case, 38.2mm at the crown, 8.6mm deep, 42.8mm Lug to Lug, 18mm lug width
Case Interior, 32.3mm diameter, 8.6mm deep. 5mm crown, 31mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute/second scale Yellow triangles at 5-minute intervals, Hours indicated by white Arabic numbers at 3,6,9 and 12
Polished, Pencil-shaped minute and hour hands with yellow infill, slim polished second hand with yellow arrow tip
Strap
Brown PU leather strap 18mm wide at the lug narrows to a 16mm buckle, approx. fitting 175/215mm

[Churchy]

MWC 97 - 1940s American Seaman



America's determination to win the War in the Pacific can be easily seen in the sheer size of it's Navy.
At the close of the war, the US fleet consisted of over 51,000 vessels, the majority of which were specified as landing craft, a testament to the necessity of landing huge numbers of troops on the numerous Pacific islands. Providing air and artillery support to these troops were up to 28 Aircraft Carriers and 8 Battleships, themselves supported by 1200 combatant ships, including hundreds of Submarines. The manpower of the US Navy would outnumber many small countries at over 3,380,000 personnel
After the war, however, maintaining such a huge fleet was an immense drain on the post-war US economy, and a rapid decommissioning process was underway very quickly. in a little over 2 years active personnel numbers had dropped to a 'mere' 450,000 and only 267 ships were considered active, though many hundreds were in a de-activated state in facilities like Mare Island Naval Shipyard





Case
Polished 33.3mm case, 35.2mm at the crown, 8.3mm deep, 42.2mm Lug to Lug, 16mm lug width
Case Interior, 30.2mm diameter, 8.3mm deep. 5mm crown, 29mm glass.
Dial
White Dial with beige printed minute/second scale Arabic numerals at 5-minute intervals,
Hours indicated by Beige Arabic numbers
Black, Sword-style minute and hour hands with white infill, slim black second hand with round detail near the tip
Strap
Black PU leather strap 16mm wide at the lug narrows to a 14mm buckle, approx. fitting 175/215mm







The watch with this issue is a variation of the issue 35 watch, there are tenths of millimetres differences in size, and with a simplified white dial, both are based on a Longines watch

[Churchy]

MWC 98 - 1940s German Pilot


In 1926 two well established watch manufacturers in the German town of Glashutte joined forces with the aim of producing their own mechanical movements to compete with the neighbouring Swiss.
Two years after the start of World War II, work on the Tutima Flieger Chronograph was complete. Developed for the rigours of the new faster, higher flying, combat aircraft it was used by German pilots through the war.
As the Russian Army advanced through Germany at the close of World War II they captured Glashutte. The Soviets quickly recognised an opportunity and seized all the watchmaking machinery and equipment, technical diagrams and spare parts, that they could, loaded them onto trucks, and carried them off as war reparations to Moscow
From 1947 the First Moscow Watch Factory, the major Soviet watchmaker of the time, started to supply Soviet Pilots using re-branded and re-cased German watches, and by 1949 the captured machines were producing components to enable the factory to produce components for a watch that was the same design as a Tutima Type 69 Chronograph
The French military used a number of the original Tutima watches, rebranded as IRAM, for their own pilots and also as a design template for future models.

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If you have been paying attention this is basically a rehash of two earlier overviews, many post war French Pilots used variations of the Glashutte watches and many Russian Pilot chronographs owe a lot to the excellent German design







Case
Unusual Bronze Effect Case, 40mm across, 43.1mm at the crown, 9.3mm deep, 46.2mm Lug to Lug, 19.8mm lug width
Case Interior, 34.5mm diameter, 7.2mm deep. 6mm crown, 34mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed minute/5th second scale, Arabic numerals at 5-minute intervals,
Hours indicated by White Arabic numbers
Polished Gold colour Cathedral style minute and hour hands with white infill, slim gold second hand
Strap
Black PU leather strap 20mm wide at the lug narrows to a 18mm buckle, approx. fitting 180/220mm


MWC 26 - 1950s French Pilot


MWC 31 - 1940s French Pilot


MWC 86 - 1950s Russian Pilot

[Churchy]

MWC 99 - 1940s American Soldier



One of the Key Objectives of Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, was to split Axis forces and weaken their position on the Eastern front where they had invaded Russia
The areas targeted for invasion were held by Vichy French troops who were in effect collaborating with the Germans, The Vichy French were well equped both as an Army, with large numbers of troops, and as a Navy, in the port of Casablanca.
The Planned invasion was portrayed as an American Led operation Supported by Free French Troops, who had escaped capture when Germany invaded France. Secret Diplomatic meetings tried to establish if The Vichy French would actually resist such an invasion, as they would in effect be fighting their own countrymen. The fact that British troops would also be involved was kept from the Vichy as the British had recently attacked the French Naval base at Mers-el-Kébir.
The American Landings of 19,000 troops at Casablanca were initiated without a warning barrage, again in the hope that resistance would be half hearted, however an earlier attempted coup meant the Vichy High Commissioner had his troops on high alert so the landings were hampered by Vichy Naval Vessels, and sniper fire from the town, however the Navy was soon neutralised by Allied ships and the operation was concluded with relatively light casualties.
Similar operations were carried out along the coast at Oran and Algiers, for many of the American troops this was the first taste of combat.
The watches worn by the US army by this time would have been of American manufacture, this issue is probably representative of many similar 'pattern' watches made by companies such as Hamilton and Elgin





Case
Polished case, 34mm across, 37mm at the crown, 9mm deep, 40mm Lug to Lug, 16mm lug width
Case Interior, 29.7mm diameter, 7mm deep. 5mm crown, 29mm glass.
Dial
Black Dial with white printed 'rail-track' minute/second scale, Hours indicated by orange Arabic numbers
Polished Cathedral style minute and hour hands with orange infill, slim polished second hand
Strap
Green Nylon Strap 16mm wide at the lug, 16mm buckle, approx. fitting 170/215mm







The Nylon webbing strap on this issue has gone back to the horrible thick, rough, inflexible style that the early issues had. It’s also a terrible shade of green